Short Stories and Social Commentary

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville wrote stories that had deeper meanings in relation to the societies that they were a part of. Specifically, "Young Goodman Brown" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener" have interesting social commentaries. Both of those stories also share relations to other authors, such as Franklin, Irving, and Edwards.

Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown" is a story of a man who's curiosity takes him to strange depths, inadvertently stripping him of his religious faith. He intends to merely take a small part in a clandestine meeting in the woods with unsavory characters. On the way, he sees more than just unsavory characters taking part in the meeting; the deacon of the church and even his wife are at the meeting over which presumably a demon resides. Upon the cessation of the meeting, Brown is not sure if the meeting was real or if it was only a dream. Either way, he is a deeply shaken and cynical man for the remainder of his life, never getting over his meeting the woods with the devil. Part of the social commentary made in this story would be a loss of innocence. Brown was sure of the morality of the people he cared for and respected, most importantly his wife, but he did not know what to think when confronted with their 'other' side, "There is no good on Earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given," (McMichael & Leonard, 2011). As a devout Puritan, the concept of black, white, and grey was beyond Brown; for him, there was only black and white. After his enlightenment in the woods about the duality of human nature, Brown saw only black.

Hawthorne's story has similar tones to the The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Both stories have a dark, ominous tone that creates a sense with the reader that there is no happy ending to be had, only a series of interesting (if unfortunate) events.

In Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener", the narrator tells the story of 'the oddest man he's ever met'. The narrator hires Bartleby out of necessity, but is soon very sorry that he ever did so. Bartleby is by nature a depressed individual, but his work ethic is not in question until the day he utters the line "I would prefer not to". That becomes his mantra whenever any task is asked of him, until the day comes that he ceases to do anything at all. Even after his laziness hits its peak, he does not leave. Eventually, the narrator chooses to move his business rather than throw Bartleby out. Even with new tenants in the building, Bartleby does not leave.

He is jailed for his incessant loitering, later dying in jail because he 'preferred not to' eat the food that is offered. In reflection, Bartleby's choices may have not been the right ones because they led to his death, but from an objective point of view, Bartleby was able to do whatever he wanted. He could shun his boss, friends (not that he had any), and his jailers in favor of maintaining his free will. Jonathan Edwards wrote a story with a similar note about free will, "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will", (Emery, 1976, p. 170). However, Melville's story could also be highlighting the fact that slovenly behavior could lead to a dire end.

Emery, A., M. (1976). The alternatives of melville's bartleby. Nineteenth-Century Fiction. Retrieved on October 21, 2010, from the JSTOR Database.

McMichael, G. & Leonard, J. S. (2011). Concise anthology of american literature. (Eds.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

Early American Gothic-Themed Stories

Washington Irving wrote two widely known and fantastical stories: "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Both stories are full of symbolism, metaphor, and societal conflicts. The story of "Rip Van Winkle" chronicles a lazy but kind man named Rip Van Winkle who basically hibernates through the prime of his life, in the post Revolutionary War-era. Upon awakening, he finds that the world has gone and changed on him, and the reader gets to experience the change behind the eyes of an objective man who had no part in the war.

 His new life is a symbol for the confusion and anxiety the town must have felt during and after the war. Poor Rip does not know what to do with himself until his daughter takes him in and he realizes his is free from the nagging of his dead wife, his own wife being a metaphor for how England controlled the colonies and then lost that control. At the time in the story, society was going through some intense changes and everyone had to choose a side before and during the war. While the town Rip hailed from may have been quiet before, after the war the townsfolk were proud of their independence and eager to show it, especially to an unknowing loyalist like Rip, "[I am] a loyal subject of the king!"

The "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" tells the tale of Ichabod Crane and his run-in with the Headless Horseman, the supposed specter haunting the town of Sleepy Hollow. Icabod Crane's character can be interpreted as a metaphor for the religious, ignorant, and superstitious populace of the time period in which the story itself was written. His superstitions were the end of him and any chance he may have hoped to have for a successful marriage with the town bachelorette, Katrina Van Tassel. Had he been more discerning, he may have discovered that the Headless Horsemen was merely his competitor for Katrina's hand in marriage, Brom Bones. It is not expressly stated in the story that Brom is responsible for the disappearance of Ichabod, but Brom was "to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related,". The Headless Horsemen, or Brom, could have symbolized how the weak and superstitious were stamped out for strength and revolution. Societal conflicts in the story include the town and it's dark, superstitious nature. The Headless Horsemen and the belief that he was real was the pinnacle of the town's utter lack of scientific understanding.

Edgar Allen Poe and many of his writings also feature symbolism, metaphors, and societal conflicts. His epic poem, "The Raven" is a depressing tale featuring a raven that will not leave the narrator alone. The raven may symbolize death and eternity since throughout the poem it continually quotes, "Nevermore,". Another well-known poem by Poe is entitled "Annabel Lee". The poem opens with the lines, "It was many and many a year ago/ In a kingdom by the Sea/". Poe uses the second line over and over in the poem, hammering home the symbol of love and loss felt by the narrator in the poem. While the couple was happy in their home by the sea, they made of it a kingdom. Yet, once she died, the kingdom became a dark place full of her memory. The entire poem is a metaphor for fairy tales, obvious from the first line in the poem. It is a fairytale that strays from the traditional happy ending, something that Poe himself never obtained, a recurrent societal conflict in much of his literary work.