Sharp comparisons run rampant in the discussion of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, and Herman Melville’s “Bartleby The Scrivener”.  There are similar characters, similar plots, even similar settings.  In Melville’s short story, there is a young man who is brought on to a staff of scriveners, people who translate telegraphs into writing.  Throughout the story, Bartleby slowly becomes less inclined to do his work, or to do anything for that matter. In comparison, Goodman Brown, the main character in Hawthorne’s story, has a run in with what is perceived to be the devil.  This encounter causes him, later in the story, to exclude himself from his community.  In both stories, the main characters separate themselves from the people closest to them, as well as their respective societies in general.  As a reader of both texts, there is an unmistakable connection in how each character slowly fades out of touch with his society, a connection that can help us better understand each story

Exclusion is clearly the central most connection to both passages.  Both Bartleby and Goodman Brown, by the end of the passages, have become the antithesis of the characters they were at the beginning of the texts.  At the beginning of Melville’s story, Bartleby was just a young scrivener, who was new on the job.  He was out to impress, and would complete many tasks with ease.  One day when the lawyer calls Bartleby over to examine a document, which he would usually do without hesitation.  However, this time, Bartleby’s response is, “I would prefer not to.” (Melville CR481) the response is surprising, but does not paralyze the lawyer.  He finds it quite puzzling, as he is very used to instant compliance from the likes of Nippers, Turkey, and Ginger Nut.  However, he is not phased by it in the way that Bartleby said it. “I looked at him steadfastly.  His face was leanly composed; his gray eye dimly calm. Not a wrinkle of agitation rippled him.” (Melville 481) narrated the lawyer.  This quote suffices to show how nonchalantly Bartleby had started a rebelliousness he would carry throughout the story.  Said rebelliousness was not what would separate Young Goodman Brown from the very religious society of his.  In the chilling tale shared in the story “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman leaves his wife, Faith, to embark on a journey with an “evil purpose” (Hawthorne Pg. 1).  Not far in to his journey, he is met by a man who we would later come to recognize as the devil.  He informs Goodman Brown of a meeting in the woods, that everyone from the village would be attending.  Goodman Brown, already startled by the darkness in the woods, refuses his open invitation to join.  However, he begins to see many people from the village on the way to the meeting.  When he sees that Faith, his beloved wife has left on the way to the meeting, he feels he has no choice. At the congregation, Goodman brown is brought forward and a woman who is robed and hooded is next to him.  They are informed they will be shown the wickedness of the world, and the person revealed is in fact, Faith.  He tells her to resist the devil, and all of a sudden, he is gain empty in the forest.  He has no idea if he has witnessed a dream, or if it is real life. He returns to Salem immediately, but he is changed forever by his experience.  “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream” (Hawthorne Pg. 8).  Both Characters undergo drastic changes in personality through their experiences in the book.  Having both started as insightful, and contributive members of their families and societies, the two characters end the stories in a very lonely, and dark frame of mind.  

In both, Melville’s, and Hawthorne’s stories, the character’s exhibit signs of exclusion.  In both cases, the main character is much different at the end of the story than they were at the beginning.  Young Goodman Brown totally ignored the feelings of his once beloved wife faith.  Hawthorne wrote, “…he shrank from the bosom of Faith; and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down at prayer, he scowled and muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife, and turned away” (Hawthorne Pg. 8). In contrast, he was not like this at the beginning of the text.  “What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand” (Hawthorne Pg. 1) says Goodman Brown himself at the start of the story.  This contrast is great evidence of the change that Young Goodman Brown undergoes throughout the story.  Bartleby, in similar fashion, undergoes a very subtle change, and one that was not easily noticed by his colleagues. One day at work he suddenly adopts a mentality that shows no regard for the authority of his boss, the lawyer.  The characters in the stories are very reminiscent of the levels of anti-social we experience in our society today.  

Historically speaking, the two settings of the stories were also very similar.  Salem, a village in colonial Massachusetts, and Wall Street in New York City, New York.  While the timing of the two settings may not be the same, the atmospheres are very similar.  In fact, the atmosphere displayed in in the two Northeastern United States settings, are a little reminiscent of what we have come to expect out of that region today.  The stereotypical, no tomfoolery, bustling atmosphere of the northeast is on display in these stories.  When the lawyer wants a document examined, it is expected that it be done hastily.  And in the Salem witchcraft trials, which are historically known to be inescapable for those on trial. One example of the devilish nature of the Salem witchcraft trials come from Christopher Trigg, who wrote, “Satan stalked New England as a dog, a horse, and a black-skinned man” (Trigg, The Devils Book at Salem pg. 37).  Another account of this environment comes from Charles Upham who wrote, “It was the darkest and most desponding period in the civil history of New England” (Upham Salem Witchcraft).  The gruesome northeast is on display in these texts, just as it is today.  When looking at these settings, it is easy to see how someone could be rubbed into a negative dark attitude towards their society.  

Conclusively, upon reading both texts, there is an unmistakable relation in how each character slowly fades out of connection with his society, something that we see all too often in our society today.  Young Goodman brown, and Bartleby the scrivener, both driven by the not so friendly atmosphere of the northeast, end up in a shell by themselves at the conclusion of their respective stories.  Each character’s journey was different, but many similarities arise, and at the end of both stories, both main characters are living a much different social life, then they were at the beginning.  This self-exclusion from everyday life is quite similar to what we see in many cases today.  
