Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" tell two very different stories, yet the theme is the same. Two men, Bartleby and Young Goodman Brown, face adversities that cause them to lose their faith and hope in humanity. 

"Bartleby, the Scrivener" is a short story written by Herman Melville that tells the story of a lawyer on Wall Street and his encounters with a strange scrivener who begins working at his firm. With three inefficient workers, Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut, the narrator brings in Bartleby with the hopes of improving his business. He initially proves to be one of the best copyists the narrator has ever seen, but conflict arises when he asks Bartleby to examine a document and he replies, "I would prefer not to" (Melville, 376.) Confused by this response, the narrator asks another employee to review the document instead. However, Bartleby's strange behavior does not stop there. The narrator continues to ask him to do tasks, but Bartleby's response is always the same: "I would prefer not to." Bartleby informs the narrator that he no longer wishes to work as a scrivener, but he remains in the office, often staring out of the window at a wall. No longer serving a purpose at the firm, the narrator asks Bartleby to leave, but unsurprisingly he would prefer not to.  Frustrated, the narrator packs up his office and moves, but Bartleby remains. The new occupants complain to the narrator about Bartleby on their property, so the narrator decides to talk to him. Upon seeing him, the narrator becomes emotional, and even offers for Bartleby to come live with him, but he would prefer not to. Bartleby continues to loiter outside the office until he is arrested. While in prison he prefers not to do anything at all, even eat. The narrator tries to reason with him, but eventually Bartleby starves to death in prison. At the end of the story, the narrator explains that Bartleby used to work in the Post Office, in an obscure branch called the Dead Letter Office, sorting through undeliverable mail.  

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" is the tale of a man's encounters in the forest at night during the middle of the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. It begins with Brown leaving his wife, Faith, for the night, to her dismay. Despite her wishes for him to stay, Brown leaves Salem and heads into the woods. Hesitantly, he heads into the forest where he encounters a man "grave and decent attire" holding a snake-like staff (Hawthorne, 1.) Although Brown's meeting with this strange man was planned, the reason for their meeting is initially unclear. The mysterious man begins talking about Brown's ancestors and the cruel things they have done as leaders of Salem. Though bothered by these comments, Brown continues walking with the man. Soon, they see a figure and Brown hides in fear of being seen with the strange man. He soon recognizes the figure as someone from Salem, and is shocked to hear her talk to the man about witchcraft and devil worship. Disturbed by this, Brown informs the man that his "mind is made up. Not another step will I budge on this errand" (Hawthorne, 3.) At this point he sees more townspeople on their way to an unholy meeting. He cries out to heaven for comfort, but all he hears are his wife's cries as her ribbon flutters down from the sky. Brown makes his way toward a glowing light where he finds multiple townspeople, including Faith, gathered around a fire conducting an unholy meeting. Terrified, he cries "Faith! Look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one" (Hawthorne, 6.) All of a sudden, he found himself lying on the forest floor, completely alone. Though unclear if this strange encounter was meant to be a dream, but it changed Young Goodman Brown forever. He lived the rest of his life in Salem fearful of God's wrath for his sins and the sins of others.

