Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne are two American writers that are often compared. Two of their most famous short stories, Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and 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. Throughout the short stories, the changes in these characters are obvious. Both stories begin with these characters beginning something unfamiliar. For Bartleby, it is working at the law firm, and for Brown, it is his meeting with the strange man. As the story continues, they begin to change, and by the end of the story, both characters suffer a terrible fate. The fact that Melville and Hawthorne have influenced each other in their writing adds another element of similarity to these short stories (Kesterson.) By examining the common writing styles and themes throughout these shorts stories, the similarities become much more obvious.

"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.

Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne shared a friendship and mutually respected and admired each other's work. They found inspiration in each other's writing, and that is obvious when comparing these short stories ("Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.") Melville admits he is forever in debt to Hawthorne because of the influence he has had on his writing (Kesterson.) "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "Young Goodman Brown" begin similarly. Bartleby is beginning his new job at the firm and Brown is heading into the woods to meet with the mysterious stranger for the first time. They are both unsure of what they are getting into, yet they remain curious. As the story continues, both characters grow hesitant. Bartleby begins refusing all of the narrator's requests until he eventually ends up doing nothing at all at the firm and is fired by the narrator. Brown, on the other hand, becomes more and more hesitant along his journey through the woods until eventually he tells the man that he can no longer continue. In these situations they struggle to listen to authority. Bartleby refuses to take orders from the narrator and Brown refuses to listen to the mysterious man, abandoning him in the woods. However, the stories most obvious similarity occurs when they begin to lose faith in humanity. After Bartleby is fired, he is sent to jail for loitering outside the building after a new business takes over the firm. Despite the narrator's attempts to help him, he rejects them all. Once in jail, he does nothing but stand outside, doing nothing, similarly to what he once did in the firm. He claimed that he would prefer not to eat, causing him to eventually starve to death in prison. His refusal to eat shows his loss in humanity because it shows his lack of willpower to live. The story ends with the narrator exclaiming, "Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity! " (Melville, 397.) Brown on the other hand, loses faith in humanity after seeing all the townspeople of Salem in the woods around a fire, worshipping the devil. Upon seeing his wife, pastor, and other friends from town taking part in this activity, he becomes horrified. He pleads with his wife not to do this when he suddenly finds himself lying in the forest alone. While it is unclear if what happened was a dream, Brown was changed forever. He lived the rest of his life in constant fear of judgment and punishment from God for what he had done. He eventually dies, still in fear, with no hope in humanity. 

Despite their differences in age and background, Hawthorne and Melville still had many similarities in their writing style ("Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.") With two completely different stories, they were able to carry out a similar message. Two men begin on a journey, become hesitant, encounter conflict, and eventually lose all faith in humanity, resulting in their eventual death. With Bartleby, he begins his new job at the firm, starts refusing to do his work, is fired and eventually imprisoned, resulting in him causing his own death by starvation. Young Goodman Brown, on the other hand, meets with the man in the woods, becomes scared after seeing the townspeople of Salem participating in devil worship, panics when he find out his wife is among them, and lives the rest of his life fearful due to his loss in humanity. These factors, as well as Hawthorne and Melville's classic American writing styles allow these short stories to be compared. 

