Comparing the Use of Light and Dark by Melville, Poe, and Hawthorne Ess

Use of Darkness and Light by Melville, Poe, and Hawthorne Melville, Poe, and Hawthorne all tend to focus on the darker side of humanity in their writings. In order to allow their readers to better understand their opinions, they often resort to using symbolism. Many times, those symbols take the form of darkness and light appearing throughout the explanation at appropriate times. A reader might wonder how light functions in the stories, and what it urges the reader to consider. If we look carefully at these appearances of light, or more credibly the absence of it, we can gain some insight into what these subversive romantics consider to be the truth of humanity. Hawthorne uses this technique to its fullest however, it is also very obvious in the stories of Poe and Melville. all(prenominal) of these authors have something to say about what they perceive as the breakdown of man and society - and they often clue us in by using differing degrees of light. The social movement of dar kness and light is probably the most apparent in Hawthornes pieces, and Young Goodman Brown is an excellent example. The story starts off as Young Goodman Brown begins his trip up into the forest, away from his wife, Faith. The first presence of light is in the first sentence Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset .... Now, there is light in the sun, but the significance lies in the fact that the sun is setting. The brightness in life - that is, the goodness of humanity that once existed, is now being taken oer by the darkness. YGB then departs down a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest. There is no mistaking this for anything but a symbol. YGB, representing all man, is overtaking down a narrow path leading into one of the darkest and sca... ...aking of humanity) this black conceit pervades him, through and through. You may be witched by his sunlight,--transported by the bright gildings in the skies he builds over you--but there is the blackness of da rkness beyond and even his bright gildings but fringe, and play upon the edges of thunder-clouds. Works Cited Adler, Joyce. Benito Cereno Slavery and Violence in the Americas. comminuted Essays in Herman Melvilles Benito Cereno Burkholder, Robert E., ed. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY, 1992. Gargano, James. Art and Irony in William Wilson. New Approaches to Poe Benton, Richard P., ed., 1970. Levin, Harry. The Power of Blackness. New York, 1967. Melville, Herman. Hawthorne and His Mosses. From The Literary World, August 17 and 24, 1850. Accessed at http//eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/hahm.html on May 1, 2000.