Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family full of Puritan ancestry that included a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials. His books and stories were heavily inspired by this Puritan history. Hawthorne expresses skepticism towards the Puritans in his stories showing the theme of hypocrisy, sin, and corruption of Puritanism. This is also a reflection of his skepticism of America's perfection in the early 19th century because he did not believe in absolute faith and thought it could not be completely trusted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne's skepticism towards the Puritans in his stories can be seen through the themes of hypocrisy, sin, and corruption. “Young Goodman Brown” shows the dark side of what may seem good. At the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown believes that the city is pure and exclusively good, every single member, just as the Puritan principles describe. He trusts wholeheartedly that his wife is a goodness, and even if he goes on a journey into the forest to meet a witch, they as a couple will live a proper life to go to heaven upon his return. As he leaves and arrives in the forest, something changes. His city mentality is reversed. His wife, who thought he was incapable of sinning, and others from the city also attend this meeting. It assumes that since they are all essentially friends of the devil now, sin has no meaning because everyone is a sinner. Upon his return to town, Goodman Brown is no longer the same as he once was. It is in this experience that Hawthorne displays his most profound criticism of Puritanism. Goodman Brown believes his experience forced him to see beyond the lies of perfect goodness told by his religion. And so he abandons him. Yet the story presents his actions not as a triumph but as a tragedy, and Brown lives a life of sadness and anxiety. The story, then, suggests that the real problem is Puritanism and its internal logic, the way it requires all goodness or none at all. Such a world is impossible because anyone who takes it seriously cannot live a perfect life. To continue, Nathaniel Hawthorne's skepticism in his stories is almost an identical reflection of his skepticism about the perfection of America in the early 19th century because he did not believe in absolute faith. as did many other Puritan followers. Hawthorne sought reforms for an America that was based solely on Puritan principles of either pure goodness or nothing. He reveals that a sinful nature cannot be hidden even if one believes one is predestined to a pure lifestyle. His thoughts were that a person cannot always be entirely perfect, which allowed for conflicts of beliefs within his richly Puritan family. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay While Nathaniel Hawthorne was born into a family full of Puritan backgrounds, his beliefs did not align with them. Hawthorne's stories are mostly inspired by this story and he expresses skepticism towards the Puritans in his stories showing the theme of hypocrisy, sin and corruption of Puritanism. This is also a reflection of his skepticism of America's perfection in the early 19th century because he thought it could not be completely trusted..