Summary of Ethan Brand by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay example -- Ethan B

Summary of Ethan Brand by Nathaniel Hawthorne In the short story Ethan Brand, Ethan Brand lusts for knowledge that leads him on a quest for the unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin, as one may interpret, is pride and self-gain. It is a loss of the brotherhood with man, and a loss of respect for God. Once this knowledge is gained, he faces alienation from all those around him. In searching for this sinful knowledge, Ethan Brand leads himself into intellectual isolation. He cannot separate his head from his heart, his intellect from his soul. After tending the kiln, in solitude for so long, his thoughts became his only company, as did the flames that danced in his eyes. Over come with the urge to seek knowledge, he falls to temptation. Adam and Eve's downfall was in knowledge, as was Ethan Brand's fall. His sin is best described as, "The sin of intellect that triumphed over the sense of brotherhood with man and reverence for God and sacrificed everything to its own mighty claims". Upon leaving for his twenty-year journey, Brand becomes deranged in the eyes ...