A mythological critic examines a work for repeating patterns that show the reasoning for various aspects of human life. In other words, upon analyzing a piece of literature, one will discover the "why's" of the human race. This could be anything from birth and death to defeating death itself.
A story that contains these aspects would be "Young Goodman Brown" by
Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this story, Goodman Brown has to take a spiritual journey on a walk through the forest. He encounters the Devil and he tempts Brown with all sorts of ways to 'leave the path.' The exact opposite of the Devil is represented in Brown's wife,
Faith. Faith represents Brown's faith in God.
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