The journey taken by Young Goodman Brown in his discovery of the evil in the world itself is both symbolic and mysterious, for the purpose, while that purpose must be important to draw young Brown away on this night, is never explained. It is offered as an important duty, a duty that is almost religious for the young man, but at the same time there is in the way the young man approaches the task the aura of evil to be met and fought. He worries that the devil himself might be following him, and indeed he does meet the devil and converse with him freely. The idea that this is all a dream is evident from the first as the young man worries about dreams and his wife: She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face,
woman in question is his Faith, and because of this, he easily loses his faith.
In “Young Goodman Brown”, after his journey into the forest, Brown changes his entire outlook on life. He has lost his faith and has taken on a life of darkness and unrest because he is never sure whether the events of what happened in the forest were reality or imagined. From that point on he is never at peace because he is always expecting evil. And he is then depicted as a man who never has happiness with his beloved “Faith”, that is his wife and his actual faith in God, or in any other thing in his life. Brown becomes a victim to the nature of evil and the effects that it can play on the
Cheating, lying, stealing, murder, and adultery. In today's world, these are all things that are very common occurrences in society. These are all sins. Sins that almost everyone commits, but is willing to try and "cover them up" in some shape or form. For most human beings committing a sin brings guilt along with it. In Nathaniel Hawthorn's short stories "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil", both the main characters Mr. Hooper and Goodman Brown carry guilt because of a sin that they have committed.
However, Goodman Brown doesn’t know the night events are going to happen, and furthermore he doesn’t care. If these events are a dream, then they originate from Brown’s head-a transparent sign of his ingrained dark side. If they were true, then Goodman Brown has discovered that everyone is corrupt. However, Brown’s innocence was unavoidable whether of the night were real or fiction.
“Young Goodman Brown” tells the story of Goodman Brown. Goodman Brown begins the story about to leave home and his Puritan Wife Faith to go on a journey that he felt guilty with to begin with. Despite his initial guilt, he leaves home a devout Puritan and sound in his beliefs. Throughout the story, Goodman Brown digresses as a man and loses his faith over the course of events of the story. On his journey, Brown meets a man who first tries to tempt him to go with him to a meeting in the forest. The man turns out to be the devil. Before parting ways, the devil gives Brown a staff
Conflict and symbolism in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne in this story portrays these two elements that enhance the way the story is written. The story “Young Goodman Brown” first takes place in a small town with brown and his wife faith. Then in the story brown leaves faith to go in an adventure that he would later wish he hadn’t gone in. Brown takes a journey through part of the woods that are really scary and comes across the devil himself to later find out that faith was evil and that many from his town were also evil and had a secret evil organization or cult. Through the use of conflict and symbolism, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” portrays what Brown’s journey represents.
“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an excellent piece that clearly illustrates Sigmund Freud theory of repression through Young Goodman Brown’s faith in his puritan religion. Brown in his unconscious mind is, however, challenged by the evils which surround him that he tries to repress and thus, a battle between good vs. evil surfaces.
The story reveals that there is some degree of evil in everyone because humans are born with the freewill to do right or wrong. As humans, we are born into an imperfect world and we have many flaws. We can choose to be good honest people or evil doers. The older man in Young Goodman Brown said that Goodman Brown had more evil power then he did. This older man could represent an evil spirit or even the devil himself. This line in the story could
“Poor little Faith!” thought he, for his heart smote him. “What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done to-night. But, no, no! 't would kill her to think it. Well; she 's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I 'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven.” (7) He is now unlawful, whether or not he actually meets the devil or simply dreams their meeting. Whether the meeting happens, matters less than how Goodman Brown feels about giving in to his dark side. Quoted, "On he flew, among the black pines, brandishing his staff with frenzied gestures, now giving vent to an inspiration of horrid blasphemy, and now shouting forth such laughter, as set all the echoes of the forest laughing like demons around him. (53) In "The Young Goodman Brown" it does a great job describing the struggles Goodman is facing. Although, the ending wasn’t implied. I believe, he is teaching us a moral lesson. Teaching us people are not what they seem. Looks can be deceiving and their can also be good or evil in things/people.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, Young Goodman Brown, Brown goes on a journey through the forest that drastically changes him. While we never know the real reason why Brown went to the forest, the experience in the forest caused him to become a bitter, sad, and lonely man who couldn't look at life the same after that night. There were many events that occurred in the forest that caused this change in him.
He finds that all of the good people are participating in a frantic satanic ritual and god forsaken acts that forsake God himself. One of the key points in “Young Goodman Brown”, is the battle of whether or not Goodman Brown should remain good or joining the devil. The journey for Goodman Brown is very difficult, as he traverses through the woods at night, all while contemplating of the good things such as his wife Faith who he leaves behind. This internal conflict causes a destruction of the Young Goodman Brown and results in the creation of a completely different man.
In “Young Goodman Brown,” there is a fight between good and evil with one main character being torn between the two sides and every other character seemingly on one side or the other through the reader’s view, although many characters do deceive Goodman Brown about whether they are good or evil. This fight between the two sides and the deception that causes confusion for Goodman Brown is the source of tension throughout the entire story. In “Young Goodman Brown,” every character’s traits and dialogue, the setting, and even colors mentioned have double meanings and are symbolic to the main binary oppositions of either good or evil.
The main focus of the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the triumph of evil over good. A supposedly good man is tempted by evil and allows himself to be converted into a man of evil. This is much like the situation that arises in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where two people are tempted to sin and give in thus submitting themselves to the power of the devil. In this novel, the area where the devil resides is strictly parallel to that in “Young Goodman Brown”.
The story of ?Young Goodman Brown? exemplifies the struggle of one man?s internal conflict of good and evil. The main character, Goodman Brown, leaves Salem village and his wife, Faith, to travel into the depths of the dark forest. The Young Goodman Brown will be aged with the knowledge he faces in this one night. Brown keeps his appointment with the devil in the forest, and he must choose to go back to his ?faith,? or explore the evils that the devil has to offer. Next, Brown is confronted with the virtuous people who live in his community, who will be attending the witch?s meeting with the devil. He has to decide if he will follow them along this
“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex tale with many hidden meanings and themes. Hawthorne uses literary devices to propel his story further into speculation of the unknown world. In his essay, Fogle uses examples of irony and symbols of opposites to convey the mystery behind Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” Without both ambiguity and clarity, the story would not portray an atmosphere of doubt which is at the core of Hawthorne’s tale.