Faith in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown Essay

Young Goodman Brown. The “Young Goodman Brown” story by Hawthorne uses secrecy and suspense to hold one’s attention. Throughout the story, it makes one ask the question, “What does the witchcraft, religion and double-lifestyle of the characters mean? “The story uses much symbolism that is highlighted all through the story.

In Young Goodman Brown one of the most important symbolisms is Faith, Brown’s wife, Faith represents he’s actual faith in god. When Goodman Brown was heading into the forest, he still has her, but as the story unravels it becomes clearer that Faith is not who she seems. Hawthorne makes Faith seem young and innocent when he describes her: "And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap". Brown knew her as someone who he could trust and care for, just like his actual faith in god. As the story goes on, Brown heads into the forest,

When Brown finally reaches the meeting of the townspeople, his hope rises again because his wife Faith, whom he expects to see is not there. However, she soon unfortunately joins him and the others whom are about to undergo initiation. They are the “only pair, as it seemed who were yet hesitating on the verge of wickedness in the dark world” (Hawthorne). They stare at each other in frightened anticipation, and for the last time Brown calls out for help: “Faith! Faith!...Look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one” (Hawthorne). But “whether Faith obeyed he knew

As Brown starts on his adventure he recalls that his wife, Faith, had dreams of this particular adventure, dreams that warned him not to go; this feeling of uncertainty sparks a feeling of anxiety in Brown as he continues walking through the forest and on with his journey. As he walks on, the scenery around him begins to change, "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind." (310). This quote describes the dark and gloomy surroundings that Brown is walking through on his journey, it also creates the mood of fear and hesitance as he continues on his way. Then as Brown is walking along he comes to encounter a man dressed in grave and decent attire. The man states "You are late, Goodman Brown," and Brown replies by saying, "Faith kept me back awhile." (310) In literal terms he is speaking of his wife, but metaphorically he could be speaking of his faith in god and how it almost kept him from embarking on his journey. Hawthorne creates many metaphors in his story of "Young Goodman Brown." Later on in Brown's journey he meets a man with a cane that resembles a snake, the serpent is a symbol of evil, and then when Brown protests against the devil, "With heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm

He goes anyway. This trip will lead to the guilt that Goodman Brown will feel for the rest of his life. Goodman Brown goes into the forest to meet a man which we later find out is the devil. He was late because his wife had kept him in town. "You are late Goodman Brown." (p.383) He replies "Faith kept me back" (p.383), which is ironic because his wife Faith really kept him back that day, but his religious faith also kept him from confronting the devil previously. Goodman Brown follows the man or devil through the forest which leads to an open field. This is presumed to resemble The Garden of Eden. He sees the whole town there including his wife worshiping the devil. On his return to the town, Goodman Brown cannot look at anyone. The life that he knew before this journey was over and would never be the same. He didn't go to church or talk to barely anyone because of his guilt for going to worship the devil. When he died, "there was no hopeful verse upon his tombstone for his dying hour was gloom" (p. 391) This is like the "The Minister's Black Veil" showing that someone must live and breathe everyday knowing of the sin that they have committed.

Many events led up to him losing his faith and being consumed with self-doubt, but the one that finally pushed Goodman Brown over the edge to call onto the devil was when he could not find his wife Faith. The line “‘But where is Faith?’ thought Goodman Brown; and, as hope came into his heart, he trembled.” shows

Have you ever been in a Dilemma in which tested your faith? You knew not to do it, but your temptations would not allow you to move on without doing so. Young Goodman Brown is a short epic story about a young innocent man who, lives in Salem Village with his lover Faith. He leaves his lover “Faith” to go on a day-journey. He promises to return back in one day, but he comes across a path in which his faith is tested. Hawthorne uses pink ribbons, faith and the forest to symbolize purity, faith in god, and evilness.

The main symbol used by Hawthorne throughout the story is Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith. Faith has a more of a significance in the story than just Brown’s wife, she represents actual faith and purity. There is a conflict going on inside of Brown’s mind and it is if he should “keep the faith” or not. In the beginning, Faith urges Brown to stay home and go in the morning, but he disregards her and keeps going. This is a metaphor for Brown leaving his religious faith. Goodman Brown questions if his wife has lost faith in him and he asks her, ‘“dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married?”’ Throughout the story, Faith stays as a symbol of Brown’s faith. The devil and Goodman Brown finally meet and the devil questions Brown about being late. Brown being a little afraid responds with, “Faith kept me back awhile,” Faith physically tried to hold Brown back and figuratively talking about his faith in the religion. His wife could have prevented Brown from talking to the devil, but failed. Meeting with the devil evidently shows that Brown is willing to see the evil side of his religion.

“Young Goodman Brown” is set right after the Salem Witch Trials and much of the story is based on the ideology of that era. Faith is clearly meant to represent Goodman Brown’s tether to Puritanism. Hawthorne gives us a flashing sign for this in only the second sentence “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named...” (315). This quote is fairly self-explanatory, but it is a bold message to pay attention to the character Faith and how she related to faith. Another description of the role of Faith, in Mr. Brown’s life, is in the form of the subtle wording he uses when talking to the devil. “ ‘Faith kept me back a while,’replied the young man,” (316) This quote may seem to be referring to Faith the character keeping him back a while, but with deeper inspection one can conclude that it references faith, as in his religion, kept him away from the sinful journey on which he is currently embarking. Another little key in the story is how Mr. Brown addresses his wife. “My love and my Faith,” (315). The faith in question is not the wife’s name, but instead he is calling his wife his faith or the holy that he believes in. The last quote that is needed to secure this symbolism is found as the devil is trying to seduce Goodman Brown to follow him further using the woman that taught him religion as incentive. “What if a wretched old woman does choose to go to the devil

In Young Goodman Brown, the main character, Goodman Brown has a bout with his own faith. He ends up losing this battle because of the wickedness in everyone else’s hearts. He begins by wanting to be the evil one, then progresses to be the faithful one as the night in the woods goes on. His name has a lot to do with the character in the story. The “Young” in his name is to symbolize innocence, and “GOODMAN” is pretty self-explanatory. He goes off in to the woods and comes with a lost faith in everyone else in the town.

Faith is all Goodman Brown has known. He had even married a Faith. The double meaning of Faith within this story shows major Irony for us as the readers. Brown marrying a Faith was almost shown as he made the biggest devotion towards God. The main character has put every ounce of Faith he has into his life that would completely give himself to God forever. This is

For a better understanding of what is happening to Brown the reader should be aware of the symbolism used throughout the story. First, his wife Faith represents the faith of mankind in which she directs the way to heaven. Second, Brown’s journey into the dark forest represents his journey into the innermost depths of his soul; third, the devil represents Brown’s experience as he comes to believe that evil is the true nature of humanity (Walsh). These three symbols implicate the narration of the story in which Brown is a young man who is innocent in the ways of conformity in the world, who finds that not all human beings are good. As a result, he cannot remove the uncertainty of universal evil from his conscious mind. Faith signifies the faith of which Brown holds as he slowly hesitates the goodness of humanity. As he physically leaves his wife Faith in the beginning of the story, this represents his own loss of his spirituality and can be tracked throughout the events in the

”(Hawthorne 2). A person who has faith in God should not have fear if they are truly a Christian. This shows there are two kinds of people in the world one good and one bad. Goodman browns marriage to faith marriage to Faith connotes that he sticks to a world of faith. Hawthorne uses the name of Goodman Brown's wife as an image of his faith in all that is pure.

Another way that Hawthorne shows importance of faith as guiding, is through what happens to Young Goodman Brown in the absence, literally and figuratively, of Faith. Whether or not he would stand strong in his faith or lose it while entering into the woods alone was something that all readers would contemplate. While Young Goodman Brown travels through town and into the woods, his wife Faith and “may you find all well, when you come back” (Hawthorne 585). The author uses Brown’s wife, Faith, in his work to show great connection of Brown’s struggle of faith through the story. We as readers can comprehend that the author uses the name Faith to suggest her being pure and innocent, as a sign that holds Goodman Brown faith together. Brown decided

Young Goodman Brown, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is described as an allegory, a story whose characters and events have literal and symbolic meanings. Hawthorne uses symbolism, within his characters and the events to develop this religious allegory. Young Goodman Brown believed that his community, of Puritan beliefs, was true in its devotion to God and that he too, was strong in faith. However, the story explains that Young Goodman Brown’s journey taken through the dark, gloomy woods represents that he wasn’t true in his devotion to God, and that he lacked strong faith along with other characters within the writing. Young Goodman Brown, represents humans being confronted with everyday temptations by describing the feeling of uncertainty and