Goodman Brown Faith

In the allegorical short story entitled “Young Goodman Brown”, author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the irony of words and their connotations to express his ideas. The most evident example of this word inference is the used of “Faith” as the name of Young Goodman Brown’s wife. Religiously, faith can be defined as “the belief and trust in God and in the doctrines expressed in the scriptures or other sacred works” (Merriam-Webster). Hawthorne uses the relationship between Brown and his wife to parallel that with his own personal faith.

She describes Goodman Brown as a Puritan that looked for trouble in the way that he went into the woods and had contact with the devil and much more with his own pride. Goodman Brown’s journey was more like a trip to an inferno or haunted scenario. Johnson mentions how Goodman Brown hears the hymns of hell but was actually similar to those from church. Another thing said is that Goodman Brown later sees people from Salem, like the minister, Goody Cloyse, and the Deacon. In reality or better said, inside Goodman Brown’s mindset those people could of have had connection with the devil and practice witchcraft. Goodman Brown belief is that one and he is set to confront all the evil spirits as a good Puritan, but he breaks down when he sees the pink ribbon in the sky that made him feel infamy in his wife Faith. Maybe the pink ribbon was a sign of innocence (WHITE) and guilt (RED.) After he begins losing his faith it is the time when we see Goodman Brown come down into his loss in God’s power and devils power over him and others. Johnson’s article helps out to understand more of what happened in the story and its connection to the Puritan religion aside from the feelings of man. I believe this article is supportive just not quite informal to looking more on Puritanism obsession with the

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.

“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

This change is noticed after the apparition of the old man seated at the foot of an old tree. Apparently, the old man and the main character can have be taken as father and son; but there is something significant about this 50 year old man, his staff: "...which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent" (p. 62). The language suggests nothing good can come from a 50 year old man walking alone at night in the woods carrying such a staff. In fact, the old man represents the devil or evil spirit that encourages Goodman Brown, who is already hesitant, to continue his journey through the woods. "Let us walk on, nevertheless, reasoning as we go; and if I convince thee not thou shalt turn back" (p. 63).

The story of Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne occurs in the 1600’s and takes place in Salem, a town located in the northeastern side of Boston, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony that was established by the Puritan settlers. Bartleby the Scrivener, by Herman Melville, is set in New York in 1853 in a law office staffed with peculiar men. Both stories have some prejudice aspects. The definition of prejudice is “preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience” (“Prejudice”). In Young Goodman brown the issues of prejudice center around the preconceived ideas of evil and witches. Young Goodman Brown is allegorical because it is about a man who is put

Goodman Browns weak faith is displayed in the very beginning with him lying to his wife Faith telling her that he is going on a business errand in the middle of the night when in fact he is planning to attend an evil congregation in the forest out of curiosity. When the older man, who resembles his grandfather, which is Hawthorne’s way to further emphasis the fact Goodman Browns forefathers walked the very same evil path, tells him that he is well acquainted with his family, the deacons of the church, the General court, and the governor, Goodman Brown is shocked but is more concerned with the idea of getting caught committing such an evil act and worries about how would meet the eyes of the minister in town on the Sabbath, at this, unable

The short story Young Goodman Brown starts off when “Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street at Salem village”(1). His journey is said to begin at sunset into a forest, which is odd because it is not the usual time to begin a trip. Also, the Salem village has a double meaning because the Salem village is the place where he lives but also brings to mind the famous witch trials one hundred years ago, while the puritan faith got out of control in this time, Young Goodman Brown is also from the same time which sets the scene for the story. As Brown starts off on his journey into the dark woods symbolizing the unknown, the frightened, and the uncivilized. This makes an assumption that evil is

To me, Goodman Brown was a symbolic representation of a good hearted Puritan filled with innocence and faith. Even so, his willingness to venture inside the forest despite knowing the dangers it hold shows how even the purest people can be corrupted. Even after meeting the old man, who was a symbolic representation of the devil, he continue further along inside the forest. If you notice, never did the old man forced him to go deeper inside the forest. Even At one point, Goodman Brown refused to go any further and stated "my mind is made up. Not another step will I budge on this errand" (Hawthorne). The old man did not mind this and even told him to "sit here and rest yourself a while; and when you feeling like moving again, there is my staff

They knew that the evils of the real world hid in the forest, as did Goodman. But he still went in! He let this man with the serpent staff keep him from turning around, and getting out of the woods. On page 274 the evil man says, “We are but a little way in the forest, yet.” Goodman responds, “Too far, too far,” but didn’t realize he was still walking farther into the woods! He says he has walked too far into the woods, but is still going! He is being overtaken by the evilness of the woods.

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.

Nathaniel Hawthorne have develop a great plot in “Young Goodman Brown” since the ending is kind of confusing. Leaving the question and judgment to the reader of whether Goodman Brown experience was real or just a pure dream of his consciousness. One assumption that can be made is that the experience told in the story by Hawthorne was simply a dream formed in the subconscious of Goodman Brown. Starting with the fact, that Goodman Brown lives in “Salem village” (3), a location where witch trials were held according to history. An statement mentioned by Hawthorne in the story that provide evidence that Goodman Brown might be mentally ill and/or dreaming is “He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely

     Goodman Brown is tempted by his fellow traveler, who is most definitely an advocate of the devil, or the devil in another form, to come deeper into the forest, but he refuses. Goodman Brown now sits and ponders whether or not to turn back. He hears the voices of the town’s deacon and minister, and they talk of he communion they will be attending. Upon hearing this, Goodman Brown cries out that he will stand strong against the devil. He then hears the confused sound of voices of the towns-people. This is the devil firmly urging Goodman Brown to give in to the evil force. Now the desperate man hears the scream of a woman and sees his wife’s pink hair ribbon in a tree and he is paralyzed by the effects of this. Crying out “My Faith is gone, there is no good on earth: and sin is but a name” he instantly sells himself to the devil.

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

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown illustrates vividly how society and culture can very much influence a person's sense of identity and belonging, or in the case of Young Goodman Brown the lack thereof. Being a Puritan man in a society that scorned the ways of witches and the devil, Young Goodman Brown grew up with a very pious outlook on life. Yet when it occurs to him to look at life a little bit differently, Young Goodman Brown receives more than he has bargained for. The journey he embarks on sheds a whole new light on his society that not only creates a struggle between himself and his fellow men but also one within himself.