Good And Evil In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

The story “Young Goodman Brown,” in its entirety is an allegory, a literary device used to teach a religious lesson. The reader is lead to wonder if the story’s events truly took place or if it was simply a bad dream. The story leaves readers wondering why Goodman Brown feels compelled to journey into the forest. “Young Goodman Brown” begins with Faith’s plea for Brown to not leave her on that night. He chooses to go out into the woods and ends up taking a “walk with the devil.” On his journey, Brown struggles with his decision and at times wants to turn back. His conscious tugs at him, much like the devil tempts individuals to do things that are wrong and evil. Brown seems to be concerned with what others will think if they see him in the woods. When “Goodman Brown recognized

In the short story “Young Goodman Brown,” a good and proud Puritan man; Goodman Brown, encounters a devil that causes him to become aware of the town he lives in. Goodman Brown believes that a meeting with the Devil cannot change his faith in religion. He desires to find more about his inner domains, but later finds out how hypocritical his town is. He then comes to realization that man is imperfect and defect. Goodman Brown later dies a sore death from the insight of his journey in the forest. In “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses imagery, symbolism, and allegory throughout the story to question the faith of man. The narrator uses dark and light imagery, people and names to illustrate the irony.

In Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” although the decision to visit the devil was not one Goodman Brown following the crowd, he soon realized he had not been the only one tempted to visit the devil. Actually upon his meeting the devil, he realized that he did not want to continue his journey and wanted to return back home to his wife, Faith, but soon realized many of the townspeople were companions with satan. The themes of “Young Goodman Brown” are that religion or religious actions do not make someone righteous and although we have an appeal to live right, there is a small desire to try the “dark side”. Goodman Brown knew right from wrong growing up in the Puritan community, he also had individuals who would teach him the doctrine of his religion; however just like many people, Goodman Brown had to see what it would be like to travel into the wilderness and visit the devil. While Goodman Brown was on his way he begin to hear familiar voices and see familiar people—those who have taught him the “right” way of living. Of course since the wilderness was no place for a saint to be Goodman Brown would hide so that the others could not view him of being in error of the Christian faith. This is how the theme religion

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.

However the devil overpowers his sense to go back and he continues on into the forest. The devil gives Brown a lot of information about his family and ancestors, and how they did terrible things such as worship the devil and practice black art. In the forest Brown also witnesses many people from his town; people that he thought were good and would never do evil things. He sees his childhood Sunday school teacher, the minister, and the deacon all on their way to worship 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

Young Goodman Brown then finds himself alone in the forest, wondering whether he has awakened from a dream or if he really did attend the witches’ sabbath. Brown chooses to believe that his dream is true, and that everyone around him is involved in witchcraft. “The next morning, young Goodman Brown came slowly into the street of Salem village staring around him like a bewildered man.” (Paragraph 70) Because of this, Brown spends the remainder of his life being, "A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man” (Paragraph 75). Goodman Brown now looks for the devil behind every bush and in the hearts of all those around him, never recognizing that his own soul is now hopelessly corrupt and blind to the light and goodness of God. The forest, the devil and his staff, and Faith and her pink ribbons are the main points to prove young Goodman Brown of a story full of symbolism. There is no doubt that the traveler meeting Brown is the devil and the devils staff is clearly the symbol of a serpent. Faith is both Brown’s wife and religion. The pink ribbons discussed are symbolized as innocence because his faith in God is the right thing to do. Unlike following the devil, which led Brown to sin and guilt. “Ha! ha! ha!” roared Goodman Brown, when the wind laughed at him. “Let us hear which will laugh loudest! Think not to frighten me

to temptation, much like Young Goodman Brown did when he gave into the “devil”. Brown's journey, therefore, represents the loss of his innocence when he leaves Faith (his wife and but also a symbol of Brown’s religious conviction throughout the story), to take a walk through the forests with this mysterious man, when his Faith had pleaded him to stay with her which is shown when he tells this devil, “"Faith kept me back awhile." The traveller which accompanies Brown is a symbol of evil and the devil. He makes himself to be as a friend when in fact he is only leading Goodman Brown towards evil and sin. The traveller says, "Wickedness or not," said the traveller with the twisted staff, "I have a very general acquaintance here in New England.

“Young Goodman Brown” is presented as a story of good and evil. This short story kicks off in a Salem village, where Goodman Brown decides to venture away from his house and wife for the night. Goodman’s wife doesn’t want him to go, and tries to lure him into staying with her, ““Dearest heart,” whispered softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, “prithee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she’s afeard of herself, sometimes.”” (554). But Goodman doesn’t budge and decides to continue on with his journey. Goodman embarks through a dark, dreary forest. As he cautiously strolls through, he comes upon an unusual man that seems to have been expecting him. This man claims to know Goodman’s father and grandfather as well as other individuals familiar to him, but Goodman wants out, and to return back to the village. Then the two come upon who to Goodman is named Goody Cloyse, he becomes embarrassed as he does not want to be seen with this mysterious man. Goody Cloyse identifies the man as the devil, and reveals

After meeting the devil in the woods one evening, Goodman Browns eyes are opened to the reality of the Puritan society in which he lives. Many of the people in attendance at the meeting were trustworthy, church-going individuals who turn out to be devil worshipers and witches. Upon finding out this information, Goodman Brown finds himself seeing the citizens of Salem, including his wife Faith in a different light.

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.

     Goodman prides himself by telling the devil that he and his family have been " a race of honest men and good Christian," but the devil exploits something that shocks Goodman. The devil tells Goodman that his family and whole community went through the forest with the devil as they tortured women in Salem or burned the villages of Indians to the ground, and afterwards the devil and his ancestors would go for a "pleasant walk." Goodman's journey continues undisturbed until he meets his old catechism teacher, Goody Cloyse, who has changed dramatically. Goody Cloyse already has acquitance with the devil, and she asks the devil for help so she can get to the meeting. The devil drops the staff before her which made Goodman Brown astonished. Although this view deters confidence, he continues down the trail looking for hope in the heavens passing another test to fail him. When Goodman worries about his catechism teacher, the devil offers

While in the forest he meets a man who resembles him and carries a stick resembling a serpent. Since the resemblance between Goodman Brown and the traveler was distinctly point out, the traveler could be taken as an alternate version of Goodman Brown, the version which diverges from his faith in the future because he continues to guide Goodman Brown away from Faith and holds a figure of the devil in his hand which he tries to pass onto Goodman Brown saying “Take my staff, if you are soon weary.” Insisting that if you are tired of questioning your faith, then just be evil. The pressures of society is represented by the cult members and sinners, people who he looked up to were pressuring him into accepting the devil while him and faith were actively being put up against one another. His journey happens in Salem infamous for devious practices to show the whole journey is a

In the late 1600s, the infamous Salem Witch Trials occurred. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of those accused of witchcraft. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne shows that the Puritans are hypocrites by showing that members of the Puritan community lie about their beliefs. Young Goodman Brown lives with his wife, Faith, who urges him not to travel into the forest, but Young Goodman Brown chooses to ignore Faith’s advice and continue into the forest. In the woods, Brown meets with a strange traveler who he later realizes is the devil in disguise and witnesses him speak to Goody Cloyse as if they are friends.

The tale opens at Goodman and Faith Brown’s house, in the doorway where the protagonist is telling his wife goodbye, and where she is trying to dissuade him from his planned adventure on this particular night. Most of the elements in this setting are positive, bright, hopeful: a sunset; a familiar street and home; pink ribbons on Faith’s cap.