Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown Essay

“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story centered around the psychoanalysis of Young Goodman Brown. Hawthorne was an American Novelist who wrote exceptional short stories, many of the Dark Romantic genre. The genre is characterized by dark, gloomy, psychologically crazed, romanticisms that often don’t have that typical happy ending. Throughout “Young Goodman Brown” his mental capacity is put to the test as he is forced to endure a battle between 2 conflicting emotions. Ambivalence is shown throughout the story as well, due to these conflicting emotions. Young Goodman Browns departure on his journey outlines the power struggle of good and evil within himself and the sinful nature his psyche imposes on the members of his community.

"Young Goodman Brown," a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, should be interpreted on a psychoanalytical level rather than a religious one. It is my observation that "Young Goodman Brown" may very well be the first published work alluding to divisions of the mind and personality theory. Although religion is a direct theme throughout the story, "Young Goodman Brown" appears to be an allegory with deeper meanings.

Young Goodman Brown's inability to acknowledge, and even embrace Faith's humanity, leads to the climatic loss of his "faith" in the forest. He beholds the pink ribbon that has

Even though he will not let himself be beaten for no reason, if he has made an inadvertent mistake, he will try to correct it, as he does with his grandmother, after accidentally embarrassing in church. “Later, I convinced her that I had not wanted to hurt her and she immediately seized upon my concern for her feelings as an opportunity to have one more try at bringing me to god. She wept and pleaded with me to pray... I promised; after all, I felt that I owed her something for inadvertently making her ridiculous before the member of her church.” (Wright 119) And he follows through with that. He prays, daily, for an hour. That hour is torture, but he keeps his promise, abiding by his moral code. He is different from the boys and girls of his church congregation, and class: they have been indoctrinated and do as they are told, docilely. One boy walks up to Richard, prompted by the congregation, who think that Richard is doomed to burn in Hell, and tries to convert him; it is obvious that the boy has no real conviction in God of his own, rather, the belief in God has been forced upon him by his parents and community. “Though older than I, he had neither known nor felt anything of life for himself; he had been carefully reared by his mother and father and he had always been told what to feel.”(Wright 116) Meanwhile, Wright, in stark contrast, resists the attempts of his Grandmother and extended family to indoctrinate him into religion, instead deciding to

The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.

Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, is also an important symbol in this story. Her name alone implies that she is a symbol for goodness and the Christian life that Young Goodman Brown leaves behind when he departs on his journey. In the story, it says that she calls out to him and he turns his back on her, which can either be taken literally or in the sense of one turning his back on God and Christian life, because he heads for the woods, an implication of sin and witchcraft. In her hair, Faith wears pink ribbons, which are a sign of her innocence and playfulness. When Goodman Brown sees her pink ribbons in her hair, he is aware of her innocence, so when he finds a pink ribbon belonging to her clinging to a tree branch in the woods, he doubts the faith of her and of all those around him.

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.

At this time he feels he can resist any temptation by keeping his faith. He refuses to believe the devil when he reveals to him that he has been "...well acquainted with [his] family...[they] were good friends..." (213).

Young Goodman Brown," written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the story of a young Christian mans struggle between good versus evil, and the loss of his innocence. All of us harbor a propensity for evil regardless of the mask that we put on for society.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne introduces Goodman Brown, who doubts himself and reiterates his false confidence to himself repeatedly. His struggle between the evil temptations, the devil, and the proper church abiding life, is a struggle he does not think he can handle. This story is about a man who challenges his faith in himself and in the community in which he resides. Goodman Brown must venture on a journey into the local forest, refuse the temptations of the devil, and return to the village before the sunrise.

“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” (4). Faith’s pink ribbons counteract the belief of the Puritans. Puritans believe in living a simple, but yet spiritual life “shunning ostentation and frivolity in dress and action” (Class Handout 135). She does not represent a pure Puritan. She’s putting herself in a position of attracting attention and the inclination of temptation. This is why Faith demands Goodman Brown to stay the night because she acknowledges her sinful nature when alone. “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”

     Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism throughout his short story Young Goodman Brown to impact and clarify the theme of good people sometimes doing bad things. Hawthorne uses a variety of light and dark imagery, names, and people to illustrate irony and different translations. Young Goodman Brown is a story about a man who comes to terms with the reality that people are imperfect and flawed and then dies a bitter death from the enlightenment of his journey through the woods. Images of darkness, symbolic representations of names and people and the journey through the woods all attribute to Hawthorne's theme of good people sometimes doing bad things.

“Young Goodman Brown” contains an assortment of imagery and emphasis on religion. The article “Carnivalesque Freedom in Hawthorne 's ‘Young Goodman Brown’ ” talks about the short story “Young Goodman Brown.” The article was published in 2007 in Explicator journal, and was written by author Selina S. Jamil. Selina wrote this article to show the imagery

In this passage Goodman awakens from his dream in the woods. Or is it a dream? When he returns to Salem village the following morning, the conduct of the townspeople is so natural and unruffled that the author interposes the question: “Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?” This dream motif carries over from the very beginning of the story.

   This essay will examine the main physical settings within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown.” These are four in number and begin and end in the village of Salem.