Summary Of Young Goodman Brown

Thesis: Goodman Brown’s state of mind between good and evil could have been caused by a combination of Puritanism obsession with the devil, its resemblance, and other prejudices such as ergot poisoning.

woman in question is his Faith, and because of this, he easily loses his faith.

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

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.

     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

“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

Young Goodman Brown must leave behind his known world, Salem village, and enter an unknown world, the forest, to face challenges he must be capable of overcoming. Allegorically, he embarks on a psychological and spiritual odyssey. Entering an unknown territory is scary and puts a person at a much higher physical and emotional risk. "There may be a devlish Indian behind every tree" shows how insecure Young Goodman Brown is in the forest because he is exposing himself to danger, which in this case, is evil itself (pg. 88). He must stay strong and overcome his weaknesses to get past his biggest fears and continue his Hero's journey. Goodman Brown is tempted to turn around and go home, but he sticks it out, and continues onward. Goodman Brown remarks, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" just before noticing a man, similar in appearance to himself, sitting under a tree (pg. 88). This man speaks as if he was expecting Brown

In the story of Young Goodman Brown, as a reader we see many circumstances where Hawthorne uses irony in straightforward situations. I have learned from reading several of the author’s works that it is up to the reader to decide the meaning behind his stories. In this paper, I will be discussing the significance of the title, Young Goodman Brown and how I believe there is more to the story than what Hawthorne writes. Young Goodman Browns journey within the forest revealed truths not only within him, but within human nature and society. On page, 1103 Goodman Brown states “there may be a devilish Indian behind every tree.”

deeper meanings than what the reader can see on the surface. The allegorical meaning is the writer’s real purpose in writing the narrative so that a lesson can be found when reading below the surface. “Young Goodman Brown”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a perfect example of an allegorical story and is filled with many symbolic elements.

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.

     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

Later that day, he went in the gloomy forest to be in the ceremony in which he wanted no parts of. As he travels deeper into the forest, he meets with a man who so happens to be the devil. The old man shows Goodman the truth about his family, some of the villages, and his wife. Goodman Brown now sees how they are not true Christian as they swear to be, instead they preach the evil. Young Goodman Brown goes back to the village with fear. Although, he does not know if it was a dream, he no longer looks at anyone the

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.

Darkness, confusion, and terror are some words that come to mind when thinking of the setting in this writing piece. The story has a way of getting the theme across that seems very extreme, partly with its vast use of symbolism. The tale comes down to a single central theme. The story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows that anyone is susceptible to a change in beliefs, and everyone's lives can be affected from the act of being caught off guard.