Essay Summary of Young Goodman Brown

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

Young Goodman Brown takes a look at the life of man after venturing into the woods in order to complete some unknown errand in the middle of the night. He encounters an

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

This madness that Young Goodman Brown experiences escalates further more the psychological struggle he is having. What he learns in this forest changes him so much that he cannot look at anything without judging it in the manner of his experience. As Walter Shear puts it, "he underestimates the power of time, failing to see the degree to which he has…made himself a particular kind of individual, (and) ultimately the prisoner of his own psychological prisoner" (Shear, 545). Young Goodman Brown came into the journey somewhat aware of what he would see in terms of the presence of evil but did not believe that one night of this evil could change his life forever. Due to the strict Puritan society he was used to, Young Goodman Brown underestimated the power that this journey would hold and therefore he becomes a

     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.

Once Brown is deep into the forest, he is surrounded by people from his town acting wicked and sinful, people who he had always assumed were noble and righteous. As he is led to the altar to be received into this association of evil, he is joined by his wife, Faith. Brown cannot believe his religious and heavenly wife is there. She represents what is good to him, and he cries to her to look heavenward and save herself. But

“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an excellent piece that clearly illustrates Sigmund Freud theory of repression through Young Goodman Brown’s faith in his puritan religion. Brown in his unconscious mind is, however, challenged by the evils which surround him that he tries to repress and thus, a battle between good vs. evil surfaces.

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

“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

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.”

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.

"Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting? (387)" The story "Young Goodman Brown" is portrayed as a straight forward tale of a man on a venture. It is not overly difficult to comprehend or interpret, however it does have several great ambiguities. As Hawthorne's tale has a great deal of symbolism, it is all in retrospect to the ambiguous entities within the tale. The formalistic approach will be used to analyze the ambiguities in the story, mainly focusing upon the use of dark and light contrasts. The questions of why did Goodman Brown leave his wife Faith and venture into the forest and was his journey into the forest a reality or a dream bring a grand weight of ambiguity upon the

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.

Both the reader and Goodman Brown begin to realize that no ordinary man can entice the strong in faith from the path of from righteousness unless he is the devil. Furthermore, the