Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown Essay

Conflict and symbolism in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne in this story portrays these two elements that enhance the way the story is written. The story “Young Goodman Brown” first takes place in a small town with brown and his wife faith. Then in the story brown leaves faith to go in an adventure that he would later wish he hadn’t gone in. Brown takes a journey through part of the woods that are really scary and comes across the devil himself to later find out that faith was evil and that many from his town were also evil and had a secret evil organization or cult. Through the use of conflict and symbolism, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” portrays what Brown’s journey represents.

Further into Goodman’s journey, he meets an older gentleman, representative of the devil, and Goodman Brown again reveals the ease in which he betrays his faith. When the devil asks why Goodman Brown is fifteen minutes late, he simply states that “Faith kept me back awhile” (343). Although Brown’s wife did keep him back a short while, there is an alternative meaning to this statement. Hawthorne uses this phrase to symbolize that his spiritual faith kept him from making this trip sooner. With this symbolism we see again that perhaps Goodman Brown has had his spiritual doubts for some time, but now he feels ready to question his faith and the faith of those who surround him on this journey.

    In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism.  Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young

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.

Many events led up to him losing his faith and being consumed with self-doubt, but the one that finally pushed Goodman Brown over the edge to call onto the devil was when he could not find his wife Faith. The line “‘But where is Faith?’ thought Goodman Brown; and, as hope came into his heart, he trembled.” shows

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.

Notably Faith, the protagonist’s wife, plays a huge role as an allegory and a symbol throughout Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” In this story Faith’s name plays as an allegory. At first this could easily be missed because it sounds like a common name for a woman, but once the readers get further into the story they realize that her name plays an enormous role in the story’s plot. Faith’s name symbolizes Brown’s faith in God. In the story when Brown meets the man in the forest the man says, “You are late Goodman Brown,” and Brown replies, “Faith kept me back awhile” (Hawthorne 330). At this point of the story the audience knows for

First, the main character's name is Goodman Brown. Does this mean something? It seems Nathaniel Hawthorne wished it to be that way. After reading the story, the reader is left with the impression that "GOOD-MAN" in the focal character's name symbolizes that this will be the good character in the battle between good and evil. Hawthorne begins the

In this extract from “Young Goodman Brown”, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism, imagery and point of view to depict Goodman Brown’s eventual journey from naivety in man’s purity of faith to recognition of man’s disposition to evil. It reveals Brown’s misplaced faith in man, who is deficient, instead of God.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" the use of symbols contributes to the development of the story's plot. Symbolism is used as a means to uncover the truth about the characters. The author, in an attempt to manifest the moral aspects of his society, uses many kinds of symbols to support his points.

In reference to faith, Brown’s wife is named Faith, and she begs him not to go into the Devil’s playground. This is a metaphor for faith in God. When Brown arrives in the forest and meets the old man, he tells Brown that he is late. Brown then replies with "Faith kept me back a while," which is

Nathaniel Hawthorne exploits symbolism throughout the short story, Young Goodman Brown to confirm the theme that sometimes of good and decent people can and will do bad things. In the story, the lead character believes his Puritan faith is strong and unshakeable, but will eventually have to come to terms with reality that not only his village is imperfect but he is also. The story also shows how people with high moral values can succumb with temptations every day. Nathaniel Hawthorne use of symbolism illustrates Brown’s feeling of uncertainty and the evil trying to pull him in as he goes through the forest. The symbolic representations include the dark and light imagery, Goodman Brown’s name, and the people he encountered in the forest all

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses different people as symbols throughout "Young Goodman Brown." The largest symbolic roles in the story are goodman Brown and his wife Faith. Both of the characters' names are symbolic and representative of their personalities. "'With Heaven above and Faith below, I will stand firm against the devil!' cried goodman Brown," is

Young Goodman Brown does not just mean a twenty year old good man. Goodman is used the same way Mr. is used in modern days. The title Goody, in Goody Cloyse, is the equivalent to Goodman, except used for women. When these names are used, the reader gets an understanding that the character is in good standing with the community or town they are associated with. Basically Goodman Brown is your daily man with values, family, and of religious faith. The “young” in his name means he is inexperienced. So, in actuality his name is symbolizing a naïve everyday man. Goodman Brown is immature in the way that he thinks. He was not able to fathom that the people who he believed were in great standing with religion could have ever fallen into temptation and sin. The second very obvious use of symbolism, yet easy to overlook, is his wife’s name Faith. She is not only his wife, but her name stands for his religious faith. When Brown is in the woods, he tells his companion, “Faith kept me back a while” (406). He was speaking about his religious faith. Brown felt connected to his faith and did not want to go into that dark forest. Faith symbolized the pureness that still lived inside of

This story is about a newly wedded man named Young Goodman Brown facing the temptations of good in evil in a small town of which he calls home. Little does he know that his small town isn't as small as he thought it was. Young Goodman Brown depends on faith and innocence to help him stay strong. Nathaniel Hawthorne implements the importance of symbolism in the story “Young Goodman Brown” to explain the story with deeper meaning.