The Innocence Of Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s allegorical story “Young Goodman Brown” is set in Salem, Massachusetts during the late sixteen hundreds in a time of religious hysteria and only a few generations after the infamous witch trials. Although "Young Goodman Brown" is a fictional tale, it is based on the cynical environment of Salem during this time period. The short story is filled with many literary elements, leading you to question what did exactly happen to the main character at the conclusion. When analyzing a story like "Young Goodman Brown", one must recognize that the story is at whole symbolic. In the text, symbols are used to uncover the truth of the characters. The role of Faith as both a character and a spiritual element are crucial to both the

   In the Bible, God commands Moses to go up Mount Sinai to receive divine instruction.    When he comes back, his people, the Israelites, have gone crazy.  They have forgotten Moses, and forgotten their God.  They form their own god, a golden calf, and build an altar.  They even had a festival for the golden calf.  "Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and sat down to indulge in revelry" (Exodus 32:6).  Moses then went down the mountain and got so angry that he smashed the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them.   The Israelites lost faith because they could not see the God they were worshipping, so they forgot him and began worshipping a false idol.  The Israelites are not very

"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.

A character arc is essential in any story, showing what the character has gone through and learned. Usually, this process involves the growth and gained knowledge of the character throughout the story, in a good way. However, in the case of ‘Young Goodman Brown”, the character arc is almost backwards in a sense. He does gain knowledge about the society in a bad way and this affects his perception of the town throughout the story. It is evident that in the text, Goodman Brown is mentally toyed with by the devil and the townspeople so much to the point of breaking down near the completion of the story and is not able to tell what is real anymore. This is evident by his relationship with the devil throughout the story, his motivations for following him into the dangers of the forest, and his changed perspective of the townspeople and clergymen concluding the text. The battle between Brown’s id and his ego and superego, relating to Freudian psychology, greatly affects the outcome of the text.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown based on morals and what Easterly in "Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' " calls "spiritual maturity" (Easterly 339). In the short story, Goodman Brown, a young Puritan leaves his wife of three months to watch a witch ceremony in the forest. During this point in time, Puritans based their lives on teachings of religion and morality; therefore, witch-meetings were surely immoral, and they betrayed the commitment of God. Dwelling in the forest throughout the night, Goodman Brown experiences an event that changes his entire perspective of life. In one night, the event destroys "his relationship with his wife Faith, isolates him from his neighbors, and destroys his ability to

    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

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31) The manner in which Goodman Brown based his faith is a very good example of how not to base one’s faith. The strength of Goodman Browns faith was based on his wife’s faith, his trust in his neighbors, and his personal experiences. The strength of one’s faith is one of the most important aspects of any person, and it is especially important in the story Young Goodman Brown.

In the story “Young Goodman Brown,” the character Brown is a religious man who lives fully on his faith, spiritually and physically. Faith was also the name of his wife, which could be taken as symbolism for his actual faith that was in his life. As it says in the book “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named…” He uses his “Faith” to go about the world. He uses Faith to guide him throughout the way that he lives his life continuously. Another ironic aspect in the story of “Young Goodman Brown,” is how they are in the town of Salem which is known for various reasons. One main reason is that Salem is where the famous Witch Trials had taken place. The Witch Trials became a huge part of American history because of the countless Puritans that were sentenced to death for being accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, witchcraft being pure evil goes against every part of the Puritan religion.

“Young Goodman Brown” is set right after the Salem Witch Trials and much of the story is based on the ideology of that era. Faith is clearly meant to represent Goodman Brown’s tether to Puritanism. Hawthorne gives us a flashing sign for this in only the second sentence “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named...” (315). This quote is fairly self-explanatory, but it is a bold message to pay attention to the character Faith and how she related to faith. Another description of the role of Faith, in Mr. Brown’s life, is in the form of the subtle wording he uses when talking to the devil. “ ‘Faith kept me back a while,’replied the young man,” (316) This quote may seem to be referring to Faith the character keeping him back a while, but with deeper inspection one can conclude that it references faith, as in his religion, kept him away from the sinful journey on which he is currently embarking. Another little key in the story is how Mr. Brown addresses his wife. “My love and my Faith,” (315). The faith in question is not the wife’s name, but instead he is calling his wife his faith or the holy that he believes in. The last quote that is needed to secure this symbolism is found as the devil is trying to seduce Goodman Brown to follow him further using the woman that taught him religion as incentive. “What if a wretched old woman does choose to go to the devil

“Young Goodman Brown,” a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, recounts the tale of a young Puritan man who is transformed by witnessing the bitter truths of humanity. In Goodman Brown’s journey into the woods, he discovers the hidden evils of the individuals that once appeared virtuous to him. Throughout the story, the forces of good and evil are contrasted. In this short story, Hawthorne uses symbolism, the discordance between a character’s appearance and his/her true nature, and contrasting colors to portray the vicious and hypocritical nature of Puritans.

                Hawthorne writes of the Goodman leaving his faith (or Faith, if you will). When analsised in comparison to the stereotypical Puritan beliefs, the faith (Faith) is not necessarily a good one to begin with. The pink ribbon in her hair is a beacon that shines in the dark. The stereotypical puritan would not allow the sinful joy of colors in his life. Pink in a world of black, white and (if you were really daring) grey is obvious. Faith (both) is flawed. To better phrase that: Faith is not flawed. It is what Goodman Brown sees as his

The short story Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, accurately bestows all aspects of an allegory. According to Merriam Webster, an allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Through this work, Hawthorne is able to depict the apparent hypocrisy in today’s world and especially in religion in America. The story is of a man, Young Goodman Brown, who is highly tempted by the devil himself and in the end caves to the pressure due to his lack of faith and even due to a little curiosity. Brown could not help but wonder what this new world could potentially behold for him; unfortunately, his curiosity didn’t change him for the better, only for the worse. The ceremony and changing opened his eyes and made him see the true colors of those around him. We see how Brown loses faith in the people in his community, his family, and especially in himself.

Brown is young in his marriage. The word “Goodman” can also mean he was a gentleman. In spite of his name, there is no proof that Goodman Brown was ever a good person. Another word is the name of his wife “Faith” stems to believe in religion. Mr. Brown’s faith is tested throughout the story it’s used to determine if he is good or evil.

Faith plays a major role in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown”. From the start of his journey to his arrival back home, Faith is always in the back of head, making him question his surroundings and own thoughts. It’s hard to determine when he’s speaking of his lovely wife Faith or his Faith in his God and religion. Through his many

   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.