The Struggle In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Many authors who write of religious, philosophical, or moral issues frequently use symbolism and allegory to spark the reader’s interest. This style of writing builds on the emotions of the reader. It creates a visual image making the story real and believable.

“Young Goodman Brown” is a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835. This was the period around the crazy incidents of the Salem Witch Trials. This piece is covered with topics that can be described as having alternative meanings. Through the symbolism in the story, the audience is able to make ties between the old relationships Goodman Brown had with the other townspeople. The series of event in the story bring him to believe that his entire life was a lie and no one was worthy of his trust. All of the misconceptions in his life were brought on by the occupations and actions that his fellow townsfolk underwent while Goodman Brown was around them. Through the regards of symbolism, new meanings of this nighttime experience are

Though Nathaniel Hawthorne is an author of many great works, his short story “Young Goodman Brown” still stays relevant because it has themes and subjects that are relatable in today 's world. In the story “Young Goodman Brown,” Goodman Brown leaves his wife Faith, to go into the woods near Salem to have a meeting with the devil. Appearance vs. reality is shown in “Young Goodman Brown” through the plot, the character of Goody Cloyse, and the symbol of the maple staff.

When it comes to the topic of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, most of us will readily agree that duplicity is a major theme in the piece, or the idea of different versions of reality. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether Hawthorne is implying that man is inherently evil. Whereas some are convinced that Young Goodman Brown was good until tainted by the Devil, others maintain that he was evil from the beginning and was completely aware of the evil he was indulging in. My personal view, however, is that Young Goodman Brown was inherently evil, but it did not come to light until the Devil began to influence Brown. This can be seen through the use of symbolism, biblical allusions, and the development of the main characters. While the Devil may have revealed that Young Goodman Brown was not as innocent and pious as he appeared, Brown was willingly indulging in sin and was inherently evil.

Hawthorn’s use of dramatic irony in Young Goodman Brown succoring suspense build up, divulging the sanctimonious comportment of Puritans.(1) For instance, when Young Goodman Brown did not recognize the old man traveler, the devil in disguise when clear demonstrations stood in front of him.(2) As the pious old women passed the traveller he touches her with his staff and she she she cried out, “The devil"(pg.5).(3) Knowing the denouement of the story, Young Goodman Brown unknowingly encounters the devil and goes farther into the "unholy" forest.(4) In addition, Young Goodman Brown ponders over the fearful possibility the devil watches him.(5) Goodman Brown half-heartedly questions, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow"(pg.2).(6)

“Young Goodman Brown” – the Poverty in the Tale and in the Life of the Author

In “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne reveals that the wickedness of the world and humanity can take a toll on our faith in God. The story shows obvious symbolism throughout. It shows that not everyone is who they show themselves to be to the world. The world and devil will constantly challenge our faith in God. Human nature is worldly and it’s so easy to be deceived by the devil. Once you start down the path of sin it can be hard to turn around.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” demonstrates how Goodman Brown leaves his wife, Faith, to do an errand within the woods with a man that is believed to be the devil. During the time period in which this took place, the 1620’s, many of the people from the village were practicing Puritanism. Puritanism is an intense practice of religion retrieved from Protestants, only removing its Catholic influence. When Goodman Brown entered the woods to meet the devil, he soon turned into a man who was corrupt within his faith. When Mr. Brown left his wife and entered into the dark woods, it displayed a form of symbolism. In continuation, symbolized a Puritan man straying away from his faith in God which is his wife in this case. Moreover, when Brown entered the woods and followed the devil, it represented his faith diminishing away with every step he took in the forest. Hawthorne demonstrates Brown becoming a skeptic of his own religion through his actions.

What changes human nature? Are people bad by nature, or do people only hurt each other because they believe it’s the world that’s a bad place? Hawthorne illustrates a man who faced this struggle head on (Goodman Brown) in his short story “Young Goodman Brown.” Near the end of the short story, Goodman Brown, who once seen everyone as pure and people of God had a life changing experience. The devil told him that “sin ye shall scent out all the places.”

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne presents the tale of a young man from Salem, Massachusetts during colonial America. One night, Brown accidentally witnesses a witches meeting in the forest where he sees the rest of the town, including his wife Faith, in attendance. This comes as quite a shock to Brown and the next morning but he cannot remember whether or not the scene was real of simply a dream. Regardless, from then on Brown lives his life in opposition to the rest of the town. Although it may seem that the meaning of the story comes simply from an evaluation of Brown himself, and the actions he takes against the towns people, more needs to be done to fully comprehend the totality of Hawthorne’s

“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was set during the 17th Century Puritan Era. The story was published in 1835 during the Romantic Era. Nathaniel Hawthorne was known for being the master of symbolism. His novels and short stories have been embedded with suggestion and imagination. The dense symbolism that Hawthorne writes could imply multiple interpretations. “Young Goodman Brown” has quite a few themes and symbols within itself. Faith, Young Goodman Brown, the forest, the old man, the pink ribbons, and the staff are all symbols in the short story.

“The Path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,” (Tarantino). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown is the righteous man following a path beset on all sides by evil. Hawthorne utilizes the fictional elements of symbolism, characterization, and setting to discuss the story’s theme of temptation of the wrong choices over the right. This story is based in Hawthorne’s home town Salem. The story is about a man’s journey through a forest where he is intercepted by the devil on his way to a black mass. Goodman Brown is torn between continuing on this path of evil alongside the devil or returning to his wife faith. Throughout his journey Brown is faced with

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of “Young Goodman Brown,” was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. Hawthorne, born into a Puritan family who was struggling financially, had never met his father. He had died when Hawthorne was but a boy of four years old. This, along with embarrassments brought upon by other ancestors, seemed to affect his writing and perhaps even inspired parts of “Young Goodman Brown.” Hawthorne had one ancestor, a Puritan judge, who persecuted Quakers, and another, who had taken part in the Salem Witch Hysteria (Meyer 322). Both of these were mentioned, or hinted upon, in the story of “Young Goodman Brown.”

Goodman Brown was crushed by the revelation that the potential for wickedness lives in everyone. Whatever remains of his life is annihilated as a result of his failure to face this truth and live with it. The story, which may have been a fantasy, and not a genuine occasion, planted the seed of uncertainty in Brown's psyche, which thus cut him off from his kindred man and allows him to sit unbothered and discouraged. His life closes alone and hopeless in light of the fact that he was never ready to take a gander at himself and understand that what he accepted were other people's issues were his too. His over the top pride in himself prompted his separation from the group. Cocoa was covered with "no cheerful verse upon his gravestone; for his

“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about a normal man that ventures into the forest to meet an old man who attempts to tempt him into going deeper into the woods to worship the devil. After the old man convinces him that everyone that he loves and respects is going to the devil’s ceremony he gives in. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne effectively uses symbolism to portray the theme that putting one 's faith in others leads to weakness and the role his psychological developed plays in his morality.