The Symbolism Of Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

“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

Another part of this is at the end of the story when he does not believe in him anymore and his is the quote that i have got for when his dad has passed away that it says that ‘ “there were no more prayers at his grave no candles that were lit to his memory his last word was my name” (wiesel 106) as this continues on he does not believe in him anymore.

It is possible to assume that Goodman Brown had placed a majority of his spiritual faith in his wife Faith. Even the story explains that Faith

The story Young Goodman Brown is about a man and his faith in himself, his wife, and the community they reside in. Goodman Brown must venture on a journey into the local forest, refuse the temptations of the devil, and return to the village before sunrise. The time era is approximately a generation after the time of the witch trials. Goodman Brown's struggle between good and evil is a struggle he does not think he can face. He reiterates his false confidence to himself repeatedly.

As he reflects on this time in his life, now being converted to a Catholic, he understands that at that time he should have lifted his heart to the Lord

This man also has a staff in the shape of black snake, the symbol of darkness and evil. Goodman follows the devil deep into the forest, not knowing what he would encounter, but he is very confident that he can handle it. The temptation of the devil has begun when Goodman falls behind and the devil offers his staff for him to use. Goodman simply rejects his offer and passes the first temptation.

The religious symbols of “My love and my Faith” (Hawthorne 640) referring to both Faith, the wife; faith, the belief; and Faith’s pink bows can be seen throughout Young Goodman Brown. As Brown is leaving his home and wife of three months to venture to the forest at night, Brown mentions his faith and the pink ribbons. “something fluttered lightly down through the air and caught on the branch of a tree. The young man seized it, and beheld a pink ribbon” (644) The “faith” he refers to here is thought to be faith, the act of believing. Then, a moment later in the woods Brown hears his wife’s voice and shouts for her. Brown then sees the pink ribbon in the woods and states

“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathanial Hawthorne, is a story about a man who goes on a journey into darkness and encounters his own evil/the devil. The evil comes within him and other people he knows and love. His wife named Faith is one of the individuals captured by the evilness/ the devil. In the story, Faith is very symbolic to Young Goodman Brown. Not only is Faith his wife, however she is also a symbol of his religious faith. At one point, Brown declares that he has “lost his faith.” While in the woods he heard a scream and realized it was his wife. He found her pink ribbon fluttering on the branch of a tree and says, “My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil; for to thee is this world given.” (Young

Faith knew that she wasn’t strong enough to go against the devil. She was all in doubt, questioning her own faith, but just always tried/ wanted to stay strong for Brown. Once Brown started seeing everybody else crossover including his wife Faith, he too begin to doubt his own faith, and belief in God. Brown started to feel himself get weak, so he lifts his hands to pray. When he started praying, a dark black cloud shifted northward and came along some confused doubtful voices. A lot of voices was clouding Brown’s mind but he stayed strong, and firm. He didn’t let nothing, or nobody get to him. He was very hurt by the fact of seeing his wife crossing over to the devil side. Brown got back home and saw his wife sitting there with the same pink ribbons in her head. He then too began to think that he was dreaming or if it was a true story or not. As I stated at the beginning of my essay, everything that had happened was something convinced by evil. The evil Travelers were trying to convince others to be of the Devil and not God. Now he wonders why his neither Grandfather nor Father took that dark gloomy path, and was always in the house before midnight. He also sees why his wife didn’t want him to go on that evil journey. Brown doesn’t know what to believe, he doesn’t know if his wife crossed over to be with the devil or not. His mind is playing tricks on him. Since Brown is having those thoughts, he

He is full of determination and faith before he goes off in the forest. His voyage changed the way he viewed the things when he returns, his outlooks towards the people changed, he has a slight faith, and he believed that everyone is evil, and that this evil does not necessarily originate with Satan. He still have a faith by attending church, but he feels unhappiness of the congregations sin and hypocrisy: “On the Sabbath day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the

The setting in the forest represented the sins and doubt that Brown had in his life. Throughout the forest Brown is persuaded by the devil throughout the whole story. His wife warned him not to go, His wife Faith foreshadowed something bad was to come out of him going into the forest. His wife faith represented Browns faith he had in God and by being in the forest his belief slowly diminished. Which explain the reason why he no longer cared for his wife. The forest was described as a wicked place, as far as how the narrator explained it. While in the forest Brown seemed to lose his faith. He started to question his love for his wife. The forest symbolized danger and wickedness. The more time he spent in the forest the more he was losing himself

“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, consist of beliefs that all humanity exists in a state of wickedness, except for the people who are born in a state of grace. The view of the story shows how swiftly Young Goodman Brown goes swiftly down the wrong path, when his faith is lost or is blinded by something, even without his knowledge. Faith is the key to his happiness and without it, he is unable to live his life to the fullest. Faith in a symbolic idea refers to the most pure hearted. Goodman Brown is a holy and a faithful man, until one day everything changes in his life.

When Young Goodman Brown returns from the forest, he is paranoid that everyone he respected and honored is living a double life and are not living honestly. He is disgusted by the everyday actions by the preacher who is preparing a sermon and by Goody Cloyse who was speaking to a little girl. When Young Goodman Brown turns away after gazing sternly at his wife, it shows the readers that he is sceptical that last night’s events were a dream and for the most part, he believes it to be true. Because Hawthorne portrays how much Goodman Brown loves Faith in the start of the story, and how he is willing to have his heart broken before hers, the readers can tell how he was severely impacted by his dream to the point where he turns away from a woman

In the first paragraph of the story, Hawthorne gives a small description of Faith and with it, portrays to the readers an innocent woman who seems to be able to do no harm. He also gives her a distinct characteristic with her pink ribbons that proves to be important in the story because it causes Goodman Brown to recognize that she is in fact in the forest with him. Hawthorne depicts Faith in a virginal matter which allows him to create a plot twist further along in the story. Faith’s description prompts the readers to believe that she is just another normal housewife, and thus the readers are shocked when they read that she is also one of the devil worshippers.

suggests that where ever he goes the bible comes with him because of his strong faith with god.