Use Of Allegory In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

The man that Goodman Brown encountered on his journey symbolized the devil in the text which strongly influenced him to just about give up his faith in God. The Devil disguised as a “fellow traveler” (266) tried to influence Goodman Brown by

In the short story “Young Goodman Brown,” a good and proud Puritan man; Goodman Brown, encounters a devil that causes him to become aware of the town he lives in. Goodman Brown believes that a meeting with the Devil cannot change his faith in religion. He desires to find more about his inner domains, but later finds out how hypocritical his town is. He then comes to realization that man is imperfect and defect. Goodman Brown later dies a sore death from the insight of his journey in the forest. In “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses imagery, symbolism, and allegory throughout the story to question the faith of man. The narrator uses dark and light imagery, people and names to illustrate the irony.

In Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” although the decision to visit the devil was not one Goodman Brown following the crowd, he soon realized he had not been the only one tempted to visit the devil. Actually upon his meeting the devil, he realized that he did not want to continue his journey and wanted to return back home to his wife, Faith, but soon realized many of the townspeople were companions with satan. The themes of “Young Goodman Brown” are that religion or religious actions do not make someone righteous and although we have an appeal to live right, there is a small desire to try the “dark side”. Goodman Brown knew right from wrong growing up in the Puritan community, he also had individuals who would teach him the doctrine of his religion; however just like many people, Goodman Brown had to see what it would be like to travel into the wilderness and visit the devil. While Goodman Brown was on his way he begin to hear familiar voices and see familiar people—those who have taught him the “right” way of living. Of course since the wilderness was no place for a saint to be Goodman Brown would hide so that the others could not view him of being in error of the Christian faith. This is how the theme religion

In Young Goodman Brown, Goodman Brown is on a path describe as “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.”(Hawthorne p 8) Symbolizing his entrance into an evil place through the gloom and darkness. While on this path he meets a traveller on the road who tries to tempt him to come to the assembly with him. When Brown argues that his family had always been virtuous the man explains all the sins of his forefathers, and the hypocrisy of the puritans whom all claim to be virtuous. He explains his

It was stated that the man he encountered had known Browns’ elders as well. Goodman was led to a large assembly and he found many townspeople that he knew gathered around an altar surrounded by burning trees. He recognized many of these faces and it changed the image he had toward them. From the audiences’ perspective, we understand many of the stories “characters have the names of Salem residents charged with witchcraft; and its major action takes place in the noisy pasture historical documents of, the period designate as a witches ' gathering place” (Bunge 434). At the time, Brown had seen many of the people that attended the assembly to be sin free. This is symbolic because the assembly takes place in what the audience knows to be as a town that has had numerous witch trials. This led him to realize that everyone has their flaws but he may not be able to accept them. This explains a concept of the story involving the loss of innocence. When he discovers the town in this meeting, his faith is being tested. He is not able to cope and has reason to believe that he is now held to a higher standard than others because the ones he thought were saints are no longer faithful in his eyes.

The character Young Goodman Brown is an excellent example of symbolism being used in a story. First of all, the name Young Goodman Brown implies that he is indeed a good man, which is a reference to his Christian faith. This implies that he is a good

Young Goodman Brown is a short narrative written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Just like many of his other works, the story is set in the 17th century Puritan New England, and the author primarily addresses the puritan beliefs at the time which state that humanity exists in a state of degradation and God holds some unconditional love to humans by giving them unmerited grace. “The author mainly focuses on underlying tensions within the puritan way of life” (Jaynes, 2006). He thus uses symbolism to showcase the story of Young Goodman Brown’s journey. The main character delves deep into self-scrutiny and ends up losing his beliefs and virtue.

The devil refers to seeing Goodman Brown’s grandfather whipping a Quaker in the streets and handing Goodman Brown’s father a flaming torch so that he could set fire to an Indian village during King Philip’s War. By including these references, Hawthorne reminds the reader of the dubious history of Salem Village and the legacy of the Puritans and emphasizes the historical roots of Goodman Brown’s fascination with the devil and the dark side.

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.

Later in the story, Young Goodman Brown has a conversation with the devil. The devil tells Brown that he was acquainted with his father and grandfather and that they had been involved in evil business. Brown shows no emotion when he receives this information. The reader does not know if Brown is frightened, repulsed or disgusted by the thought of his relatives consorting with the devil. Brown does not even try to deny such a claim which, in early New England, would surely have been heresy. Brown’s only response to the information is to say,” If it be as thou sayest, replied Goodman Brown, I marvel they never spoke of these matters. Or, verily, I marvel not, seeing that the last rumor of the sort would have driven them from New England.” Again, the reader had no clue as to Brown’s true emotions. In order for a reader to care about the story, how it ends, whether or not it is true, a reader has to have an idea of what the main character thinks. The reader needs to know more than the words that are spoken; he needs to know the sentiment behind the words. At the end of the story, the reader does not know if the story is true nor does he necessarily care because the use of the third person narrator did not enable the reader to feel a connection with Young Goodman Brown.

After meeting the devil in the woods one evening, Goodman Browns eyes are opened to the reality of the Puritan society in which he lives. Many of the people in attendance at the meeting were trustworthy, church-going individuals who turn out to be devil worshipers and witches. Upon finding out this information, Goodman Brown finds himself seeing the citizens of Salem, including his wife Faith in a different light.

Young Goodman Brown’ is set in this dark period of Puritan history. The story makes reference to two historical figures from the witch trials, Goody Cloyse and Goody Cory, as well as to another historical incident, the lashing of a Quaker woman which occurred in Salem in 1693. Reading Goodman Brown's dissent into darkness and distrust with these references in mind, we are reminded of the sad reality that an overzealous desire for goodness and purity can be so perverted as to ultimately result in violence and death” (Becnel). Because of this mentality that Brown has, as Becnel believes, he has been persuaded to believe that the holiest and righteous members of his municipal have been dancing with the devil himself. Thus, causing him to believe that everyone, including his own family, contains nothing but evil and wickedness inside them, living out the rest of his days in skepticism and

Goodman Brown was filled with thoughts about how his male bloodline, would have never done his actions. Goodman Brown exclaimed, “We are a people of prayer, and good works...” (79). Time past and Goodman Brown discovered from the devil, that his father and grandfather did in fact partake in evil acts in the past. The devil said to Goodman Brown, “I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the puritans.”

Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the author's intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader.

In the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is a certain uncertainty, deviousness, and a riddle of wrongdoing living within the citizens of Salem. Young Goodman Brown, a very naive person, is ruined when he realizes the hypocrisy of his religion as he witnesses the truth in the middle of Salem woods. His own people worshipping a being that is not God! Ironically, when Brown confronts his fellow townspeople, he is angered by their responses; they seem to have no recollection of what occurred in the woods. Thus leaving him in a state of insanity, where all Brown senses around him are lies. The natural impulse to keep secrets and lies can harm others. This is embodied in Young Goodman Brown, who goes from a typical puritan to an unkind, judgmental, depressed man.