What Is The Theme Of Young Goodman Brown

Hawthorne in essence, portrayed Goodman as proof of the nature of evil in man by showing how easily even a young dedicated Puritan can easily be influenced by a complete stranger. This stranger was symbolically the Devil among men in this text. Hawthorne begins introducing the Devil immediately as trying to sway Goodman to follow him on a long journey. By leaving his wife, Faith to begin the journey, Goodman Brown was symbolically leaving his faith in God and entering a forsaken ground by following the Devil. The fact that Goodman Brown left with no regard for his wife Faith’s warning, symbolized the lack of regard for his own faith in God and his fellow human race. This simple disregard that Goodman Brown showed was evidence of the easily persuaded ability of man to choose sin over good.

A theme is the author’s underlying message that is expressed in more one word. Some themes can be very similar to each other, an example of this is the two documents I will comparing in this analysis essay; The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and On the sidewalk Bleeding by Evan Hunter. These two stories share similar themes, Don’t judge someone by what they look like, get to know them before you determine their fate. However the authors portray this theme in a different way. One story depicts a young boy who goes through troublesome events in his life before he realizes the moral of his life.

In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne’s uses imagery to gets the reader attention. In the parable of “Young Goodman Brown,” the reader is set into a twist of good versus evil. Hawthorne depict evil in terms that describe the forest and the old man with the staff. The reader believe Goodman Brown is walking into evil when the woods was mention. Puritans believe woods to be the territory of the devil. In “young Goodman Brown” the forest is a symbol of the devil's home. “He had taken 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. It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such a solitude, that the traveler knows not who may be

In “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author entertains the readers by using suspense and mystery. Hawthorne uses the devil and a witch as the main antagonists to test Young Goodman Brow’s faith, he uses symbolism to foreshadow. The author’s main goal as a puritan was to show that faith man’s most important quality, when is at risk it makes it seem as if everyone was bad, and see the rest of the world without faith.In “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author entertains the readers by using suspense and mystery. Hawthorne uses the devil and a witch as the main antagonists to test Young Goodman Brow’s faith, he uses symbolism to foreshadow. The author’s main goal as a puritan was to show that faith man’s most important quality, when is at risk it makes it seem as if everyone was bad, and see the rest of the world without faith.

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.

In the short story “Young Goodman Brown,” the author Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the fragility of humans when it comes to their morality. Goodman Brown goes on a journey through the forest with the devil to watch the witches’ ritual and observes the evil in the Puritan society. He loses his faith as he sees the people he respects the most participating in the sinful ritual. Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes setting, and symbolism in his short story “Young Goodman Brown,” to show how a person’s perspective can change by showing the hypocritical nature of the Puritan society

to save him, so it won?t matter if he leaves his own at home because it will be waiting for him. Brown meets the devil along a crooked path, and the devil asks why he is late; Brown replies, ?Faith kept me back awhile?(311). The ?faith? Brown has left behind is not just his wife, but also his literal faith to satisfy his burning human curiosity. Brown shows his desire to break loose from his normal life by meeting Satan, the spawn of all rebellion, in the forest. Brown tries to fight the evil inside of him to tell the devil he must go back to his faith, and the devil convinces him that they will walk the crooked path and reason as they go. The devil says, ?and if I convince thee not thou shalt turn back. We are but little in the forest yet?(312). As they venture further into the forest the devil tries to strip Brown of his faith, but he realizes this and stops to exclaim, ?Too far! Too far!?(312). Brown argues the good Christian background of his father and grandfather would never walk upon this crooked path with the devil by their side. The path that Brown is on causes him to gamble with his soul under the promptings of the devil, and he knows he must choose to either roll the dice or turn around and go home. The devil is prepared for such resistance and refutes Brown?s declaration of his ancestors by saying, ?They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after

“Young Goodman Brown,” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835, is a short story about a man named young Goodman Brown who leaves his wife, Faith, to go on an errand into the woods with the devil. Faith begs Goodman Brown to not leave her alone, but he chooses to go anyways. This short story shows many signs of symbolism, such as the forest, the devil, the staff, the pink ribbons, Faith, sin, and guilt. These symbols help in understanding the story of young Goodman Brown and his unconscious struggle with his religion. The trip not only takes Brown onto a journey of sadness, but also into the deepest parts of his soul. Goodman Brown wishes to enter the dark forest of sin, to satisfy his

In the story of Young Goodman Brown, as a reader we see many circumstances where Hawthorne uses irony in straightforward situations. I have learned from reading several of the author’s works that it is up to the reader to decide the meaning behind his stories. In this paper, I will be discussing the significance of the title, Young Goodman Brown and how I believe there is more to the story than what Hawthorne writes. Young Goodman Browns journey within the forest revealed truths not only within him, but within human nature and society. On page, 1103 Goodman Brown states “there may be a devilish Indian behind every tree.”

The story begins with Goodman Brown starting out on a journey. Hawthorne does not state what kind of journey or the purpose behind it. By the end of the story I saw it as a journey into Goodman Browns own mind, heart and soul rather than a literal journey. I feel this is the most significant

"As he was walking into the forest I think it symbolic of how his soul is getting darker as the light of goodness fade away from his soul and the Indian behind the trees are the temptations in his life that are out to get him." says Owatas (website 1) Young Good Man Brown even doubts his next course f action but as soon as he meets up with the devil his fate is sealed.

" This could be his way of proving himself worthy in some way due to the fact that he say that neither his father nor his grandfather had completed his task at hand. The second idea is in the reasoning that Hawthorne had simply utilized it as the setting and forged the story around the forest and its characterized darkness and evil notions compared to that of the town which is light and absent of evil until Goodman Brown returns. This is a definite formalistic observation in the contrast of forest and the town. The forest is used as a setting which Hawthorne utilizes to expose the faults in all of mankind, including the self professed religious. No matter which way you believe, Hawthorne has successfully left the issue as a mystery and an undeclared element of the narrative.

Hawthorne uses techniques like the use of religion to make us believe that the story is set during the seventeenth century. During this period of time, Puritans believed that the forest is associated with evil and would definitely be considered a no-man’s land especially during the night. In the story brown exclaims “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree.” (Hawthorne 387) Considering that Brown decided to walk into a forest for a meeting, we can suggest that he is deeply aware of what he is doing and what he is about to encounter. As a man who resembles Brown appears in the forest with a carved serpent at the top of the staff we realize that this is in fact the devil himself disguised as a normal man in order to fool Brown.

Young Goodman Brown, who was a young and innocent man bids farewell to his young wife Faith. Faith asks him to stay, but Goodman Brown says he must leave just for the evening. He ventures into the gloomy forest of Salem, and is soon approached by a man of about fifty to whom he bears a strange resemblance. His companion wore simple clothing, but carried a staff that resembled a great black snake and seemed to move like a living serpent. Time and again, Goodman Brown protests the trip insisting that he must turn around. But his companion tells him that his father and grandfather had walked along the same path, as well as other important townspeople, such as the governor. Goodman Brown continues to follow. Along the path, they see a woman, Goody who taught Goodman Brown his catechism. His companion begins to resemble the devil while the woman, a witch. The staff, too seems to take life.After a while Goodman Brown sits down determined to not go any father. His companions go ahead without him. As he sits, Goodman Brown thinks he hears the minister and Deacon goes on horseback discussing the night’s meeting and a young woman who would be taken into communion that night. Goodman Brown begins to hear voices, and among them, the lamentations of Faith. He shouts her name, but hears only a echoes, and then silence. A pink ribbon – Faith’s ribbon flutters down form above. Maddened with despair, Goodman Brown rushes forth into the forest, laughing louder and louder, until he reaches the gathering. There, he sees an altar, surrounded by four blazing trees. Many of the town’s most honorable members were present, as were some of the least welcomed – the sinners and criminals. Goodman Brown is led to the altar, where a cloaked female figure is also led. A dark figure prepares to welcome them into the fold, pointing to the crowd behind them - the crowd Young Goodman Brown had reverenced from youth. The figure revealed them all as sinners, noting that evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. The cloaked woman is Faith. Before the figure could lay the mark of baptism on Goodman Brown, he called to Faith to “look up to Heaven, and resist the wicked one.” Immediately, he finds himself alone in the forest.

In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne tells the story of one man’s loss of faith in the human race. As Goodman Brown travels into the woods one night, he is sees the innermost secrets and desires of the people he once placed upon a pedestal. He sees that humans are evil by nature, and this causes him to lose faith in his fellow man. By viewing the story as an allegory, the journey into the woods is associated with the Puritan concept of justification. The Puritans viewed justification, or the means by which one receives the salvation of Christ, as a psychological journey into the "hell (or evil) of the self" (Soler). Goodman Brown fails to complete his process of individuation because