Young Goodman Brown: A Meeting

Due to his naivety, Goodman Brown continues on his journey with the stranger, to spite what Faith and his instincts tell him, which ultimately turns him into a corrupted man. When the reader first meets Goodman Brown he is departing from his young wife, Faith. Faith urges young Goodman Brown to stay with her and not go on his journey but he refuses, assuring her that his journey is one of no real danger: "'A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she's afeared of herself, sometimes.' […] 'My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise'" (620). Faith tells Goodman Brown about nightmares she has been having and how she wishes that he will stay beside her. Goodman Brown ignores her warnings and continues on his journey as if it is just a trip to the grocery store. After meeting the stranger, Goodman Brown inquires about turning back but the stranger has other ideas in mind: "' Let us walk on, nevertheless, reasoning as we go, and if I convince thee not thou shalt turn back, We are but a little way in the forest yet.' 'Too far, too far!’ exclaimed the Goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk" (621). The stranger wants Goodman Brown to continue on his path, and even though young Goodman Brown desires to turn back towards Faith, he is easily swayed to keep walking with the stranger. Hawthorn says he "unconsciously" resumes his walk,

This madness that Young Goodman Brown experiences escalates further more the psychological struggle he is having. What he learns in this forest changes him so much that he cannot look at anything without judging it in the manner of his experience. As Walter Shear puts it, "he underestimates the power of time, failing to see the degree to which he has…made himself a particular kind of individual, (and) ultimately the prisoner of his own psychological prisoner" (Shear, 545). Young Goodman Brown came into the journey somewhat aware of what he would see in terms of the presence of evil but did not believe that one night of this evil could change his life forever. Due to the strict Puritan society he was used to, Young Goodman Brown underestimated the power that this journey would hold and therefore he becomes a

This internal turmoil begins with the external conflict that Young Goodman Brown faces when he decides to venture out into the forest to see if the evils that he has imagined were actually a reality. “‘My love and my Faith,’ replied young goodman Brown, ‘of all the nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise. What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married!’ ‘Then, God bless you!’ said Faith, with the pink ribbons, ‘and may you and all well, when you come back.’” (Hawthorne 1264). This conversation is the first conflict that Brown faces on his journey. He chooses to leave his wife for the evening, to head into the woods and to discover for himself whether or not evil truly does reside inside. In a sense he chooses to leave behind his “faith” in religion and God as he chooses to leave his innocent, pink ribbon decorated, wife behind for the night. The next conflict that Brown encounters is with a fellow traveler who carries a staff that bestows a serpent’s head at the top of it. This fellow traveler “befriends” Brown and urges him on despite his doubts about whether or not this is a good plan to go into the woods after all. “‘Let us walk on, nevertheless, reasoning as we go, and if I convince thee not, thou shalt turn back. We are but a little way in the forest, yet.’ ‘Too far, too far!’ exclaimed the goodman,

... feel trapped in the forest, as it had closed in behind him every step of the way. When he decided to continue on with his journey, the forest quickly began to intimidate and overcome him as "the road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished with length." This is significant due to the fact that Goodman Brown start to realize that he was destined to come face to face with evil and there appeared to be no turning back. As he fights his innermost fears and weaknesses, he continues on with his journey, and slowly comes to the realization that the world that he is living in is not as perfect as he had once thought.

Walter J. Paulits examines the character Goodman Brown through his actions of attending a meeting with the witches and falling for the temptations of the Devil. Goodman Brown was a man of good nature, yet his attendance to a meeting with the Devil changes everything. He discards his wife’s advice and starts on his journey through the woods. While falling for each of the Devil’s temptations, he proceeds into the woods leading to the climax of the walk into the woods with the meeting with the witches. Paulits examines Brown as a man who represents ambivalence through his actions in the woods.

     It should not escape attention that Goodman Brown's wife, a lighthearted naive woman, has the name of Faith. Faith is by no means an unusual woman's name, but it is significant in this story that she is presented to us first as a very young bride with pink ribbons in her hair--almost like a child (1264). This young woman is filled with hidden sin, yet she is said to be Godly. Because Faith was so honest and Godly, Young Goodman Brown put all of his faith in her, which made her the best of his worst enemies. Faith’s ribbon is a description of her personality or her inner-self. The pink ribbon that Faith wears is a symbol of purity. Faith’s ribbon is found in the evil forest when Brown awakes, and that’s when Faith is really seen as an unclear person. Faith is also said to have forsaken not only against Goodman Brown but also against God because she gave in to the likes of the devil. The ribbons provide continuity between faith as an ideal of a Puritan woman and as a sinner. Her pink

Not far into the forest, Brown encounters a peculiar, old man who reveals Brown’s Puritan family’s involvement in the harming of Quakers. The pair then encounters a religious elder from Brown’s

On the day of their wedding, Faith, Goodman Brown's wife was wearing pink ribbons in her hair. This was very symbolic of her being childlike and young. Also, everything that has to do with her is about her doubting herself and her relationship with Young Goodman Brown. It was important for Hawthorne to show the youth in these two characters. This was another religious reference. In the bible it states "Who ever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not receive it at all." (Hawthorne, 635) This means that it is important to be like a child and be content without knowing everything else that is out there. It also means that if one is on a quest for knowledge then he/she does not leave room for someone else to be

Many coincidences in “Young Goodman Brown” are put there by the Author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, to turn the entire story into a metaphor. The first of which is Goodman Brown’s wife’s name, Faith. Hawthorne could have chosen a name such as Mary, but Faith gives the story another level of meaning. Then, when Goodman Brown goes on his journey, he happens to come across the two travelers in the forest. The meeting of these two initiates the test of Goodman Brown’s faith to God. He travels deep into the woods and is tempted with information of his neighbors and friends as well as with riches by the traveler. Although the appearance of Faith’s ribbon deep in the woods to Goodman Brown may be impossible, it does resolve the story and prove to him that leaving was a mistake.

His respect for his elders allows Brown to accept conversing and following an old man he meets on his path. Hawthorn hints that this old man has a supernatural quality by stating he was able to get from Boston to the wood in Salem in fifteen minutes, and having his walking stick wriggle and writhe like a snake. Goodman suspect that this man is the devil but continues to go with him deeper into the woods. Hawthorn implies that this old man is really a reflection of Brown, describing him as having “the same rank of life as Goodman Brown…simply clad as the younger, and simple in manner too” (Hawthorne 2). Once Brown sees his community member in a secret meeting, at night and in the woods, with that looks like an alter he begins to deeply question his faith.

In the short story, Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne portrays a story of a young man losing his faith after a venture in the dark woods. Hawthorne expounds on the diverging realities while also depicting the importance of past memories and the turmoil one can gain from excessive curiosity. Hawthorne also utilised the devices of morbid imagery, cynical tone, and significant symbols to better develop the story.

In the short story, Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne uses mysterious and suspenseful detail to captivate the reader. From the start of the short story to the end of the short story Hawthorne makes the reader or leads the reader to start making enduring questions, “What in reality is he trying to portray in the witchcraft, mystery, and the two-faced or doubled life of the characters meaning”? The reader/ analyzer must approach the story “Young Goodman Brown” not just suspenseful but also to catch the symbolism used throughout the story. As always, Hawthorne, promotes/ shows that a resilient faith is the best trait of a woman or man and if and when faith is not strong or compromised, will cause an effect of oneself to have doubt and skepticism to the rest of the world.

This story is about a newly wedded man named Young Goodman Brown facing the temptations of good in evil in a small town of which he calls home. Little does he know that his small town isn't as small as he thought it was. Young Goodman Brown depends on faith and innocence to help him stay strong. Nathaniel Hawthorne implements the importance of symbolism in the story “Young Goodman Brown” to explain the story with deeper meaning.

As previously mentioned, Young Goodman Brown is driven by his family and Faith, both his wife and religion. However, Hawthorne presents a symbolic and physical description of Faith, other than her name and character itself, through her pink ribbons. The color of the ribbons subtly reveal Faith’s morals because pink is created with the combination of the colors white, which artistically depicts purity and innocence, and the color red, depicting evil and the devil. This ultimately shatters all of Young Goodman Brown’s hopes of what he continually believed to be considered as good due to the revelation of Faith’s conversion to evil. After reading the tale all the way through, the readers begin to question if Faith is genuinely innocent from

Youthful Goodman Brown goes into the backwoods to meet with a character who looks like both Brown and the Devil. He meets a devout individual from the town while in transit to meet this evil character, and is amazed that somebody so great would be embraced the same errand. He finds a witches' Sabbath where the clergyman, the minister, and even his wife are in attendance.Brown shouts to his wife and the scene disintegrates. He turns back and comes back to the village.Brown is everlastingly changed by the episode and suspicious of others. He kicks the bucket a sad