Young Goodman Brown By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Goodman Brown seems to be a religious man that is becoming skeptical about his faith and the goodness in people. Nathaniel Hawthorne names his main character Goodman, which is a representative of the general good in all men and women. As Goodman Brown takes his journey through the forest he begins to lose his faith. Goodman Brown says “What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand!” (Hawthorne 1) and when he tells his companion “having kept covenant by meeting thee here, it is my purpose now to return whence I came. I have scruples touching the matter thou wot’st of” (Hawthorne 3).

Young Goodman Brown takes a look at the life of man after venturing into the woods in order to complete some unknown errand in the middle of the night. He encounters an

The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is letting the readers know that something horrible is about to happen to Goodman Brown.

Young Goodman Brown is a short story where the main purpose is to show the social issue of religion during the Puritan time. Although the author Nathaniel Hawthorne had not being living in that time, he came from a long line of Puritans. He wrote Young Goodman Brown to show the flaws of the Puritans’ view of religion. They made God seem heartless and mean spirited, someone who just used humans for entertainment. The short story Young Goodman Brown demonstrates that people should test their faith of their religious beliefs and even people considered upright can fall short of their own religious faiths from temptations and imperfections. In addition, the story shows that there is some degree of evil nature in everyone because of the freewill

    In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism.  Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young

The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.

The woods are also an important symbol in the tale of Young Goodman Brown. The story is written in times past, when the woods were thought of as evil places where witchcraft often took place. This is reinforced when Goodman Brown sees the townspeople amongst him in the woods, and is appalled to see them, his wife and the preacher included. Also, it is mentioned that

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

     As Goodman Brown sets off on his walk into the forest, he believes that there is more good within his community than evil, and that he himself is a good man. He

Young Goodman Brown must leave behind his known world, Salem village, and enter an unknown world, the forest, to face challenges he must be capable of overcoming. Allegorically, he embarks on a psychological and spiritual odyssey. Entering an unknown territory is scary and puts a person at a much higher physical and emotional risk. "There may be a devlish Indian behind every tree" shows how insecure Young Goodman Brown is in the forest because he is exposing himself to danger, which in this case, is evil itself (pg. 88). He must stay strong and overcome his weaknesses to get past his biggest fears and continue his Hero's journey. Goodman Brown is tempted to turn around and go home, but he sticks it out, and continues onward. Goodman Brown remarks, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" just before noticing a man, similar in appearance to himself, sitting under a tree (pg. 88). This man speaks as if he was expecting Brown

They knew that the evils of the real world hid in the forest, as did Goodman. But he still went in! He let this man with the serpent staff keep him from turning around, and getting out of the woods. On page 274 the evil man says, “We are but a little way in the forest, yet.” Goodman responds, “Too far, too far,” but didn’t realize he was still walking farther into the woods! He says he has walked too far into the woods, but is still going! He is being overtaken by the evilness of the woods.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne introduces Goodman Brown, who doubts himself and reiterates his false confidence to himself repeatedly. His struggle between the evil temptations, the devil, and the proper church abiding life, is a struggle he does not think he can handle. This story is about a man who challenges his faith in himself and in the community in which he resides. Goodman Brown must venture on a journey into the local forest, refuse the temptations of the devil, and return to the village before the sunrise.

In Young Goodman Brown the theme is not only centered on religious hypocrisy (falsely claiming to have certain religious morals) but also on the internal conflicts of Young Good Man Brown. A basic rundown of the story is that one fateful evening Young Good Man Brown decides to attend a meeting of the black Sabbath. On the way there he come across various people who are also on there way there .These include the devil, Goody Cloys (his catechism teacher), deacon Gookin and the local minister. At the ceremony as he is initiated into the group he sees his wife who is also a

He loses all faith in the community, as he says, "my faith is gone! There is no good on earth" (Young Goodman). He feels he is above them because he was able to resist the devil. He says, "Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!" (Young Goodman). Goodman Brown's pride is his tragic flaw, since he has too much therefore it causes his downfall.

Young Goodman Brown protagonist struggles with Puritanism is a reflection of Hawthorne personal conflicts with Puritanism. Hawthorne uses the story of Young Goodman Brown to illustrate Puritanism's disconnection between