Young Goodman Brown

on an "errand". Goodman Brown says to his "love and (my) Faith" that "this one

The story “Young Goodman Brown,” in its entirety is an allegory, a literary device used to teach a religious lesson. The reader is lead to wonder if the story’s events truly took place or if it was simply a bad dream. The story leaves readers wondering why Goodman Brown feels compelled to journey into the forest. “Young Goodman Brown” begins with Faith’s plea for Brown to not leave her on that night. He chooses to go out into the woods and ends up taking a “walk with the devil.” On his journey, Brown struggles with his decision and at times wants to turn back. His conscious tugs at him, much like the devil tempts individuals to do things that are wrong and evil. Brown seems to be concerned with what others will think if they see him in the woods. When “Goodman Brown recognized

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.

As Brown starts on his adventure he recalls that his wife, Faith, had dreams of this particular adventure, dreams that warned him not to go; this feeling of uncertainty sparks a feeling of anxiety in Brown as he continues walking through the forest and on with his journey. As he walks on, the scenery around him begins to change, "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." (310). This quote describes the dark and gloomy surroundings that Brown is walking through on his journey, it also creates the mood of fear and hesitance as he continues on his way. Then as Brown is walking along he comes to encounter a man dressed in grave and decent attire. The man states "You are late, Goodman Brown," and Brown replies by saying, "Faith kept me back awhile." (310) In literal terms he is speaking of his wife, but metaphorically he could be speaking of his faith in god and how it almost kept him from embarking on his journey. Hawthorne creates many metaphors in his story of "Young Goodman Brown." Later on in Brown's journey he meets a man with a cane that resembles a snake, the serpent is a symbol of evil, and then when Brown protests against the devil, "With heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm

Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, is also an important symbol in this story. Her name alone implies that she is a symbol for goodness and the Christian life that Young Goodman Brown leaves behind when he departs on his journey. In the story, it says that she calls out to him and he turns his back on her, which can either be taken literally or in the sense of one turning his back on God and Christian life, because he heads for the woods, an implication of sin and witchcraft. In her hair, Faith wears pink ribbons, which are a sign of her innocence and playfulness. When Goodman Brown sees her pink ribbons in her hair, he is aware of her innocence, so when he finds a pink ribbon belonging to her clinging to a tree branch in the woods, he doubts the faith of her and of all those around him.

Of the many symbols he uses in this story, each has a profound meaning. They represent good and evil in the constant struggle of a young innocent man whose faith is being tested. As the story begins, Young Goodman Brown bids farewell to his young wife "Faith, as [she] was aptly named" (211). When she " ...thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap" we associate

That is done through the use of “symbolic figures, imagery, and events which are condensed together to paint a specific moral, spiritual or political meaning in the story” (Jaynes, 2006). The story “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory and it is correct to state that the names of each character hold a particular meaning and characteristics of the owner. The main character Goodman Brown gets portrayed as a lover of adventure in a journey to satisfy his curiosity about the dark side of his Puritan town. The central idea in this story is the conflict faced by the main character as he tries to decide whether to join the devil or stay clean and maintain his faith. First of all, the main purpose of this story is to show that anyone can sin. In the beginning, Young Goodman Brown decides to set off on a journey of self-scrutiny despite his wife Faith begging him not to do that. In the beginning, Young Goodman wants to become the evil one. He then passes that stage “and holds onto his faith as the adventure in the woods unravel” (Hawthorne, 277). His name is symbolic and showcases his character in the story. The first name “Young” represents innocence, naivety, lack of experience and lastly a little immaturity. The second name “Goodman” represents his excellent character and strong faith as well as a clean heart. The name Faith portrays a person who wouldn’t sin, but in the setting, the character’s name does not fit her personality. At first, she seems worthy of her name and Goodman thinks she is innocent as portrayed by the pink ribbons. We see that Brown loses his faith in her as she ends up associating with devious activities despite promising him that she

The main symbol used by Hawthorne throughout the story is Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith. Faith has a more of a significance in the story than just Brown’s wife, she represents actual faith and purity. There is a conflict going on inside of Brown’s mind and it is if he should “keep the faith” or not. In the beginning, Faith urges Brown to stay home and go in the morning, but he disregards her and keeps going. This is a metaphor for Brown leaving his religious faith. Goodman Brown questions if his wife has lost faith in him and he asks her, ‘“dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married?”’ Throughout the story, Faith stays as a symbol of Brown’s faith. The devil and Goodman Brown finally meet and the devil questions Brown about being late. Brown being a little afraid responds with, “Faith kept me back awhile,” Faith physically tried to hold Brown back and figuratively talking about his faith in the religion. His wife could have prevented Brown from talking to the devil, but failed. Meeting with the devil evidently shows that Brown is willing to see the evil side of his religion.

Young Goodman Brown then finds himself alone in the forest, wondering whether he has awakened from a dream or if he really did attend the witches’ sabbath. Brown chooses to believe that his dream is true, and that everyone around him is involved in witchcraft. “The next morning, young Goodman Brown came slowly into the street of Salem village staring around him like a bewildered man.” (Paragraph 70) Because of this, Brown spends the remainder of his life being, "A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man” (Paragraph 75). Goodman Brown now looks for the devil behind every bush and in the hearts of all those around him, never recognizing that his own soul is now hopelessly corrupt and blind to the light and goodness of God. The forest, the devil and his staff, and Faith and her pink ribbons are the main points to prove young Goodman Brown of a story full of symbolism. There is no doubt that the traveler meeting Brown is the devil and the devils staff is clearly the symbol of a serpent. Faith is both Brown’s wife and religion. The pink ribbons discussed are symbolized as innocence because his faith in God is the right thing to do. Unlike following the devil, which led Brown to sin and guilt. “Ha! ha! ha!” roared Goodman Brown, when the wind laughed at him. “Let us hear which will laugh loudest! Think not to frighten me

Hawthorne’s use of symbolism throughout the piece explicitly shows that Goodman Brown was always sinful and inherently evil, rather than a pillar of pious virtue. it can be assumed that Young Goodman Brown is meant to represent man, or humanity, as a whole. He is intended to represent the average person living in the Puritan society at the time that the piece was written. The name of Young Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith Brown, is explicitly intended to represent his “faith”. She is described as wearing pink ribbons in her cap, as seen in “"with the

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown”, is a suspenseful story in which we see various forms of symbolism. This story presents us with the protaganist, a young and innocent man named Goodman Brown, which by his name is actually a good religious man. He departs away from his wife faith, to embark on a journey into the woods, he will return by morning. His wife faith begs him not go. On his journey, he finds himself on a dark path and it swallows him up as he advances along the path. Goodman Brown shows us that his faith is not as strong as he thought himself to be. Symbolism in this story, is used to illustrate the uncertainity of Brown’s faith, and the evil that tries to pull him in.

“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

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic tale “Young Goodman Brown” is a good example of a short story embodying both characteristics of realism and characteristics of romanticism.

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses different people as symbols throughout "Young Goodman Brown." The largest symbolic roles in the story are goodman Brown and his wife Faith. Both of the characters' names are symbolic and representative of their personalities. "'With Heaven above and Faith below, I will stand firm against the devil!' cried goodman Brown," is

From the beginning of “Young Goodman Brown”, he sets off on his adventure right at sunset. But to set out on sunset means to go during darkness. In describing it in that sense, it is symbolizing evil, which establishes the setting of the story. When Goodman Brown is beginning his journey into the woods, he tells his wife, who is aptly named Faith goodbye. Hawthorne intentionally names her Faith because it symbolizes the faith in God that he and his wife share, and to also depict what Goodman Brown leaves at his house while he goes on his adventure. His wife is wearing pink ribbons in her hair, which implies that she is a pure, innocent woman. Before Goodman Brown begins his departure into the woods, she tells him not to go until sunrise. This implies that going during a sunrise is much more peaceful and pleasant rather than going during sunset when it is otherwise