Most critics can agree on the good versus evil theme evident in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” There is Mr. Goodman Brown, whether his name symbolizes his good Puritan heart or not, he is perceived as a gentle man. He loves his wife, and is a strong believer of the Christian faith. Then young Goodman Brown goes into the woods. Typically in literature the woods is no place for sunshine and happiness; the woods symbolize darkness and evil, and nothing good ever happens there. Take the classic tale of Hansel and Gretel. Hansel and Gretel are taken to the woods, where they meet a witch who eventually tries to kill them both (Grimm). Moral of the story: the woods is an evil place. As soon as he goes into the woods, Brown feels uneasy and paranoid. We see this in the ninth paragraph; Brown asks himself, “What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!” (Hawthorne). Then enters an older gentleman, who is later revealed as the actual devil himself (the very core of evil). The devil tries to get Brown to join him, as well as everyone else who lives in the town, on the dark side. Author Daniel McKeithan argues that Brown knew what he was getting himself into even before he went into …show more content…
If people are born with an innate drive for evil, then it would make sense for Brown to intentionally want to go into the woods. Brown tells his wife, Faith, that he has an errand to run, but we all know that this is a lie; he has a hidden agenda of sorts, and does not want his wife to know about it. Before going into the woods, Brown thinks about his beloved wife. He thinks, “Well, she’s a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven,” (Hawthorne 1716). Hawthorne then explains that Brown felt justification for his evil motives (1716). Brown is aware that he is making a bad decision, but since his wife is such a saint, he really has no reason to
In the short story Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbolism plays a vital role in the interpretation of the events of the story by the audience. In a work that is apparently never what it seems, drawing upon these symbols for clarity helps to provide the audience with additional depth to the deception that Goodman Brown feels. When going on his errand into the forest one night, Goodman Brown encounters the devil disguised as a man which is the beginning of his demonic encounters. The meeting symbolizes the start of his downward slope into the loss of faith of those around him and his own religious beliefs as well. He navigates the dark and chilling forest only to ultimately end up in the middle of it alone, which represents his journey through life after his revelation about the people in his community that night. His new found beliefs cause a projection of his own internal evil feelings upon his new wife faith. A woman who he once adored and had complete faith in just like her name, he now becomes very distant with and hardly acknowledges. His distance is due...
The overall tone for the passage is more skeptical in the beginning as Brown tries to figure out his stand on the subject of his Puritan faith, however, it shifts towards a traffic tenor at the end as he lives with the consequences of his choices from the night in the woods when he decided to walk along side with the weary old traveler. The symbolism of this passage is so robust, with such great significance behind it. Young Brown proclaims during his journey, “‘Faith! Faith!’ as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness… ‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name’” (Hawthorne 251). The symbolism of this passage is so strong, with such great significance behind it. As he shouts from the rooftops that he has lost his wife Faith, which can be inferred to be his own personal faith. Sheer panic filled the air once he realizes that he had turned away from his heritage, involuntary choosing to eliminate his faith from his life. How did he lose his faith within that night? He chose to follow the traveler with the serpent staff, casted as the devil, as the walk along in the woods, representing hell. Just like the devil tempted Jesus, he did so with Brown,
Through the work of "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne is able to express his views of hypocrisy in Puritanism. Goodman Brown was convinced that his Puritan family was sinless and deserved to be honored. When traveling through the forest he says, "My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs" ("Young Goodman Brown" 238). What Goodman Brown does not know is that his previous generations have taken part in these sinful actions that occurred in the woods. Although Brown's ancestors were supposedly righteous Puritans, they were involved in lashing a Quaker woman and setting fire to an Indian village, according to the traveler speaking with Brown. Through these stories that the traveler tells, Hawthorne makes known to his readers that Puritan's are hypocrites because they say they are holy and pure when in reality they are committing impious actions. Throughout this story Young Goodman Brown takes his journey through the woods and sees nearly eve...
He uses contrast as a means to portray the village as good and the forest as bad. This adds significance to the fact that Brown begins his journey in the town and proceeds then to the forest. The use of imagery captures the appearance of the forest as well as lending a sense of foreboding towards the impending evil. Hawthorne says of Brown, “He had taken a dreary road, darkened by the gloomiest trees of the forest…It was all as lonely as it could be” (2208). Immediately following this description, Brown speculates that he may not be ...
The confusion which the dark woods create for Goodman Brown symbolizes the blindness Goodman Brown has to the Puritan town’s corruption and evil. The beginning of his journey the readers acknowledge that Goodman Brown, “had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest of trees of the forest” (Hawthorne 261). The willingness which Goodman Brown has to take a dark and gloomy road symbolizes the willingness for Goodman Brown to stay blind to all that is going on throughout the town. The woods themselves being darkened and gloomy suggests the secrets that are hidden and if found could lead to great sadness. Since Goodman Brown is blind to the evil rituals that occur in the woods and his willingness to go into the woods, his actions suggest that Goodman Brown is living in a false sense of security. While walking through this dark and gloomy road, Goodman Brown and the traveler come across Goody Cloyse. During this instance the traveler’s walking stick becomes full of life and Goody Cloyse disappears soon after (Hawthorne 264). This situation with the walking stick in the woods shows the reader that the woods hold the truth and Goodman Brown’s obscurity of the truth. Continuing on his journey, Goodman Brown finally comes to the clearing. In that moment Goodman Brown, “Stepped forth from the shadow of the trees” (Hawthorne 269). As Goodman Brown does this he is awakened to the complete truth of the town. He sees the congregation, the supposedly holy people, his wife who was pure and innocent, and the ritual. Goodman Brown has emerged from his comforting darkness and out into the clarity that would separate the truth and the façade that the townspeople had made for the town. The moment in which he steps out, however, is when the Deacon asks for the new converts to come out (Hawthorne 269). This signifies a natural attraction to the area
As Brown talks with this man, Hawthorne offers clues to who he truly is. Though Young Goodman Brown acts as if he knows the man, he or Hawthorne never says the man's name. Hawthorne then describes a staff the man carries with him. It resembles "a great black snake" or "living serpent." The serpent being a popular image of Satan. Hawthorne later refers to the man as " the fiend" and no longer as "friend." Whether his resemblance to Brown is an illusion or not, he either represents the evil within Brown, or he represents the Devil, the evil within us all.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous Young Goodman Brown is one of the most interesting, yet creepy short stories written. Within this beautifully structured story of the 19th century, is a man whose curiosity started the fight between good and evil inside each individual human being. In addition, the story tells the tragic relationship between the main character Young Goodman, and his young wife. Throughout the story, Goodman's character development is affected by the experiences he goes through. At the beginning, Goodman is a good young man with faith in everyone's "pure intentions." He innocently believes in the good in everyone, but towards the end of the story, he's view on the world changes. He ends up having a dark perspective and finds himself unable to trust those around him.
On Brown's return from his errand he finds that all seems apparently normal, but he cannot help shun his wife, who runs to meet him in the street, Goody Cloyse and the other good people. Brown's experience in the forest permanently blights his life. He scowls and mutters during prayers, suspects all the pious, recoils from his wife in bed at night and finally dies sad and without hope.
Brown to continue down the path with him, but Goodman Brown declares that he kept his meeting with the devil and no longer wishes to continue on. He says, “ ‘My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians’ ” (312). The devil is quick to point out,
Hawthorne's tale begins early in the evening, when the young Goodman Brown reluctantly leaves his new wife, Faith (aptly named), and heads toward the forest to embark on an over night journey into the darkness of his own soul, accompanied by none other than the devil himself.
“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, delves into the classic battle between good and evil; taking the protagonist, Goodman Brown, on a journey to test the resolve of his faith. Goodman ventures out on his expedition deep into the sinister forest, in order to repudiate the attempt of the devil to sway him from Christianity; a test he believes his devout faith is prepared to confront. Goodman Brown is forever altered in ways unforeseeable by taking a stroll with the ultimate antagonist, the devil himself. The prevailing theme in this literary work, which is common in Hawthorne’s gothic writing, is the realization that evil can infect people who seem perfectly respectable. Throughout the course of his journey, Goodman Brown discovers that even highly reputable people of Salem are vulnerable to the forces of darkness.
"Why did Goodman Brown leave his wife to fulfill an evil purpose?" "What was his evil purpose?" "Who did he meet in the woods?" "Was it a dream or was it reality?" These are just a few of the questions that ran through my head after reading the short story, Young Goodman Brown. After several nights of reading, rereading, thinking, and debating I've received many revelations of this story; one being the true identity of the "fellow-traveler" mentioned throughout this adventurous tale. You see, he was not just any man, he was the devil himself.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown,” the author uses danger and mystery to represent the struggle of good versus evil. Young Goodman Brown journeys into the night and comes to realize an unforgiving truth. Everyone is in danger of abandoning their faith or is inherently evil. Nathaniel Hawthorne has filled this story symbolism, after reading this story the reader may have questions about Young Goodman Browns’ determination to journey towards his evil purpose. Nathaniel Hawthorne implies strong faith can endure but when that faith is destroyed, what view does a person have towards mankind? Let us take a look at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of significant symbols throughout “Young Goodman Brown.”
The woods that Brown enters to meet with the devil are the embodiments of his own fears and suspicions. He is uncertain about making a contract with the devil saying “Faith kept me back awhile” (Hawthorne 4). Despite his hesitation he continues his dark journey. Hawthorne writes that as Goodman Brown makes his way through the forest, he is swallowed up in the darkness and that he never visibly identifies those he feels are near him. The sounds “appeared” to pass along the road, and he “could have sworn” that he recognizes the voices of people he knows (Hawthorne 7). Hawthorne shows that the Puritans’ belief in witches and their suspicions toward one another are enough proof for them to accuse innocent people of sin and possibly convict them to death based on pure speculation and paranoid hysteria.
The short story, "Young Goodman Brown" is a fascinating rendition of the battle between good and evil. The reader must delve into the depths of his/her own beliefs to understand what the symbolism is. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes an entire lesson in life as one big symbol using allegory. The various examples are fruitful and will be presented throughout this essay.