Losing Faith in Young Goodman Brown

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Losing Faith in Young Goodman Brown In “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goodman Brown is tempted by the evil that surrounds him and he must keep his faith in order to resist it. The use of the events, characters, and symbols throughout the story show that evil is present in the people of the town in which Goodman Brown lives and how Goodman Brown’s faith in them is lost. Humanity is basically flawed and people struggle with making the choice between good and evil. Throughout the story, Goodman Brown is worried about the idea of the townspeople finding out about his meeting with the devil. Goodman Brown thinks a lot about how his father and grandfather would have never done anything like he was doing. Goodman Brown says, “We have been a race of honest men and good Christians . . . ”(p1208.) Then Goodman Brown finds out from the devil that his father and grandfather had done evil things. The devil tells Goodman Brown, “I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the puritans.”(P1208.) After Goodman Brown hears this, he begins to qu...

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