What Are The Similarities Between Young Goodman Brown And The Bible

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There are many instances throughout a person's life when they will be tempted, however, they won't be able to resist it every time. The short story Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about a young man’s personal journey in his faith and temptation. In many cases it is easy to compare the story to many works from the Bible. Young Goodman Brown (henceforth Goodman Brown), faces many challenges that compare to the hardships faced by characters from the bible; these include temptation, evil and fatih.


The devil in Young Goodman Brown represents temptation and all the evil in the world. Throughout this story and throughout the Bible the devil tempts Goodman Brown and Jesus, respectively. The devil says: “[T]his is a dull pace for …show more content…

In Young Goodman Brown there is a significant loss of faith while the Bible is about gaining faith. Throughout the story Goodman Brown realizes that all the people around him carry a great amount of evil on their shoulders. Therefore, Goodman Brown lets the world of the evil overcome him because he feels like there is no good left. “There is no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come, devil! For to thee is this world given” (para.50). Eventually he realizes that he too should embrace the devil now that he knows everyone else and everyone close to him are not what they seem. After embracing the devil, Goodman Brown’s life changes for the worst; “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become. . . for his dying hour was gloom” (para. 72). These traits are what make up Goodman Brown’s character after he goes through this experience of meeting with the devil. His life becomes sorrowful and filled with loneliness once he states; “My Faith is gone” (Para. 50). In the story, this is the point when Goodman Brown realizes that there is no hope left in the world, so why should he have faith is no one else has It. After his faith is diminished, his wife--Faith-- seems to change into a completely different person, she is no longer the “innocent” girl “wearing pink ribbons”. And with that, his internal faith and physical Faith

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