Category: Young Goodman Brown

As humankind was developing and progressing in its cognition of the world and self, the views of human essence varied depending on the time and place: some saw man as a tabula rasa, acquiring all the characteristics in course of life; others insisted on the inborn virtuousness of man, which was later spoilt by influences from the environment. In Puritan America, the idea of evil and sin inherent in humanity prevailed among the public and thus were by no chance widely reflected and developed in the literature of the period. One of the bright representatives of the literary trend of the time is Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose short stories My Kinsman Major Molineux and Young Goodman Brown concentrate the writers ideas on evil as the true nature of humanity, and this message is delivered to the reader, inter alia, by means of such literary elements as setting, symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing.

Hawthorne designs the setting of Young Goodman Brown in the village of Salem at the time when witch trials were held. On the one hand, such a choice of setting reflects his personal family history, as his great-great-grandfather, John Hawthorne served as an executive characterized by especial cruelty and absence of remorse. On the other hand, by setting the action at Salem Hawthorne produces a foreshadowing of the forthcoming Sabbath of witches. Likewise, is the witches Sabbath foreshadowed in Goodman Browns reference to the village minister: his voice would make me tremble both Sabbath day and lecture day (Hawthorne 1291).

The action takes place at night, and as time goes Brown moves onwards through a dense forest that none of his ancestors has ever been to. The intricate passages inside the forest can be viewed as a symbol of thorny paths of evil, and then Browns walk through them represents the wanderings of a wayward man who has drifted apart from the moral standards accepted by the general society.

The setting of the second story resembles that of the first in such features as the unfamiliarity of the place to the main character and the action taking place during nighttime. My Kinsman Major Molineux is set in a politically charged atmosphere of a city that closely resembles Boston (Jones 42). Unlike the forest in Young Goodman Brown that grows darker and gloomier with every step forward, the little metropolis of a New England colony strikes the inexperienced visitor, whose eyes have never seen more than a farm and its surroundings, with the variety of districts going from poor dilapidated huts to impressive mansions of the upper class (Hawthorne 1277). The place is called to symbolize a reflection of the British Empires magnificence that despite its entire splendor proved ungracious and hostile to the uncouth newcomer.

There is yet another common feature in the settings of both short stories, and it is the symbolic place of worship to which all the community gathers. Both the final destination of Goodman Browns walk through the forest and Robins observations from the church step are described as half-reality, half-vision, united by the common view of pines forming a symbolic colonnade enlightening the scene:

The four blazing pines threw up a loftier flame, and obscurely discovered shapes and visages of horror on the smoke wreaths above the impious assembly. (Hawthorne 1296)

& the pillars of the balcony lengthened into the tall, bare stems of pines, dwindled down to human figures, settled again into their true shape and size, and then commenced a new succession of changes. (Hawthorne 1285)

The main characters of both stories, two simple young men, Goodman Brown and good youth Robin, set off each for their trip pursuing an errand: Goodman Browns one is characterized as evil purpose, which though never stated can still be viewed as one that would allow for a calm and virtuous life once completed (Hawthorne 1276); and villager Robin is in search for his prosperous and influential relative, Major Molineux, who would presumably help the youth with his future career. Both young men are characterized by the simplicity of nature and this feature is emphasized by the symbolism of their names. Robins low-class background is further explicated in his deliberately described clothes that do not leave any doubts as to his origin.

A set of recurrent symbolic images appear throughout the short stories, forming a kind of leitmotif system and arousing flashbacks that knit the narration tight. In Young Goodman Brown one of such leitmotifs is the figure of wife, Faith in her attire of pink ribbons. As it is already apparent from her name, she represents the religious values of the time. Brown refers to her throughout the whole journey, and those references signify the key points of development of the story and the turning points in Browns attitude to the situation. In the beginning, the Goodman realizes the wrong he is doing by leaving his Faith, but he is full of intention to come back as soon as the errand is over, cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven (Hawthorne 1289). Encountering the mysterious companion in the forest, Brown excuses his being late by the fact that Faith kept [him] back, emphasizing the moral restraint he has been experiencing (Hawthorne 1290). As Brown proceeds on his way through the forest and is frightened by wild visions of witchcraft and satanic symbolism (serpents, broomsticks, and levitation), he still holds on to his original beliefs, With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil! but as soon as a pink ribbon falls into Browns hands he realizes that his Faith has been taken away by the devilish powers and ascertains that the world belongs to the evil: My Faith is gone!& There is no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come, the devil; for to thee is this world given (Hawthorne 1294). However desperate Goodman Brown becomes, yet he still preserves his good core and in the most dramatic moment of the Sabbath utters a cry calling his Faith to be strong: Faith! Faith!& look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one! (Hawthorne 1297). The whole drama of the situation is that Brown does not actually know, whether Faith obeyed or not; he lives the rest of his life in doubt, questioning the goodness or the sinfulness of his wife and fellow villagers (Levin 121). But taken as such, the short story narrates the tale of transition from firm belief to utter suspicion that makes the character restless.

A story of disillusionment, but in a different way, is discovered in My Kinsman Major Molineux: Robin comes to the big city in search of his influential uncle with the purpose of using him as a springboard for achieving success in society. The city community, represented by such personages as the hemming old man, the barbers, the visitors at the tavern, the gallant public strolling a gorgeous street, resents and rejects him as a representative of a lower class. The symbolic character of Major Molineux embodies the imperial grandeur and splendor; a member of the social elite, he is believed by Robin to possess all the possible privileges. In fact, to Robin Molineux represents and equals the empire itself, with all the honors titular  that is why, when wandering through a bad neighborhood, Robin exclaims, This low hovel cannot be my kinsmans dwelling (Hawthorne 1277). Majors supposed charitable act to the young man establishes him as a gracious benefactor, which in its turn allows drawing a parallel between Molineux and the British Empire: both establishing a master-servant relationship, the first  to his poor village relative, the second  to its colony. The more resounding is the overthrow the Major experiences when he is grotesquely dragged along the streets all in tar-and-feathery dignity (a dramatic irony indeed)  an event foreshadowed firstly in the very beginning of the story, as already disembarking from the ferry Robin can smell tar; and secondly, in the utterance of his companion on the church stairs, there does appear to be three or four riotous fellows abroad to-night (Hawthorne 1286). Indeed, the riot appears in view and is led by the same two-colored man that first attracted Robins attention in the tavern  another grotesque figure that actually embodies the tragedy of the situation: the riot against the Empire is led by no one else but a sword-bearing soldier in military attain, and the fall of one dictator brings no liberation but mockery and insanity to the wildly dancing crowd.

In both stories, there is a series of another foreshadowing worth mentioning: Browns wife expresses her foreboding of evil already when he is parting; the guests to the Sabbath gathering discuss the expected acceptance of a young couple to the evil community; the eventual fall of Major Molineux as the representative of the Empire has envisaged already in the introduction to the story by mentioning the negative attitude of the population to colonial governors; ibidem does Hawthorne outline the miserable existence of the British supporters and their declining authority before the revolutionary war. The writers irony is directed in this case at the formerly prosperous exploiters on the one hand, and at the simplistic people of the countryside who are easily persuaded into riots that lead to no improvement. In the other story Hawthorne ironically treats Browns naïve faith in the goodness of his fellow villagers who turned out to be double-faced, hypocritical, and more sinful than he could have imagined.

Both short stories in their symbolism represent a narration of personal character evolution: in Browns destructive case it was an evolution from faith to doubt of human goodness; Robin represents a more constructive personage who went from faith in the power of authority through doubt and rejection of it to faith in his own capacities.

References

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. My Kinsman Major Molineux. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 12761288.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 12891297.

Jones, Bartlett C. The Ambiguity of Shrewdness in My Kinsman, Major Molineux. Midcontinent American Studies Journal 3 (1962): 4247. Web.

Levin, David. Shadows of Doubt: Specter Evidence in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown. On Hawthorne: The Best from American Literature (1990): 114122.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for interest in Puritan faith and how he incorporates that into his stories. “Young Goodman Brown” is a perfect example of this, for the characters Puritan values play a huge role to the stories meaning. The first time reading through this story, it was unclear on what Nathaniel Hawthrone was trying to explain to us. After reading through it a couple more times it finally came clear to me that there are a couple different major and minor themes discussed in “Young Goodman Brown.” “Young Goodman Brown” teaches us lessons about too high of expectations, leaving faith, and judging people to harshly.

Goodman Brown, the main character who lives amongst the Puritan community. Puritans value things such as honesty, community, marriage, and god. Browns who decided to abandon these values to walk with the devil already set him back. Mentally and physically Brown walks away from his Faith. Physically, Brown walks away from his Faith by leaving his wife, who’s name ironically is Faith. Brown mentally leaves his faith the minute he makes this decision and believes his sin of the night will not leave an effect on his life. Saying goodbye to Faith- both literally and metaphorically- his wife says, “and may you find all well, when you come back”. (168) This is foreshadowing the decision Brown had made.

Guilt and paranoia are the emotions that come up in this story. Brown doesn’t just fell a crushing guilt not only because he is leaving his wife but also because he fears that Faith knows about the purpose of his journey. He fears being discovered as a sinner and he is certain that Faith is holy, and so it doesn’t occur to him that his wife is begging him to stay at home to keep them from both going into the woods at night and sinning their sins. Browns wife definitely doesn’t want him to leave as she says “this Dearest heart,’ whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, ‘pr’y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she’s afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!”.(168) She says this because she doesn’t what her husband to leave her until the morning, she just wants one more night with him. Maybe this is her way to get him to rethink his actions and decide not to go off into the woods. She wants to hold off his journey into the woods for the night and make him redecided on what he wants to do.

Even though Goodman Brown just lied to his wife and admits to himself that his journey is evil, he continues to think of himself as one of the elects, the people who think the Puritans believe are destined by god to go to heaven. He believes that his wife’s godliness will make him holy. Brown seems to think he can just dip his toe into the sin and then remove his toe from the sin without dealing with the harm that could have been done.

Hawthorne creates an utter contrast between the seemingly perfect young newlyweds and their sinister setting, Salem at nightfall. Their names “Faith” and “Goodman” promise the characters devotion and morality, and Faiths ribbons seem to be very childlike and innocent. Let’s look at Goodman Brown’s name. If you think about his name you think that he would be a “goodman” but in this story he is not. If he was the a goodman like his name is he wouldn’t be leaving his wife or sinning in his life. But the setting of the story is important. Salem it the Puritan town which is famous for its murderous and hypocritical “Witch Trials” suggesting that either a sin or problematic terror of sin lie beneath the beautiful exterior.

Brown is extremely opinionated, believing he can leave his values and faith all at once and still be accepted into heaven. The Puritans believed that only God knew who would be accepted into heaven, and the pursuit of people may be rotten underneath. Brown had thought that his sin filled that night would have no effect on him going into heaven, because his wife would be going down there.

In Goodman Brown, Hawthorne tires to demonstrate that man’s limitation comes from his inner fight with evil. Furthermore, Hawthornes adversary give characters the fight with the protagonist, Brown deserts his uncertain indecisive and at last sets himself determinedly on a path. Goodman Brown, as already stated, was an individual who was very overwhelmed by his self-conscious and was someone who thought himself to have committed serious sin by meeting the devil and taking part of a meeting of witches in his imaginings. This dream of the protagonist spoke of an epoch where people were torching with religious remorse and false notions. During a meeting with the devil Goodman Brown realizes that his wife Faith is being taken away by the devil. This just actually mean his wife but his faith. Brown said this “ My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, Devil, for to thee is this world given.”(175) I think here he is begging the devil not to take away his faith. But what Brown doesn’t realize is that he sinned against his believes and now a sinful person who believe differently from his own beliefs.

Goodman Brown may supposedly be Hawthorne’s own expressions of his own efforts with his confidence in humanity and his own self. The author was a guilt-ridden person and I believe that he had many instances when his faith was tested. Brown is Hawthorne to a lesser extent. Goodman Brown starts out as a good, happy decent man and he seems very content. All this changes when he decided against the advice his wife faith that he should go out on a journey into the woods to meet the devil. It is obvious that that the path in the woods he sustains was a symbol into the dark truth. As he continues walking the path in the woods, he arrives at the peak of his journey when he arrives at the place where the witches where holding a meeting. Brown now believes to have lost his faith despite his lost effort to save his spouse. He never knew if he was successful in saving her. This is certainly the main aspect which led to his destruction.

The Puritans forest is marked as a place of fear and a place of possibility. It contained a threat from Indians and a world out of the control of the puritan’s village, but it also was a place to escape from the pressures of the society and its people that where all watching each other for sin. Brown, who is walking into the woods expresses out of a sinful curiosity. The forest seems to be a place to hide a sin everywhere. The forest might also be seen as a place to reflect his own mind, which is full of his own confusions and terrors. “The road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness, and still rushing onward with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil. The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds—the creaking of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians; while sometimes the wind tolled like a distant church-bell, and sometimes gave a broad roar around the traveler, as if all Nature were laughing him to scorn”.(175). Brown finally accepts the evil fate that he put on himself and runs towards the Devil. The conditions around him become fierce and scarier, but that didn’t stop Brown form continuing towards the devil.

The threshold of the house symbolizes the turning point in this story, the moment in which Goodman Brown can either choose to listen to Faith and stay at home as a good husband or go follow his curiosity and go off into the night alone. Faith’s fear of bad dreams suggests that there are a couple of different possibilities: that there may be something evil and mystic about Brown’s mysterious nighttime journey; she may simply see the fear in being lonely without her husband at; or that she may worry about what she might do without her husband around.

The ending of this story is diffidently a different way to end a story. The narrator never steps in and says rather Browns whole story was a dream or not. What the narrator does do is sum everything up as to what happened to Young Goodman Brown. “And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, and aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly process, besides neighbors not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.” (73) This quote is explaining what had happened to Brown when he died at the end. He will be followed by faith, even though he didn’t believe in any of his faith, he will also be followed by everyone who loved him and a couple of people who didn’t care for him that much but still cared.

Goodman Brown does not live up to what we would like he would with name like Goodman Brown. If he was the Goodman like we would like he wouldn’t be meeting with the devil or leaving his wife who’s name is ironically faith and would definitely not leave the beliefs he had to meet with the devil. He doesn’t fully live up to his name.

Innocence can be defined as a lack of guile or corruption; purity. The loss of innocence can occur when exposed to the destructive parts of the world. When examining the short story Young Goodman Brown, there proves to be a narrative of the loss of innocence. (Garcia) Young Goodman Brown was published in 1835 by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th-century Puritan New England, a common setting for his works. The descendent of infamously harsh Puritans, and the only child of a sea captain who died when he was four, Hawthorne grew up in Salem, Massachusetts. (wikipedia) He was a descendent of a Puritan judge who ordered the execution of the Salem Witch Trials. (Hagen) Hawthorne frequently focuses on the tensions within Puritan culture, yet steeps his stories in the Puritan sense of sin. (Wikipedia) In his short story Young Goodman Brown, the use of setting and symbolism contribute to the portrayal of the theme of loss of innocence.

In the short story Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne’s use of setting contributes to the portrayal of the theme of loss of innocence. This is evident as Hawthorne made a clear distinction between the town and the forest: the town was described with a beautiful sunset, whereas the forest was described in a dark and evil manner. This distinction allows the reader to see the final moments of Young Goodman Brown’s innocence, and how this innocence is essentially taken away when he enters the forest. A change of language in the story can also be seen as Goodman Brown entered the forest, which further emphasizes its dark nature. “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.” (Hawthorne) As he left the village, which represented his youth and innocence, and entered the forest, which represents his adulthood, his innocent state was essentially shattered. The further Brown wandered into the forest, the more corrupt he became as the forest became darker and closed him in from all sides. To further exemplify how the setting assists with the portrayal of the theme of loss of innocence, the story takes place in Salem. This setting is ideal because of its historical context, as it is where the Salem Witch Trials, the Puritan intolerance of the Quakers, and King Philip’s War took place. By including these references, Hawthorne reminds the reader of the dubious history of Salem Village and the legacy of the Puritans. (SparkNotes) ‘Well said, Goodman Brown! I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that’s no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem. And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philip’s War.” (Hawthorne) Brown believed that his father and grandfather would never step into the forest due to honor. Once the devil told him that this was not the case, the reader is able to see how Brown is affected by this information, and how he is further corrupted. Therefore, the reader is able to see why Salem was an ideal place for the story to take place due to its dark history, and how the protagonist is further corrupted as he wandered into the forest.

Along with setting, Hawthrone’s use of symbolism contributes to the portrayal of the theme of loss of innocence. This is evident as the character’s names are used to symbolize innocence: The name Young Goodman Brown is symbolic of innocence, as “young” is referring to his youth, and “goodman” is referring to his good nature. He is also newly-wed, which adds to his youthful character. As Brown is used to portray someone of good nature, he also shows corruptibility. This can be seen as he initially believed that everyone around him was good, however, by the end of the story, not only is he corrupt, but he also believes that everyone around him is corrupt as well. “By the sympathy of your human hearts, for sin ye shall scent out all the places – whether in church, bed-chamber, street, field, or forest – where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood spot.” (Hawthorne) Towards the end of the story, the devil promises Young Goodman Brown a future filled with sinning – a completely different view of life from what he had been living. Initially, Goodman Brown thought of his family as pure and good. However, when he returned to the village, he trusted no one, and like the devil’s speech suggested, Goodman Brown saw the evil in everyone. (SparkNotes) Similarly, like Young Goodman Brown, his wife, Faith is used to symbolize purity, as well as her husband’s faith. (Hagen) Initially, Faith is meant to represent someone good and pure, as her “pretty head” and “pink ribbons” helps to emphasize the youth and innocence of her character. She remained a symbol of her husband’s religious faith throughout the story. This is seen when Goodman Brown first met up with the devil and explained being late because “Faith kept me back a while,” which literally referred to his wife Faith begging him not to leave, and figuratively to his religious faith, which could have stopped him from meeting up with the devil, but didn’t. (Hagen) This can be seen again when Young Goodman Brown realized that Faith had converted to satanism, and he is corrupted: “ ‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth, and sin is but a name.’ ” (Hawthorne) Losing his wife, meant the literal loss of his spiritual faith. Hawthorne symbolizing the character’s name shows the reader how even the innocent can become corrupt.

The short story Young Goodman Brown, written by Nathanial Hawthorne, portrays the theme of loss of innocence through the use of setting and symbolism. Using the setting of Salem, and more specifically the forest, the reader is able to see how the protagonist became corrupt and lost his innocence the further he wandered into the forest. Furthermore, by using the characters name as symbols, the reader is able to see how anybody can become corrupt and lose their innocence. There is an inherent warning in Hawthorne’s story against the notions of unrealistic expectations against the backdrop imperfect human beings.

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story that was published in 1835 the author features a depth of characteristics of a religious man that had faced the harsh truth of sins and wicked evilness of men as well as having shown the reality that his religion is based on falsity of faith explicitly detailing the hypocrisy of his fellow men. It is an intriguing and insightful short story that centers towards the duality of men’s moral values embedded in life, showing its good and evil sides as well as expressing the justification of their sins and doubt in decisions that may or may not alter our very lives.

The book is about a realization of the falsity of his religion Puritanism as well as the hideous personality of a man’s evil intention and temptation. The author argues that every man has two sides that we may or may know at all. A side that we thought them as pious but in truth, is a vile person. He definitively explained the doubts and realizations of Goodman’s decision in his religion Puritanism by showing the curious perspective of the character. The setting of the story mainly focuses on the Salem village of the main character where his wife and fellow religious villagers lived, and the dark dreadful forest. Reading the short story as well as conducting research about the short story points out the historical and bibliographical life of the author himself. In this particular story, he gives us a glimpse of his shame of the misdeeds of his father and his religion puritanism during the persecution of supposed wicked witches. Goodman Brown, Faith, the fifty-year-old man, Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse, Minister, and the old lady are the names of the characters in the story. Based on my understanding of the story, the main point of it is to show that humanity is like a coin corruptible or greatness are two sides of the same coin there is no in-between them; a choice and decision always center the life of a man. No matter how small it is it could still change the course of the path you chose. It also points out that no matter the goodness you had or you have seen, there are times that the sins committed could be falsely justified by either oneself or the other. The theme of the story focuses on the two factors: the duality of good and evil as well as losing the last strand of a naïve innocence of knowledge about faith itself. The author concludes that the conflict of men themselves, as well as the society, is evident in ourselves and religion. Aside from the gratification of sins and hypocrisy of men it gives insight that men are just a mere human that could commit sins and validates the two equal perspectives based on the morality of a human.

After repeatedly reading this short story and doing research about the author, I realized that the events mentioned in the story largely mirrors the life of the author himself as well as the misguided judgments, and the gratification of sinning a daily basis. These factors are still apparent in today’s society that after reading this story. I had an epiphany that indeed evil is part of our nature’s conditioning. We know that within ourselves we sin with or without knowing it at all. This kind of conditioning is already seated in our very core that sinning itself can be justified if permitted to reason it out. However, I do not like the thought that ‘evil is part of our mankind’ because neither are we born as intentionally evil nor anyone is born out of his/her volition to be evil themselves rather we mold ourselves to be who we are, and it wholly depends on the conditioning we had as we grow older. It is within this conditioning that we let the tainted temptations get into us making ourselves susceptible to the dark corruptions mostly resulting in having the duality of morality.

The Young-man Goodman Brown story was able to attain intended goals of the story by showing the historical life of the author himself, deconstructing the binary oppositions of the symbols used to convey that flaws and inherent goodness that takes us to the deeper insight to what lurks beyond it and the psychoanalytical flaws of mankind giving way for us to know that this flaw defines us to be imperfectly perfect being.

As I had researched in his history, he mostly wrote stories detailing his religion Puritanism which is about the great religious experience being exercised and family history to cite examples that express his goals in writing it mainly to let the readers know the hypocrisy and shame he felt knowing the dark wicked story of his family relations towards the execution of the falsely charged female witches, and the great involvement of his religion Puritanism in it. Reaching to the point that he added a ‘w’ letter to hide the atrocities of his family. As the events of the story implies the old man greatly spoke the brief history of the misdeeds of the author’s family indicating that history is not all about victories and purging the evil but expressing the dark gruesome fate of the hypocrisy of his religion Puritanism towards the female thought as evil witches as well as taking us to the perspective that mankind has lapses in their judgments, actions, and emotions.

Throughout the story, the authors had used a lot of symbols to be interpreted in many ways. Namely, characters themselves: Goodman Brown represents the naïve, easily influenced and innocence of a person and later lost his conceptions about his faith and respect to others. As the story progresses the author explicitly implied the curious side of the main character as well as expressing his thoughts and doubts about the dubious old man and the naïve thinking that all men are good individuals until it was ruined by knowing the harsh truth of evilness lurking within these individuals. Faith, on the other hand, as the name implies gives faith to his husband and draws out that everything is all about goodness around them. The objects about the character such as the pink ribbon show two sides representing the naivety of her husband and losing the innocence of her husband. Even in the beginning, the symbol ‘pink ribbon’ is often stated again and again in his departure to seek answer regarding the temptations of the old man clearly stating the naïve thinking of Goodman about the old man. Again it was stated in the conflict of the story when Goodman saw his wife in the ceremonial rites of the demoniacal practice he was once invited to join. Stating the inevitable loss of innocence of her husband. The ‘staff that resembles a snake’ could be taken as a symbolism of the temptation of evilness towards the easily influenced innocence of Goodman. Lastly, the settings the dark dreadful forest could be taken as a symbolism of pure evil intentions and temptations of the dubious religious practitioners that lived in the same village as the main character while the Salem village could symbolize as the mask of tainted truth; hypocrisy itself is broadly evident in the villagers supposed religious belief. These symbols unify one thought I could gather as I read it. It is all about the human fallible characteristics that even I as a reader could relate to it. These flaws enable us to see the world in a wise perception that not every good man is a perfect human nor not every misunderstood man is a vile man. We need not look what lies before us, but we need to look beyond the perception.

The psychoanalytical analysis of the story exhibits the conflict of fulfilling his desire towards the influenced temptation and the conscience suppressing his desire to fulfill it. Throughout the story, the character arc of Goodman Brown flowed in Three parts. The 1st part detailing the child-like innocence that could be easily manipulated by the evil man. For me, it might be because of his deep-rooted faith exercise, and curiosity getting the best of him that gets to the point that he disregards his doubts and fears on the entrancing persuasion of the old man. In his 2nd part, this is where he puts his doubts, fears, and distrust towards the old man. It’s because of the suspicious environment he was set to travel and the dodgy staff that the old man had in his hand. The 3rd part is where he realizes the sad and harsh truth of the villager’s characters concerning his religion that he got to decide not to trust them anymore. Throughout the events of the story, it is evident that the guilt, temptation, desire and falsity of characteristics are used as dark imagery of man’s other perspective. It showcases the direct approach of two sides contradicting on one another. It showed the truth of the battle each one of us takes in taking a choice between the decisions we made. The story lets us interpret out of making us ponder to take matters logically and disregarding the moral values it opposes or it may make us wonder if taking the moral value with it may make us not so vile person.

You must read this short story because it evokes the very conscience of the reader to think thoroughly of the things she thought is similar to sinning. One may think that sinning may depend on its degree of severity and just concluding that it might not be a sin at all. However, it is not about the case to case bases rather it is about the strong urge to resist doing the said sin. Once you’ve read this passage you will be reawakened about this kind of thoughts and would be wise enough not to sin. Another point to make in reading this passage is that it lets you know the dichotomy of human characteristics and enables you to know that not everything around us is showing the real thing.

When “Young Goodman Brown” is read simply, the role of Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith, can easily be interpreted as an allegory of Brown’s own faith. Hawthorne has written the story in a way that allows the reader to interpret it using their own experiences as a guide. If the reader looks deeper, it becomes apparent that Hawthorne is alluding to more than just Faith as one’s faith becoming lost and corrupted. Hawthorne uses this story to illustrate that faith is more complex than blindly following religion. True faith is not perfect and requires questioning. Ignorance of other’s actions is not bliss, and faith is not breaking down when the moral depravity of others is revealed. How one reacts to this unveiling and continues to have faith is what is important.

When Goodman Brown’s wife is introduced in the opening paragraph it is stated, “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap.” (Hawthorne 1) Hawthorne chooses the word ‘aptly’ to describe Faith’s name because he wants the reader to automatically be able to infer the relationship between Faith and religious faith. He goes a step further by describing the ribbons in Faith’s hair to give her the air of innocence and naivety that is often associated with faith. The next paragraph is where the reader is required to delve deeper to understand Hawthorne’s message. Faith says to her husband, “A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she’s afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!” (2) This line begs the question, why would Faith, who is up until this point an allegory for religious faith, be afraid of what she might do? This is the first sign that Faith is not perfect, and Hawthorne is hinting at how faith is not faultless even in this pure town. However, just after that line, Brown 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.” (7) Brown is not listening to what Faith is saying, he is seeing her as a two-dimensional figure who is meant to keep him safe and bring him to heaven after the sinful act he is going to commit.

Goodman Brown has always held his faith strong and believes that the pious people in his village are inherently good. When he hears them mixing together with the ungodly people, his faith wavers. This is demonstrated by Faith appearing, “There was one voice, of a young woman, uttering lamentations, yet with an uncertain sorrow, and entreating for some favor, which, perhaps, it would grieve her to obtain.” (47) This represents the impasse Brown has reached. He was originally curious about what was happening in the woods, but he has now decided to take a stand against the devil. Faith represents the struggle between fulfilling his curiosity and learning the world was not how he thought, or staying in his own realm of naivety. Faith demonstrates the sorrow Brown feels for leaving behind his innocence as well as the anguish his newfound knowledge will cause him. When Brown catches Faith’s pink ribbon in his hands he believes it to mean his Faith is gone and, in this moment, his religious faith is also gone, “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! for to thee is this world given.” (50) Without faith there is no hope, and Brown loses his blessed ignorance of the real world.

Throughout the story Brown relies on his Faith to save him, “Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream!” (65) this line demonstrates that one cannot depend on another to be their savior. Hawthorne uses irony here to allude to the ending where Brown is not sure whether the night’s events were a dream or not. In the church, Communion is “the realization of the relationship between Christ and the communicant.” (Merriam-Webster) When the devil says, “Welcome… to the communion of your race,” (Hawthorne 65) he is referencing the Act of Communion in the church. This moment signifies the realization of the relationship between people and inevitable sin. It is important to the story because it shows even with all the horror and terror that goes on in the world it is imperative to maintain your faith. “Prepare to lay the mark of baptism upon their foreheads, that they might be partakers of the mystery of sin, more conscious of the secret guilt of others.” (67) This moment represents Brown losing his ingenuousness. He decides to “resist the Wicked One” (68) and in this resists the knowledge that life is not as black and white as he thought. When Hawthorne writes, “whether Faith obeyed, he knew not.” (69) This signifies that Brown doesn’t know whether he believes in his faith anymore. At the beginning of the story Brown was sure that Faith was going to save him and now he is not even sure if he can trust her to listen to him.

Faith is not an allegory for faith the way most people think of religious faith. The message in Hawthorne’s story is that faith must be questioned, and it is not perfect. Goodman Brown’s view of Faith and his actual faith changes in this initiation story. He starts with believing fully in the goodness of the other villagers in his town to shutting them all out entirely. Hawthorne wants people to recognize that even when it is revealed that something is completely different than what was originally thought, it does not mean it is necessary to lose faith in humanity or God. Faith does not mean thinking everything is perfect in the world, it means realizing it isn’t and still living life and having faith. Hawthorne is letting the reader decide what they believe happened in the story; however, the ending calls the reader to be wary of cynicism. Hawthorne allows the reader’s imagination to create their own ending and this exposes the reader to the knowledge that nothing is two-dimensional and that each perspective is different.

Introduction to ‘Young Goodman Brown’ and Its Themes

The short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne may show that the people who appear represent morality have secrets to hide and overall wickedness exists in every human.

My thesis may be misinterpreted; I do not mean to explicitly state that everyone is mischievous. Hawthorne himself frequently said that there is evil in every human heart and that evil impulses visit every human heart. However, he did not say evil is inherent. In the same way, my argument does not assert that wickedness is inborn, but rather, it exists and can be brought out.

Allegorical Elements and Symbolism in the Story

Hawthorne uses an allegorical message throughout the story to show the evils of the devil, the world, and people. This can be seen in Young Goodman Brown’s experience in dark forest and the Puritan faith Brown was associated with. The short story has a hidden meaning, being the fall of man, in order to illustrate what he sees as hypocrisy in religion. Hawthorne sets up a story of a man who is tempted by the devil and yields because of the weakness of his faith.

When the reader is first introduced to Brown, we make him out to be a saint. However, he was motivated by self-interest to deliberately and knowingly indulge in sin. His confidence to yield to sin shows through is actions. At an earlier time, he had promised to visit Satan. He had not been loyal to Faith and expected to be loyal after one more indulgence in sin, as if there had been a of sort desire to do wrong many times, and allowing himself to face goodness again. Hawthorne’s work shows various concepts such as the reality of sin, the pervasiveness of evil, the results of doubt and disbelief, and the secret sins of every person.

A concept that is prominent in the short story is duplicity. The deceptive nature of people can ultimately be shown through the validity of names in the short story. The names of each of the characters must carry some sort of significance because they reflect characteristics that are not present in those characters.

Character Analysis: Goodman Brown and His Moral Dilemma

The name “Goodman Brown” is double-dealing. “Goodman’ is a name that may bring to mind a man of innocence and the will to do good, yet the last name Brown suggests something dirty or soiled which may explain his the sin he committed. This ambiguous name is also related to how he is as a man. He shows both innocence and corruptibility as he wavers between believing in the inherent goodness of the people around him and believing that the devil has taken over the minds of all the people he loves.

Goodman’s wife’s name is Faith, which does not reflect the name she represents. Initially she is represented as reserved; the pink ribbons in her hair to me portrays innocence. Because Faith is seen as the epitome of morality, Goodman assures himself that if Faith remains godly, then his own faith is worth fighting temptation to maintain because she seems to be the most pure-hearted person. Although from the beginning she seems like an innocent woman, Faith has been corrupted and attends an evil ceremony leading to Goodman believing in the absolute evil at the heart of man.

Goodman sees an old woman who he realizes that he knows, her name is Goody, who is known in the community to be a pious old woman. Goodman becomes embarrassed and does not want her to see him, however, she surprisingly reveals herself to be a witch. Notice how both of these characters have similar names, but their names do not match their identity.

The Use of Imagery and Deceptive Appearances

People in the story take on appearances that are opposite to their true selves. A devil appears as an old man, and even objects take on a dual nature. Goodman Brown meets a man who carries a staff, which turns into a snake that twists and seems to “wriggle itself like a living serpent.’ Seeing these events unfold, the readers would quickly realize that nothing is as it seems. Through the use of deceptive imagery, there is a creation of a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man’s inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism.

If one looks into it closely they may agree that our protagonist is, in fact, not a godly man but rather has a heart of darkness. Goodman’s actions support the view that wickedness exists in every human. Brown is a Puritan, and this religion stressed that each man had free will to choose and the sanctity of his/her soul was at risk; in other words, every individual had the mandate to determine his destiny by making choices. If he is using is free will to do such things, he is making choices to determine his destiny in an evil way.

The sense of evil is not separate from Goodman but it is rather in it and of him. Goodman chose to leave to an unknown forest when the world was plunging into darkness against his wife’s wishes to wait until sunrise. Why did he enter the darkness? “But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness (Proverbs 4:19)”Goodman was very aware of the sinful nature of his actions and that he accepts without question the words of the devil.

One of the questions that goes unanswered is whether Brown was living in a dream or reality. If it was a reality, it is because of the wickedness in the world, and this kind of events witnessed by Brown in the forest can become more of a norm if that is the case. If it was a dream, the events occurred in his head, but what evilness could exist in his mind in order for him to think in this way?

Goodman Brown had lost his innocence regardless of whether he was dreaming or not. Goodman made a personal choice to go out to the wicked forest and he was not even compelled by an evil force or anything of the sort, which shows his evil intentions. Even if Brown did dream, it is a representation of the intrinsic immoral nature of his mind. If the events are real, then Brown can see for himself that all characters are deceitful.

Brown witnesses a black mass, during which many of the people he always thought were pious, God-fearing Christians appear to be devil-worshippers. Whether they are with Satan, or just playing around with the forces of darkness, this proves that not everything is as it seems. He thinks he sees his father beckoning towards him; this is the type of wickedness that Goodman witnesses.

There is a significant amount of ambiguity within the occurrences of the short story Young Goodman Brown. The eerie setting is a role in the story’s ambiguity. Walking in the forest veiled with darkness lead to the events that follow which consume his beliefs. Goodman enters the forest during nighttime; the darkness leads to Goodman and the reader not exactly knowing the reality of what he would encounter.

The narrator states: “It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such a solitude the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that, with lonely footsteps, he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.” Goodman must have been so intrigued by sin that he was willing to face the utter loneliness and darkness that came with meeting the devil. The very fact that Goodman Brown is willing to visit the forest when he has an idea of what will happen there is an indication of the corruptibility and evil at the heart of even the most faithful Puritan.

“Young Goodman Brown” is set in the New England town of Salem, where the Puritans tried to create a religious society with strict morals and pious norms. Puritan communities were profoundly focused on the value and necessity of the appearance of goodness, believing that it was a reflection of inner goodness and therefore a sign of one’s chance of heavenly redemption, and engaged in social policing to determine what counts as “good.” Hawthorne uses the setting to explore the dark side to the Puritan emphasis on the appearance of good.

Puritanism makes sharper distinction between sinners and non-sinners. Goodman initially believes wholeheartedly in Puritan tenets, he sees how everyone he knows to be holy be following Satan, he concludes that “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name.” He concludes that everyone is evil and that the word “sin” has no value because everyone is sinful. What does this say about Puritanism and religion itself? Even with the religions familiarity with following God and being holy, the story’s allegory asserts that there is a dark side to Puritanism. As Brown faces the devil’s temptation, people easily persuade him to abandon what once grounded him, Puritanism.

I believe Hawthorne tries to relate his short story to that of the Adam and Eve story. God demanded them to not eat from the tree of life. Yet, Eve, who was convinced by the crafty snake, persuaded Adam to disobey God’s command and committed sin by eating the very forbidden fruit. Eve was aware that eating the fruit for the tree of life was prohibited. Brown’s religion should have held him back from his journey; he knew that he was doing a wrong deed.

Eve and Brown have something in common, they are both intrigued by something that reeled them into sin. Eve’s curiosity leads to her punishment; her banishment from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve’s eyes were both opened and they knew good and evil. Goodman Brown’s curiosity leads to the devil telling Goodman Brown and Faith that their eyes will now be opened to the wickedness of themselves and those around them in the course of the

Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden and forced to undergo all the trials and tribulations of being human, and Goodman Brown returns from the forest to find that the joy in life has been taken away from him. He has become suspicious of those around him, even the woman he once loved.

The idea of witchcraft is not unknown to the Puritans; it appears throughout the Holy Bible. “The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so” (Deut. 18:14). The terms sorcery and divination are replacements for acts of witchcraft. The verse is clear that God does not permit such practices. Hawthorne brings witchcraft into his story as the catalyst that lured Brown into evil. Several of the characters share the names of individuals charged with witchcraft.

Hawthorne’s intention is to use the relationship between Brown and witchcraft to symbolize the relationship between man and his Puritan faith. As Brown was drawn closer to witchcraft and those who believed in it, he slipped further away from the life of meaning

This implies that the far an individual goes from God, the deeper s/he sinks into sin. The far Brown stayed around witches the deeper he sank into sin characterized by loss of meaningful life. In essence, God gives people purposes in life and without Him; life is meaningless as evidenced by Brown.

The devil operates on a worldwide scale as well as upon individuals. He explains that the pain, insanity evil and chaos we witness in this world as individuals can be traced back to the works of Satan. As of now man are interested in evil activities such as Satanism, astrology, occults, cults and so forth. These powers are stronger than we think; we are not as strong as we think to overcome them it will almost certainly mean that we will be defeated by them.

The Puritan faith was largely based on the conflict between good and evil. A devout Puritan resisted temptation, no matter how great, letting his faith guide him through life. Nathaniel Hawthorne used the escapades of Young Goodman Brown as an example of that good and evil conflict. Evil came in form of witches, serpent’s tails, and allusions; however in the end evil, was in the mind of Young Goodman Brown.

In puritan culture one was not expected to leave their partner or lose faith in the significant other. A man was to remain true to his faith and his wife. Marriage is known as when two become one.

Conclusion: The Complexity of Evil and Morality

Goodman Browns beliefs are shattered threefold, after he sees his father and grandfather in the presence of the devil. Goody Cloyse, the minister, was expected to be a godly person until the devil shows him that Goody is a witch with followers. Finally, he believes that Faith is pure and good, until the devil reveals at the ceremony that Faith, too, is corruptible. Goodman Brown’s awakening to the evil nature of those around him.

Goodman Brown believes in the public professions of faith made by his father and the elders of his church and in the societal structures that are built upon that faith. Hawthorne suggests, however, that behind the public face of godliness, the Puritans’ actions were not always Christian. The devil in the story says that he was present when Brown’s father and grandfather whipped Quakers and set fire to Indian villages, making it clear that the story of the founding of New England has a dark side that religion fails to explain. The very fact that Goodman Brown is willing to visit the forest when he has an idea of what will happen there is an indication of the corruptibility and evil at the heart of even the most faithful Puritan.

From a contemporary view, it is obvious that everyone is sinful and because of this sin has lost its meaning. Hawthorn’s short story is a way to criticize how Puritanism claims to be holy, but secretly is crafty. What Brown had experienced opened his eyes to the things initially unseen, he was able to see the lies secretly told in his religion and so he no longer adheres to it. He has lost all his faith in humanity and morality. After the experience, he is set to live a life of doubt and sadness. This story may just suggest that even with religion, there may be an impurity.

Citations

1. McKeithan, D. M. “Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’: An Interpretation.” Modern Language Notes, vol. 67, no. 2, 1952, pp. 93–96. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2909960
2. Fogle, Richard H. “Ambiguity and Clarity in Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown.’” The New England Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 4, 1945, pp. 448–465. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/361062
3. Boonyaprasop, Marina. “Hawthorne’s Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown”, Hamburg. Anchor Academic Pub., 2013
4. Hurley, Paul J. “Young Goodman Brown’s ‘Heart of Darkness.’” American Literature, vol. 37, no. 4, 1966, pp. 410–419. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2923136
5. Cook, Reginald. “The Forest of Goodman Brown’s Night: A Reading of Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown.’” The New England Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 3, 1970, pp. 473–481. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/363309
6. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Young Goodman Brown.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 16 Nov. 2019
7. Ivyland Editors. “Young Goodman Brown. Puritanism in Hawthorne’s Story.” IvyPanda.com. September 10, 2019
8. Walsh, Thomas F., Jr. ‘The Bedeviling of Young Goodman Brown.’ Modern Language Quarterly 19.4 (Dec. 1958): 331-336. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anna J. Sheets. Vol. 29. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Apr. 2016
9. ‘In ‘Young Goodman Brown,’ what is the wickedness that Brown witnesses and how are he and Faith involved in it?’ eNotes Editorial, 3 Mar. 2016, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/in-young-goodman-brown-what-is-the-wickedness-641867. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.
10. Hagen, Anna. ‘Young Goodman Brown.’ LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 17 Aug 2015. Web. 12 Dec 2019.
11. (New International Version, Proverbs 4:19, Deut. 18:14) New International Version. [Colorado Springs]: Biblica, 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. Mar. 2011.

The question of understanding and interpreting literature is one of those that have kept all great minds thinking. The question of history, in its turn, is even more controversial, as it has been written and re-written so many times that we cannot be sure which version to take as granted. However, history is not only facts written in textbooks, but it is also literature, the written word, often so precise that it leaves no doubts. America, a country with a disputable and troubled heritage, has been quite successful in telling their history from their point of view, making themselves and the world believe in their vision. Unfortunately, no vision is ideal. In the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author reveals the ugliest faults of American history, introducing us to the history of an exceptional nation capable of both great and horrible things.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the most prominent figures of the American Renaissance, is known for his thought-provoking multi-layer writing in which he was not afraid to raise controversial topics of religion, sin and people’s dual nature. It is truly remarkable, how he managed to make a short story such as “Young Goodman Brown” so abundant in quite obvious allusions to the events that most Americans are not proud of. The very first line of the story gives us the first hint. There we see the name of the town which has become the capital of frightening and tragic events back in the colonial New England: “Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street at Salem village; ” (Hawthorne, 1) This town is now referred to as the place of origin of the concept of witch-hunting – though the first known use of witch hunt in its modern sense was not earlier than 1885 (Merriam-Webster) – and is a suitable setting for the events taking place in the story. It is an interesting fact that this town had a personal meaning for Hawthorne himself. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Salem was his birthplace and his family had strong ties with the town for many generations. One of his ancestors was a judge in the famous Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This legacy could not have been easy to bear for such a progressive thinker as Hawthorne, but in his work, he displays courage to admit the past and give food for thought for the future. The professor of the University of Texas Fannye N. Cherry begins her article on the sources of the work in question with the statement that “In its characters, setting, and descriptive details the story of ‘Young Goodman Brown’ reproduces the witch-haunted Salem of Hawthorne’s ancestors; .” (Cherry, 342) From this, we can conclude that Hawthorne did not try to escape his past, but recognized it and pointed out the real and the symbolic meanings of the town not only for himself but for the whole American nation.

As we know, Salem also happened to be the heart of Puritanism. In “Young Goodman Brown”, it is easy to trace the author’s questioning of the moral values of people practising this religion. The contradiction between the community that is supposed to believe in “the common good” (Frey, 1573), honesty, and justice, and the actual life its members lead is raised to the uppermost level. For instance, the contrast between the choice of the name of Goodman’s wife, Faith, and the actual loss of faith and hope for Goodman when she is being led to the altar in the forest (Hawthorne, 9) gives us the notion that everything that is one thing on the surface may eventually turn out to be different on the inside. Other multiple contrasts like witches teaching religion (Hawthorne, 4), and the deacon turning out to be one of the Devil’s disciples (Hawthorne, 5) seems to be shouting that American society is as flawed as any other and cannot be taken as a paragon of purity and perfection.

Another allusion to an issue about which the American nation has always been concerned is hidden in the story, and that is the Indian question. Walking through the forest along the creepy path that leads the protagonist straight to his dishonourable destination Goodman is afraid to be attacked by an Indian. “ ’There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,’ said Goodman Brown to himself; and he glanced fearfully behind him ” (Hawthorne, 2) This exact wording “a devilish Indian” shows us that an Indian is ranked together with the Devil himself in the mind of a good religious American. This remark has likely been chosen by the author to expose the controversy between how the colonists viewed the members of this nation and what atrocities they were ready to commit to free themselves from their “problem”. Here comes a question: who does the author think the real enemy is? “Evil is the nature of mankind.” (Hawthorne, 9) Here is the answer we seek. Everyone is capable of doing evil and most of us have made use of this side of our nature for one reason or another.

This question of the double nature of the human race is one of the leading motifs in the story. Hawthorne proves that being a good citizen and performing civil and religious duties properly does not necessarily mean that the person has strong moral values and is ready to stay true to them when tested. It is not only shown on the example of all the “good” people from the community, but on the example of the protagonist himself. The decisions he makes lead him to an inevitable transformation when he can no longer stay good and faithful. Or we might as well ask if he was ever good. Paul J. Hurley believes that “the pervasive sense of evil in the story is not separate from or outside its protagonist; it is in and of him” (Hurley, 412) It is easily proved if we look at the beginning of the story where we find out about Goodman’s “present evil purpose” (Hawthorne, 1) There is no mentioning of how such an idea came to him or why he did not reject it at once and did not refuse to go, as a good pious man would do. This idea must have been tempting and enticing for Goodman as any forbidden knowledge would have been. It must have planted the seeds of doubt and interest, but only the existence of darkness and evil in his soul explains why he choose to go along this path. This way the author proves that the existence of darkness in everyone is what explains social, moral and other injustices that have ever happened not only in American history but in the history of the entire humankind.

Along with darkness often comes disenchantment. “The next morning young Goodman Brown came slowly into the street of Salem village, staring around him like a bewildered man.” (Hawthorne, 9) The protagonist lost his faith in everything around him after what he experienced. A man can move on even when he sees sin around him but still believes that he himself can be saved. That is not the case with Goodman: “ a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream.” (Hawthorne, 10) After the encounter with his own wickedness, he could no longer stay the same, he never recovered. By depicting such a glum picture, the author wants to show us the harsh reality of life. However, this also proves the opposite: despite some individual examples, the spirit of the nation cannot be easily broken. Even disappointed, people try to gather up courage and go along. If not for that, America would have been in ruins long ago.

Not surprisingly, the question of slavery finds its place in the story as well. There is no direct reference to it in the text, and one may argue that it is not present there at all. To prove the opposite, let us look at the following sentence closely: “The clock of the Old South was striking as I came through Boston .” (Hawthorne, 2) Here it is – “the clock of the Old South”, the reference to the church which has become one of the symbols of American resistance and independence, and which is “the most historic of all American churches”. “ is it identified with those events which preceded and precipitated the disruption of the bond between the American colonies and the mother country, .” (Burdett, 3) Apart from being a place of political and religious importance, as we can see from the cited extract, the Church was also connected with the abolitionist movement. Fighting for the rights of Afro-Americans has always been a sore point for both the oppressors and the oppressed. The fact that the American nation, that always strived for prosperity and equality for all its citizens, kept exploiting people of this other race for more than two centuries is shocking. There can be no moral explanation to this and not a single sufficient excuse can be found for slavery. Nevertheless, these double standards make a part of American history and constitute one of its greatest faults. The present-day America would not be the same, but for all its rises and downfalls, and that is what such writers as Hawthorne manifested through their works.

Coming close to the end, there is one more issue worth mentioning. If we think about the original witchcraft trials and the legacy they left, a popular image of a devilish creature appears in our mind. That creature is in most cases female. Though there is no direct reference in this Hawthorne’s work to the problem of women’s rights and their place in the society, it is still easy to make the connections between the phenomenon of burning women alive with the question of gender inequalities. Here it is important to understand that during the author’s lifetime no sufficient progress on this problem was made and the voices of those who fought for equality between men and women still had a long way to go to be heard. However, looking at his other works, for example, The Scarlett Letter (1850), we notice that he was not afraid to raise the complicated topic of women’s rights, and through the portraits of his heroines and his attitude towards them, he tried to defend their virtue and even advocated for them.

As can be seen, American history cannot be treated as something merely black-and-white. It is complex and controversial, it is a history of a striving nation fighting for its voice, which is proved in “Young Goodman Brown”. Hawthorne’s sharp and witty writing demonstrates both his bitterness about its flaws and vices and his pride in his nation as the one that has great future and that hopefully knows how to learn by its own mistakes.

Works Cited

1. Burdett, Everett Watson. History of the Old South Meeting-house in Boston. Volume 50; Volume 282. B. B. Russell, 1877. books.google.cz/books?hl=en&lr=&id= QXURAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=History+of+the+Old+South+Meeting-house+in+Boston&ots=9twMkf8Z8t&sig=kpVbPFvM6rWDRjXahudPb_ exKlU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=History%20of%20the%20Old%20South%20Meeting-house%20in%20Boston&f=false. Accessed 26 December 2019.
2. Cherry, Fannye N. “The Sources of Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown.’” American Literature, vol. 5, no. 4, 1934, pp. 342–348. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2919750.
3. Frey, Donald E. “Individualist Economic Values and Self-Interest: The Problem in the Puritan Ethic.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 17, no. 14, 1998, pp. 1573–1580. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25073991.
4. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown”. The New-England Magazine, 1835. 150.162.242.35/bitstream/handle/123456789/132730/Young_Goodman_Brown_%28Nathaniel_Hawthorne_1835%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. Accessed 21 December 2019.
5. Hurley, Paul J. “Young Goodman Brown’s ‘Heart of Darkness.’” American Literature, vol. 37, no. 4, 1966, pp. 410–419. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2923136.
6. [bookmark: _Hlk27936373]The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 6 November 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Nathaniel-Hawthorne. Accessed 21 December 2019.
7. “Witch hunt.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch%20hunt. Accessed 21 December 2019.

An allegory is a story that has a second meaning beneath the surface, endowing a cluster of characters, objects, or events with added significance. “Young Goodman Brown”, a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an allegory, and a fantasy. The story has many different symbols good and bad; such as light symbolizing purity and the darkness symbolizing evil. Each symbol plays and important role to create the story. Young Goodman Brown takes a journey into the woods and throughout his journey he encounters different characters and learns new things. His journey symbolizes a journey into his own heart and life.

The story starts off with Young Goodman Brown saying goodbye to his wife Faith. She wishes him a good trip. “Then God bless you!” said Faith with the pink ribbons, “and may you find all well when you come back.” Her pink ribbon symbolizes females, and passion and purity. As Brown makes his way down the path he starts to think of all of the evil things that could be lurking in the forest with him. “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,” said Goodman Brown to himself: as he glanced fearfully behind him, as he added, “What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow.” Brown keeps walking and sees a figure of a man. The man tells Goodman Brown that he is late and Brown replies saying that Faith kept him back a while. Brown’s wife Faith symbolizes religious faith. The man looks like him which means that he could be an ancestor of Brown or Brown in the future. The man was also carrying a staff. “But the only thing about him that could be fixed upon as remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living snake.” The staff resembles a serpent, and religiously snakes are sought to resemble evil, hence Satan. As they continue down the path the man offers Goodman Brown the staff, saying that it may enable him to walk quicker, yet Goodman Brown mentions that he wouldn’t like to come in contact with the staff. He says that he appeared for their gathering since he guaranteed to, but Brown wants to go back to the town. He tells the man that his relatives have been Christians and great individuals for ages. The man reveals to Brown that he knew his dad and granddad, just as different individuals from different churches. This new information confuses Brown and he tells the man that he wants to return for Faith’s sake. After that the two travelers come across an old lady.

Brown and the man cross paths with a female on the path, “In whom Goodman Brown recognized as a very pious and exemplary dame.” Goody Cloyse is the woman, and Brown decides to take her through the woods safely while the stranger continues down the path. Brown heard Goody “mumbling some indistinct words, a prayer, as she went.” The man taps Cloyse on the shoulder and she identifies him as the devil. She then reveals herself to be a witch, and that she was on her way to the devil’s evil forest ceremony. Despite this, Brown tells the man that he still plans to turn back, for Faith’s sake. Before vanishing, the man gives Goodman Brown his staff, telling him that he can use it to transport to the ceremony if he changes his mind. “And when you feel like moving again, there is my staff to help you along.” As Brown is sitting down he hears horses and hides. He heard it was two men from church talking about the meeting and how they wouldn’t want to miss it. “I had rather miss an ordination dinner than to-night’s meeting. They tell me that some of our community are to be here from Falmouth and beyond, and others from Connecticut and Rhode Island; besides several of the Indian powwows, who, after their fashion, know almost as much deviltry as the best of us. Moreover, there is a goodly young woman to be taken into communion.” Brown is so struck by this. “He looked up to the sky, doubting whether there really was a Heaven above him.” “With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!” cried Goodman Brown” Soon Brown hears voices being carried by the wind. The voices started to become louder as if he was in the Salem village. He hears a voice belonging to Faith. “Faith!” shouted Goodman Brown, in a voice of agony and desperation; and the echoes of the forest mocked him, crying — “Faith! Faith!” as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness.” Brown is so upset with the news.

Brown sees a pink ribbon caught in a tree and cries that his Faith is gone. His Faith being gone can mean that it’s his wife that is gone or his religious faith that is gone. “My Faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! For to thee is this world given.” Brown was maddened with despair and grabbed the staff to continue his journey. He seemed to fly along the path listening to the frightful sounds and laughing. Brown is the most frightful thing in the forest. When he reaches where the ceremony is taking place, the trees around it are on fire, and he can see the faces of various respected members of the community. He doesn’t see Faith, and starts to hope that she isn’t there. Goodman Brown thinks he sees his father beckoning him forward and his mother trying to hold him back. Before he can rethink his decision, the minister and Gookin drag him forward. Cloyse and Martha Carrier bring in another person. She is covered and appears to be unknown. Brown sees that the other convert is Faith. Brown tells Faith to look up to heaven and resist the wicked, then suddenly finds himself alone in the forest. The next morning Goodman Brown returns to Salem Village, and every person he passes seems evil to him. Finally, he sees Faith at his own house and refuses to greet her. Whether the encounter in the forest was a dream or not: Goodman Brown is changed for the rest of his life. He doesn’t trust anyone in his village, can’t believe the words of the minister, and doesn’t fully love his wife. He lives the remainder of his life in gloom and fear.

Young Goodman Brown is a story filled with many symbols such as demons being symbolic of internal struggles. His journey into the woods represents a journey into his own heart because he sees himself. There is an older man in the woods representing him in the future. Faith is gone or appears to be gone resembling how his religious faith also appears to be gone. Brown should have been relying on his faith but since he didn’t he suffered for the rest of his life not trusting anyone anymore.

A Brief Biography

The works of Nathaniel Hawthorne were a reflection of the history of his Puritan relations and the New England during his days. Some of his well-known works include The Scarlet Letter, Young Goodman Brown, and The House of the Seven Gables.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1804. Two aspects of his early life especially influenced his writing career: the Hathornes had been persecuted due to their religious affiliations and the Salem witchcraft trials.

Nathaniel’s father passed on in 1808, leaving his wife and three kids-two girls and a boy – reliant on relatives. Nathaniel spent his early life in Salem and Maine. A leg injury limited his movements for a significant duration, during which he developed a passion for reading and thinking.

With assistance from his rich uncles, Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College in Maine (1821 – 24). Hawthorne had no interest of taking up any occupation, instead choosing to read and write short stories, many of which were published in newspapers. Among the novels were Fanshawe (1828), Young Goodman Brown (1835), and a collection, Twice Told Tales (1837).

In 1842, Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody and together they had three children. The family settled at Concorde, Massachusetts. Unable to support his family from writing alone, Hawthorne took up a position at the Salem County House as a surveyor in 1846, but was dismissed two years later because his political connections.

The dismissal turned to be a blessing in disguise as he wrote The Scarlet Letter, his most successful work. The duration from 1850 to 1853 was the most fruitful since he wrote The House of the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance.

Franklin Pierce, Hawthorne’s former schoolmate at Bowdoin, became president in 1852 and Hawthorne was selected as the American consul at England from 1853 – 57. He wrote Our Old Home (1863) during the stay at England. In 1857, the Hawthornes moved to Italy and settled mainly in Rome and Florence.

They later returned to England and Nathaniel completed his final and lengthiest work, The Marble Faun (1860). The family returned to America and stayed in their permanent home at Concorde. He died on May 19, 1864 while visiting the New Hampshire Hills with Franklin Pierce (Meltzer, pp. 54).

Young Goodman Brown

Plot

The story begins at night in Salem when Goodman Brown leaves his wife, Faith, to meet a strange person in the forest. As they meet, Brown and the individual advance further into the forest, at this juncture, it becomes evident that his companion is the devil, and the reason for that journey is to participate in an unknown ceremony, but clearly an evil one.

As they progress with the journey, Brown realizes that others are heading for the ceremony, most of whom are from Salem town and whom he had believed to be Christians and pure in heart. He is surprised and discouraged and once again opts to turn back, however, before he does this, he hears Faith’s voice and recognizes that she is the one who is to be initiated at the ceremony. Knowing that he has lost faith and Faith, he decides to join the ceremony.

At the ceremony, new converts are called to the altar for anointing, just when Faith is about to be anointed in blood, he shouts out her to look to heaven and refuse. He finds himself alone in the forest.

Arriving in Salem the following morning, Brown is unsure whether the occurrence was real or a dream, however, his outlook of those around him, including his wife, drastically changes.

Major Characters

Goodman Brown

Goodman Brown exhibits purity and corruptibility as he wavers between believing in the innate kindness of the individuals around him and believing that the devil has conquered the minds of those he loves. When the story begins, Brown is convinced of the righteousness of his father and grandfather until the old man, possibly the devil, tells him otherwise.

Brown has faith in Goody Cloyse, the priest, and Deacon Gookin until the devil tells to him that Cloyse is a witch and Gookin is his assistant. Eventually, he is convinced that Faith, his wife, is upright and honest, until the devil shows him at the ceremony that she too is unclean. The revelations show Brown’s lack of a firm stand as he easily swayed. He shows us the good and evil sides of humankind.

Through his exposure of the good and evil sides of humankind, Hawthorne mentions what he believes as the concealed corruption of the Puritan society. Goodman Brown believes in the public portrayal of purity made by his father and the church leaders and in the communal formations that are built upon that purity.

Hawthorne uses Brown to show his audience that behind the public display of purity, the Puritans’ acts were adulterated. Satan tells Brown that he was there when his father, grandfather and other church members burned native Indians’ villages, suggesting that the founding of English country has a dim side that religion falls short of explaining.

Faith Brown

Faith Brown is Goodman Brown’s wife and serves a symbolical purpose in the novel. Brown leaves her at night to have a meeting with the devil, when asked why he was late, Brown answers “Faith kept me back a while” (Hawthorne, pp. 10). She stands for positive force in the society. Consequently, when Brown realizes that she too is evil, he cries “My Faith is gone” and runs frantically toward the witches’ assembly (Hawthorne, pp. 23).

Faith represents the solidity of the family and the domestic realm in the Puritan outlook. As her name hints, she seems to be most pure-hearted among the Puritans and functions as a substitute of sorts for religious emotions.

Her husband clings to her as he inquires about the righteousness of those he knew, drawing comfort from the fact that if Faith remains pure, then his own faith is worth defending. However, when he discovers that Faith too is corruptible, he believes that everyone around him is evil. Brown’s estrangement from Faith at the conclusion of the story is the worst result of his change of mind.

The Old Man/ Devil

In this novel, the devil seems to be a normal man, showing that everyone, including Brown, can be evil. The devil appears from the forest decently dressed just as any man in Salem would, but Goodman Brown discovers that the devil can emerge in any situation and fail to appear inapt.

By accentuating the chameleon nature of the devil, Hawthorne illustrates that the devil basically personifies the worst side of man. By mentioning that the devil could be Brown’s father, the writer builds a link between them, leaving the readers to speculate whether the two are related or the devil is Brown’s evil side. Brown’s contact with the devil affects him forever.

Critique of the Novel

Nancy Bunge in Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study of the Short Fiction (1993) critiques the book based on the conduct of Goodman Brown (Bunge, 14). She mentions that everybody is corrupt and can move along honestly and openly with others after admitting this grim truth. Yet Brown rejects this reality and destroys his life by trying to maintain his righteousness.

The novel reveals this fact so painfully that, despite the huge amount of critical commentary on the story, many recognize it as the novel’s theme. Bunge is right; the climax of the novel takes place at the ceremony, especially when Brown finds out that Faith was also evil. This changes him forever.

Nina Baym in Thwarted Nature: Hawthorne as Feminist, argues from the outlook of the female characters. She mentions that the protagonists, regularly male, decline any sexual bond with a female figure, normally a spouse or fiancée (136).

In most cases, this action has a grave effect on the scorned woman. Stories written prior to 1842 have a female character demolished only by accident, not purposely. In Young Goodman Brown, Brown’s separation with his wife was not intentional, as he had intended to return to her after the appointment with the devil.

Baym asserts that the act of a man leaving his wife demonstrates the male’s disinterest to the affairs of their female counterparts. She defines women as sexual beings and the men as “sexually frozen” (138). Baym suggests that Hawthorne’s male characters are engrossed with their female counterparts but the only way of making contact with them is through desire.

Joan Easterly asserts that Brown is a changed man after his encounter in the forest. Hawthorne shows how Brown fails the trial of his moral and divine being. For instance, brown does not cry after seeing Faith and those who were close to him at the ceremony.

This indicates that he has no compassion for these people and therefore cannot a Christian himself (340). I disagree with this point, Brown was filled with so much grief after seeing that his father, grandfather and church leaders were all corruptible. Finding out that his wife was also evil was just too painful for him and we see him shouting to her to look to heaven and refuse the initiation.

Works Cited

Baym, Nina. Thwarted Nature: Hawthorne as Feminist. 1993. New York, Twayne Publishers.

Bunge, Nancy. Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study of the Short Fiction. 1993. New York: Twayne Publishers.

Easterly, Joan Elizabeth. Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown. Studies in Short Fiction. 1991, pp. 339-43.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. 2005. Young Goodman Brown. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.

Meltzer, Milton. Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography. 2007. Washington: Twenty-First Century Books.

“Young Goodman Brown” was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835, but it was set in Puritan New England during the late 17th century. The Puritans split from England’s Anglican Church, arriving at Plymouth Rock and founding both Plymouth and Boston. They became the main Christian sect in New England at the period, though other Christian groups such as Quakers and Anabaptists also had significant populations. Puritans believed in a rigid philosophy that left no space for mistake; for example, immoral thoughts and dreams were seen to be as damaging as actually committing a sin. Native Americans who did not follow Christianity were likewise thought to be Satan’s children, according to them. “Young Goodman Brown” is set during the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts and exposes the Salem Puritans’ hypocritical and inhibitive moral ideals.

When Brown was discussing his impression of Goody Cloyse and his father, one example of how Hawthorne’s heritage and Puritan beliefs were portrayed in the novel was shown. In the anecdote, he expresses his surprise that Goody was out in the woods, especially at night. “A marvel, truly, that Goody Cloyse should be so far in the wilderness at nightfall,” Brown said (Hawthorne 3). “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,” Brown stated early in the story, referring to his father’s honesty and Christian faith (Hawthorne 2). Such an emphasis on religious faith could be understood through the reference to the Puritan beliefs.

The Puritans’ belief was that the devil was responsible for every evil deed that took place, whether it was through witchcraft or through rituals. The Salem witch trials, which took place in the late 17th century and involved hearings, prosecutions, and executions, sentenced twenty people to death based on rumor and suspicion, including Martha Corey and Martha Ingalls Carrier, who is mentioned briefly in “Young Goodman Brown.” John Hathorne, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s direct ancestor, was one of the most ruthless judges in the Salem witch trials of 1692. It’s possible that Hawthorne felt some guilt about his ancestor’s crimes; not only did he drop the “w” from his surname to disassociate himself from Hathorne, but he also spent most of his writing career delving into American Puritanism, often finding more criticism than praise.

Despite the fact that the Salem Witch Trials had occurred more than a century before, nineteenth-century New England was still bleeding with inherited guilt, even as it revolted against the Puritans’ restrictive standards. Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, into this culture in 1804. His roots and sensibilities were undeniably Puritan, despite the fact that he designated Unitarian as his official religion. The Salem Witch Trials, one of the terrifying incidents in Puritan history, saw the residents of Salem execute twenty-five innocent persons accused of being witches. Accusations of witchcraft were frequently made for motives other than perceived witchcraft, such as retribution, jealousy, or botched child delivery. During the second half of the seventeenth century, Quakers were subjected to Puritan intolerance. Puritans and Quakers both came to America in search of religious liberty and the opportunity to establish their own colonies where they could believe whatever they wished.

In conclusion, the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne describes historical events that took place in the late 17 century. Understanding the historical context of that time helps to understand the main idea of the work. The main message of it evolved around puritanism, which was influential in late 17 century England. Witchcrafts and the idea of the existence of the devil are also part of the historical context of that time. Thus, such rituals as witch trials are also presented in the short story and help to understand the attitudes of the main characters.

Work Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” (1835).