Free Young Goodman Brown Essays: The Fall of Man into Sin

 

After reading this the first time, my first thought was "did this actually take place or did Brown just dream the whole thing?" Hawthorne purposely makes that fact ambiguous. He poses the same type of question in the end of the story. To me, this is appropriate. The story centers on evil being something hidden in this small town. The preacher goes about his praying, the old woman continues catechizing a little girl, etc. all after Brown has "witnessed" the witch meeting in the forest. By not being clear if this was a dream or not, Hawthorne supports the hidden nature that the people have in the story. He covers up the truth just as the village people hid their sinful life that Brown was witness to. This way, the story and the people in the village remain a mystery to the reader just as the truth remains a mystery to Brown.

Secondly, I noticed a lot of the re-reading papers on this story dealt with Faith as a character or Faith as a belief. (As Jennifer said, this story is a battle of faith and good and evil) To me, there is no escaping the fact that Faith is a representation of the "good" forces that oppose evil in the story. In the beginning, when Brown first leaves her behind, she tells him "God bless you" and "may you find all well when you return." Faith is about to be deserted for this meeting with evil in the woods. In Biblical terms, if you leave your faith behind, you may not find things the same when you try and come back to it. Brown also tells his evil partner "Faith kept me back awhile." Brown had to talk himself into meeting this person saying that after this one meeting he will follow faith to Heaven. His timid nature and willingness to go to Heaven (faith) delayed him just as much as his wife. After Brown has this meeting, Faith deserted falls into the hands of evil. He welcomes the devil when he finds his faith missing (sound familiar?) He finds a timid bit of hope when he asks where Faith is during the rituals he witnesses. At the last minute, Brown yells out to Faith to regard Heaven and resist temptation and at that moment the witch meeting dissolves. Faith is happy to see her husband and runs to him with open arms (just as in the Bible that when you finally regain faith you will be welcomed to Heaven with open arms). Brown is not happy to see her and turns away from Faith to regard the actions of others in the village. He is filled with doubt of others in the village and perhaps of himself after this meeting. Because of this, he can’t hear the songs of worship, he shrinks from Faith now all through life. When Goodman Brown went away from his Faith, he corrupted his life. He dies a "gloomy" death and never fully turns back to Faith. This to me is so classicaly religious it doesn’t even need this pitiful explanation I’ve tried to offer.

There is also the classic representation of the night and the deep, dark forest as a place of evil and temptation. We all know that only demons and goblins do their work at night and they usually do it in a dark, secluded place like the forest where humans can get lost and lose all faith. The forest becomes a real place of evil when the meeting starts…another classic example of witch stories. There are wild beasts, creaking trees, yells of Indians (who we all know were seen as savages during that time) and the faint toll of some bells. This sounds like a strange Halloween story to me. At any rate, we definitely have the setting for a story of temptation and evil.

Another thing that jumps out of this story is the bad guy’s staff. It is shaped like a snake and almost seems to come alive to Brown. My mind returns to Sunday school lessons of days past when someone had a staff that became a snake and Jesus was able to turn it back into a staff. Okay, that may not be exactly right but this definitely has a vague Biblical reference as well. Ironically it is this staff that leads Brown to the secret meeting in the woods. So, the devil and his staff have successfully gotten Brown to their meeting and it later destroys his life.

This story is a classic representation of the fall of man into sin. Brown loses Faith, never fully regains her and dies a gloomy death. If he had stayed home with his Faith, all this stuff would have never happened to him. He wouldn’t have any reason to doubt all the villagers and would have been able to enjoy life among them as he did before he discovered the secret meeting place. In short, don’t lose your Faith or you could fall into the hands of the Devil There’s a Sunday School lesson in there somewhere.

The Theme of Hypocrisy in "Young Goodman Brown"   

In "Young Goodman Brown" the theme is hypocrisy. Hawthorne writes in detail how hypocrisy can change a person for the worse. In the opening pages of the story you can see how hypocrisy is already starting to change Goodman Brown for the worse. As he starts out on his errand that he has to run, Goodman Brown decides to walk as Hawthorne puts it "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." (141). The forest is an important symbol in this story. The forest symbolizes evil and it symbolizes evil because of the darkness of the forest. As Goodman Brown and his companion continue their journey through the dark forest Goodman Brown starts to realize this "errand" that he is running is no ordinary one. Goodman Brown knows that he is doing something scorned down on by Puritan beliefs as he says the following: "My father ever went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs. And shall I be the first of the name of Brown that has ever took this path and kept." (141). So basically what he is saying in that quote is that he knows what he is doing is wrong, but he doesn't care. Goodman Brown is hard to convince that his family and the Puritans in general are not as righteous and pure as he thinks they are. The companion tries endlessly to convince Goodman Brown that his own family is not as "pure" as it seems. The traveler tells Goodman some stories of his own family doing dirty things such as setting fire to an Indian Village and lashing a Quaker woman. However Goodman does still not believe any of what the traveler is saying. Continuing on the path Brown and his companion stumble upon Deacon Gookin and his Goody Cloyse and Goodman is astonished by this because he would have never thought that the good wife would be so far in the forest that late at night. By seeing the good wife in the forest at that time of night makes Goodman not want to go on. While sitting on a stump, Goodman yells out "Friend, my mind is made up. Not another step wills I budge on this errand. What if a wretched old woman choose to go to the devil when I thought she was going to Heaven! Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith and go after her?" (143) Basically he is quitting what the errand because he senses that what the companion has told him is to eat at him. In other words the hypocrisy is starting to enter his soul and he is trying to keep it from doing that by stopping the journey. Another example of what Hawthorne is saying about hypocrisy in the story is the part where Goodman hears what the Deacon says as he passes by in the carriage. Goodman is astonished by the words he hears coming from the carriage. Also Brown is amazed that the Deacon would have traveled that far into the dark and dreary forest. As Hawthorne puts it "Young Goodman Brown caught hold of a tree, for support, being ready to sink to the ground, faint and over-burthened with the heavy sickness of his heart. He looked up to the sky doubting whether there really was a Heaven above him." (144) Basically Goodman cannot believe what he just heard from the leaders of the Religion of the puritans; he is amazed that impurity lies within the most religious people of the Puritans. It makes him believe what the companion told him about pureness. Seeing all of this makes him say that if no one else wants to stand true to the beliefs of the puritans, not even the Deacon himself, then he was going to be the one who does. Moreover witnessing all of that Goodman finally understands that purity is no longer what all mankind strives for. As Brown stands their he looks up to see what was once a blue sky has suddenly turned gray. This Gray sky symbolizes the impurity or hypocrisy that has taken over the earth. Goodman also hears sounds from the cloud, which also represent deceit and wickedness. Goodman is really bothered by this and he says, "My Faith is gone there is no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come Devil! for to thee the world given." (145). All Goodman is saying is that the devil can come and take over the world because it is full of sin and wickedness. In the same way as the others who have given into hypocrisy Goodman himself now gives into the hypocrisy. Hawthorne writes, "In truth all through the haunted forest there could be nothing more frightening than the figure of Goodman Brown." This is Hawthorn's cunning way of saying that Goodman he turned for the worse Brown has now at this point done a complete 360 of his usual pure ways and runs around the forest making obscene gestures and terrible remarks. Hypocrisy has swamped Goodman's soul to the point where he has a dream that these couples gets converted from Christians to Devil Worshipers and are encouraged to not to look to God but look to the Devil for Guidance and follow the ways of the devil. Hawthorne writes a line to show my point, "Faith! Faith! look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!" So in other words don't look to god is what Hawthorne is saying. In conclusion "Young Goodman Brown" is a story about hypocrisy and how it came corrupt the purest of peoples minds if they choose to let it in. This story also shows that even though puritans all may act "pure" on the outside, they aren't really as pure as everybody makes them out to be.

Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. In addition, his great-great-grandfather

was a judge presiding over the infamous Salem witch trials. As a result, Hawthorne built resentment

toward "Puritan pride." So he wrote a allegory about his feelings in 1835. In "Young Goodman Brown,"

Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the story. Three significant symbols are the title character, his

wife, and pink.

Hawthorne uses the name "Young Goodman Brown" as a symbol in the story. "Young" infers the title

character is naive and new at life. Moreover, "Goodman" suggests his self-righteousness thinking he is a

good man. Furthermore, "Brown" indicates he is a commoner. Thus, the full name implies he is the

average naive and self-righteous Puritan.

In addition to the title character's name being a symbol, his wife's name is a symbol. At the beginning of

the story, Goodman Brown leaves on a journey without Faith, his new wife. In the same way, the Puritans

left their faith "at home" and set out on a journey apart from their bride, Jesus Christ. Finally, Goodman

Brown's desire to journey without Faith leads to her sacrifice. For example, Goodman complains to the

devil saying, "Faith kept me back awhile." In the same way, the Puritans sacrifice their faith and try living

self-righteously. But since no one is righteous, their attempt was in vain.

In addition, Hawthorne incorporates "pink" as a symbol in the story. Hawthorne uses pink as a symbol

four times in the story. In addition, in the Bible scarlet represents sin while white signifies purity. Thus, this

symbol represents the blend of purity and sin. In addition, Hawthorne mentions "Faith, with pink ribbons"

inferring his faith takes on this blend of purity and sin. Finally, Goodman Brown exclaims to Faith, "Look

up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!" Thus, he shows he never completely loses his faith.

In conclusion, Hawthorne uses Young Goodman Brown, Faith, and pink to enhance the story. For

example, the names Faith and Young Goodman Brown symbolize more than a name. The name Young

Goodman Brown symbolizes the average naive Puritan. In addition, Faith represents religious faith. Also,

pink connotes the blend of sin and purity in Goodman's faith.

Young Goodman Brown:  Internal Conflict

The central theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,”is the conflict in Goodman Brown

between joining the ranks of the devil and remaining “good.” It is a very difficult personal journey for

Young Goodman Brown, as he travels through the woods to follow an inner desire to become a witch, all

the while thinking on all of the “good” things (like his wife Faith) he would be leaving behind. This internal

conflict ultimately destroys the Young Goodman Brown and creates a new man.

Goodman Brown, a Puritan New Englander, in whatever way, and for whatever reason, made a deal with

the Devil in the woods outside Salem. He knows that this is morally wrong, and especially when he leaves

his pink-ribboned Faith, this puts him in a quandary. Brown must decide, before he becomes part of the

Black Sabbath and engages in devil worship, if his true passion lies in the woods, the land of evil, or if it

lies in the innocence, fresh naivete, and “youth” he enjoyed in the village.

There are many examples in the text of this conflict. Brown laments about the loss of his Faith, a theme

which permeates the tale. Also, Brown discusses his self-doubt after incidences such as his discovery of

the ‘true nature’ of people such as Goody Cloyse, the governor, and village minister. Brown’s reluctance

to take the Devil’s snake-staff illustrate his misgivings about becoming one of the Devil’s chosen. Even

the setting of the winding, long, journey through the woods demonstrates indecision and conflict, as

Goodman Brown has to spend a prolonged time considering his actions.

Young Goodman Brown’s personal conflict over his inner desires - and its greater meaning: conflict

between good and evil in the world - is the center of the story. There would be no “Young Goodman

Brown” if not for the main character’s personal struggle to decide what he will do. This is indirectly

evidenced by the fact that nearly all reviews in critical journals of this story focus on the idea that

Goodman Brown’s struggle over his personal passions has greater meaning.

In the end, we can never be sure if good or evil won the fight waged within Young Goodman Brown, but

Hawthorne makes it abundantly clear that Brown was scarred for life by his experience. After returning to

Salem from that fateful night, Goodman Brown becomes cynical; he no longer has any faith in his fellow

townspeople. He has lost his innocence; he has lost his faith. His self-isolation, relationship with his wife,

and the inscription on his tombstone after he returned to Salem all show that the conflict had a profound

effect on his life. This conflict is the theme of the story, and reflects on the society of the time. It was very

important to the life of the main character, A great change took place in Young Goodman Brown, and it

altered his “private passion” forever.

Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about revealing true evil and the loss of one man's faith. Nathaniel Hawthorne left "Young Goodman Brown" up for many interpretations. After reading the story a couple of times, one thing became clear to me. What I absorbed from this story was that evil exists in everyone, does not matter how good we may think we are. Things aren't always what they seem. I say this because the people who attended the devil's meetings, were the ones who attended church with him. The people whom he though were holy and Christian. These people were not holy at all. They were worshipping, praying, and obeying the devil. As Goodman Brown started his journey into the forest, he met an older man. The old man, "was about fifty years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable resemblance to him, though perhaps more in expression than features" (DiYanni, 273). In Brown's ignorance, he does not realize that the one he is with is in fact the devil. This is shown when Brown asks a question in fear before meeting the old man, "There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree," said Goodman Brown to himself; and he glanced fearfully behind him, as he added, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" (DiYanni, 273). This to me is ironic because then, "His head being turned back, he passed a crook of the road, and looking forward again, beheld the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree. He arose at Goodman Brown's approach, and walked onward, side by side with him"(DiYassi, 273). Here Goodman

Brown does not realize that the devil is, in fact, walking "side by side with him"(DiYassi,273). "Goodman Brown recognized a very pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual advisor" (DiYassi, 275). This dames name was Goody Cloyse. When Brown sees that Goody Cloyse recognizes the old man and cries out, "the devil" (DiYassi, 275), he can't believe it. He now sees her as a "wretched old woman" (DiYassi, 276). Brown is feeling his loss of faith and tries to overcome this by saying, "What if a wretched old woman does choose to go to the devil, when I though she was going to heaven! Is that any reason to leave my dear Faith behind, and go after her?" (DiYassi, 276). Though Brown is disappointed, he has not yet lost his faith. Goodman Brown finds his faith disrupted, once again, when he observes the minister and deacon secretly from behind a tree. These two "holy men" (DiYanni, 276) are the two people that Brown admires; they are the spiritual leaders of the community. As Goodman Brown listens to their discussing the unholy meeting Brown becomes "faint and over-burthened with the heavy sickness of his heart" (DiYanni, 276). At this point he was in doubt of his faith, but in a struggle to keep his faith he says, "With heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!" (DiYanni, 277). "Faith", Goodman Brown's wife, is his faith in God. Brown loses all faith in God, but he believes that he is better than everyone else. Showing his pride and ignorance. This was Goodman Brown's downfall. Critics tend to focus on different scenes from stories. This critic, Bert A.Mikosh, focuses on his view of "Young Goodman Brown". "The story "Young Goodman Brown" is about a man and his faith in himself, his wife, and the community they reside in. Goodman Brown must venture on a journey into the local forest refuse the temptation of the devil and return to the village before sunrise. The time era is approximately a generation after the time of the witch trials" (Mikosh). He leads on by saying, "The lead character is happy with the locals and his faith until this trip, when he is convinced they are all evil. Upon this discovery he, in a sense, becomes evil" (Mikosh). Bert continues in writing, "When Goodman comes back he thinks he is better than the rest and judges everyone instantly. He then comes to the conclusion that he is the only person that is not a devil worshiper. Just as before with the witch trials, he is judging then as the so-called witches were judged by his ancestors. A reference to Martha Carrier is made in the story, Goodman's predicament is similar to his. She was isolated from the community because of her beliefs just like Goodman. The difference is that Martha's community isolated her, and Goodman felt isolated or isolated himself" (Mikosh). This was a very interesting point. Bert ends by stating this, "The views and beliefs of people of that era were if anything to an extreme. Whatever they believed they worshipped with a vengeance. This extreme faith can be compared to the current time "Career Goal." If the people today can not pursue a career and succeed, the feel as if their life has no meaning" (Mikosh). I don't agree 100% but I understand what he is trying to say. "This most likely has its roots from the Protestant work ethic. The ethic, in general, says that you must work hard to please God and complete for a place in heaven. This story is about such people. The modern day person has taken this work ethic and given it a greedy twist. People of today fight for position, status or power just as much as the pioneer puritans worshiped and studied the bible. The puritans would take the word of the bible as the word, without interpretation, only translation by the minister of the ommunity. Although these career driven people do not have a book to guide their path, they pursue it none the less. Some of these people have lost, or never had the belief, of reaching heaven, or even its existence. These people are the peers of the believers and set the rules or guidelines for career goals. So in effect the status in the community is a way of saying they are better. The people who do not believe in any god-like being fight in an effort to make their mark on the world, for this is the only was they can be recognized or remembered" (Mikosh). This is his view of "Young Goodman Brown". Another critic is Joan Elizabeth Easterley who focuses on the lachrymalimagery in Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown". "Literary critics have interpreted the significance of Goodman Brown's experience in many fashions--allegorical, moral, philosophical, and psychological. However there is an intriguing absence of any reference to the last line of the Sabbath scene to explain Hawthorne's characterization of the young Puritan, despite the fact that Hawthorne signals the importance of the cold drops of dew in a periodic sentence. In essence, Hawthorne here carefully delineates the image of a young man who has faced and failed a critical test of moral and spiritual maturity" (Easterley). "Young Goodman Brown is reproached by his creator because he shows no compassion for the weaknesses he sees in others, no remorse for his own sin, and no sorrow for his loss of faith. The one action that would demonstrate such deep and redemptive human feelings does not take place. Goodman Brown does not weep. Therefore, Hawthorne quietly and gently sprinkles "the coldest dew" on his cheek to represent the absence of tears" (Easterley). "The lack of tears, the outward sign of an inward reality, posits the absence of the innate love and humility that would have made possible Brown's moral and spiritual progression. A meticulous artist and a master of symbolism,

Hawthorne uses the twig and the dewdrops deliberately. Drops of water on a man's cheek suggest tears" (Easterley). "On a moral level, Brown's acceptance of others as they are--imperfect and subject to temptation--would have made a mature adulthood and productive and healthy relationships with others possible. But his lack of remorse and compassion, as symbolized by the absence of tears, condemns him to an anguished life that is spiritually and emotionally desiccated. The drops that Hawthorne places on Brown's cheek are of "the coldest dew," devastating in their connotation, for they represent the coldness of a soul that is dying, in contrast to the regenerative warmth of true tears and love" (Easterley). "Human tears are an emotional response, and Hawthorne's allusion to the lack of tears underscores Brown's emotional barrenness. Critical analyses have hitherto focused primarily on Brown's faulty or immature moral reasoning, arguing that the puritan fails the test of the Sabbath because he fails to reason on a mature moral level, either because of the legalism of Puritan doctrine or because of his refusal to admit his own sinfulness (Frank 209, Folsom 32, Fogle23, Stubbs 73) (Easterley). Joan Elizabeth Easterley has opened my eyes. It is interesting to see different views on one story. To wrap up her essay, she ends it by saying, "Nathaniel Hawthorne, the master of symbolism and suggestion, softly sprinkles cold tears on the cheek of young Goodman Brown. This lachrymal image, so delicately wrought, is the key to interpreting the young Puritan's failure to achieve moral and spiritual maturity. Brown cannot reconcile the conflict caused by his legalistic evaluation of others, nor can he transcend this moral dilemma by showing compassion and remorse. In final irony, Hawthorne tells us that the man who sheds no tears lives the rest of his life a "sad" man, whose "dying hour was gloom" (Hawthorne, 90)(Easterley). "Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the descendent of a long line of Puritan ancestors. After his father was lost at sea when he was only four, his mother became overly protected and pushed him toward more isolated pursuits. Hawthorne's childhood left him overly shy and bookish, and molded his life as a writer. Hawthorne turned to writing after his graduation from Bowdoin College" (Classic Notes by Gradesaver). "In June, 1849, Hawthorne was discharged from his three year long job with Salem Custom House. He was forty five years old, and although starting to gain a reputation as a writer, remained unable to support himself from writing alone. To make the tragedy even worse, only a few weeks later his mother passed away. Hawthorne fell ill as a result of the difficulties he was facing" (Classic Notes by Gradesaver). "Upon his recovery late in the summer, Hawthorne sat down to write The Scarlet Letter. He zealously worked on the novel with determination he had not known before. His intense suffering infused the novel with imaginative energy, leading him to describe it as the "hell-fired story." On February 3. 1850, Hawthorne read the final pages to his wife. He wrote, "It broke her heart and sent her to bed with a grievous headache, which i took upon as a triumphant success" (Classic Notes by Gradesaver). "Hawthorne was deeply devoted to his wife, Sophia Peabody, and his two children. Hawthorne, though, had little engagement with any sort of social life. Hawthorne passed away on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Emerson described his life with the words "painful solitude." Hawthorne's classic remains one of the most cleanly composed works of American fiction" (Classic Notes by Gradesaver).

The Allegorical Young Goodman Brown

The story about Young Goodman Brown centers around the allegory of a man pitted against his past and his desires to reach beyond that which his benighted heaven would put before him. The allegory is Christian due to the references in Young Goodman Brown to the devil and Satan; it only seems logical that the crux of the story is based upon the religious imagery of Hawthorne's New England in the times of Salem and active religious strife. The beginning of the story mentions the goodman's wife, Faith. The names of the characters alone serve as an indication of what Hawthorne puts as an obvious religious allegory with the goodman and faith soon to be pitted against an unspeakable evil. The goodman even swears that after this night he will "cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven." The devil awaits Young Goodman Brown as he states that the clock of the old south was striking but a few minutes past (Hawthorne is stating how quickly the devil can move--intensifying the airs of the preternatural). Young Goodman Brown replies to the devil that faith was keeping him away--Hawthorne's play on words should not be overlooked as this also leads to the realization that a man (a good one) can deal with the devil and possibly win.

At this stage in the story the reader still has hope for the goodman who must now deal with what he feels is his duty honor-bound. A "good man" in Hawthorne's day was a person who came from a proper lineage. This very lineage Hawthorne exploits as he begins the goodman's discourse with the devil. The goodman claims that he is from a family of good men that have never been into the forest on such an errand to meet the devil; Hawthorne depends upon this defense to criticize the patriarchal lineage upon which a person places his worth. This view is quickly derailed as the devil himself states that all of his ancestors were with him as they tortured women in Salem or burned to the ground Indian villages, and afterwards the devil and his ancestors would go for a friendly walk. Hawthorne has derided the institution of Young Goodman Brown's lineage, and his society's view of honor by pointing to some simple facts. The question remains as to whom or what is the devil. If the devil points to the painful truth of the past and the reality of people in the present, is this the allegorical face of evil? Or is Hawthorne playing upon the reader's disposition to see the devil as evil and stand next to the "good man" and his fate?

Either way the story forces an evaluation of the values of Puritan New England. When Young Goodman Brown decides to not follow the devil into the world of darkness, the role reversal of the allegorical subplot begins. The devil has apparently infested all of the Puritan's souls with sin (at least to the eyes of Young Goodman Brown after he discovers that all of the town has met the devil and is on friendly terms with him). This leads to Young Goodman Brown being described as a lunatic who cannot discern his religious fanaticism from reality. This is Hawthorne's comment upon the religious communities of his time, like his Scarlet Letter; the Puritans with their gift of free religion had decided to insure that no diversity of opinion could be presented and also the community was seen as pure and rid of all external "evils". Hawthorne clearly shows that the evils are manifest in men's actions and not in men's ideologies or even their religions. We cannot lean on the crutch of religion, not when we are raping and killing to gain land or "purity".

Sin in Young Goodman Brown

        "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an excellent

short story from the 1800's.  In this short story Hawthorne's main

character, Goodman Brown, goes out into the woods with the devil and is

tempted by the devil each step of the way.  In "Young Goodman Brown,"

Hawthorne uses characters who are leaders of their community and

symbolistic settings to show that despite how prominent a person is he or

she is capable of evil under the right conditions.

 

      Through the use of community leaders, Hawthorne shows that there is

evil in everyone.  As Goodman Brown heads into the woods with the prince of

darkness, he encounters several of his community leaders creating evil.

First, he and Satan encounter Goody Cloyse, Goodman's spiritual adviser and

former catechism teacher.  After Goodman goes off among the trees, the

devil and Goody have a conversation.  Instantly, Goody recognizes him as

the devil.  Then Satan says, '"Then Goody Cloyse knows her old friend?"'1

The conversation later reveals  Goody is a witch and is on her way to the

Black Sabbath.  Shortly afterwards, as Goodman was resting, Deacon Gookin,

Goodman's other spiritual advisor, walks by with a minister.  He and the

minister are talking about missing a church ordination dinner to attend the

satanic gathering.  The deacon says,'"Besides several of the Indian powwows,

who, after their fashion know almost as much deviltry as the best of us,'"

(311).  The whole time Goodman is on the trail, he is committing sin.

Every step of the way, he is forsaking his god. He slowly succumbs to sin

as the lord of the underworld coaxes him.  At the meeting, when a voice

screamed out, '"Bring forth the converts!'"(315), Goodman steps forward,

accepting evil.  Under the right settings, anybody is capable of evil.

 

      Using the right settings, Hawthorne creates symbolistic

environments to make so called heavenly characters turn to evil.  In the

village of Salem, the villagers look up to Deacon Gookin and Goody Cloyse

as highly spiritual people.  The village of Salem is symbolistically any

town or church, and Deacon Gookin and Goody Cloyse are the "sinless"

leaders of the church.  Along the path in the woods,  Goodman Brown watches

the deacon and Goody committing sins and not grieving over their sins.  The

path in the woods is temptation, and each step taken brings one closer to

accepting evil and sin.  At the Black Sabbath in the woods,  the converts

are baptized into evil.  The Black Sabbath itself is full pledged evil, and

the baptism into evil is totally turning away from god.  By using

symbolistic settings, Hawthorne sets characters up to create evil.

 

      Using symbolistic settings and leading citizens, Hawthorne says

that everybody is capable of sin.  Hawthorne wrote a great short story with

one distinct message.  Everybody commits sins, but not everyone accepts

sins.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's work is typically fraught with symbolism, much of it deriving from his puritan ancestry. Hawthorne was obsessed with the themes of sin and guilt. John Roth notes that "A number of recurring thematic patterns and character types appear in Hawthorne's novels and tales" (Roth 76). Because he is speaking of what we would later come to call the unconscious, Hawthorne extensively employed the use of symbolism, which bypasses the conscious to tap into its more dream- like process below (Roth 76).

In his short story "Young Goodman Brown," the main character Goodman Brown goes off into the woods and undergoes what will be a life changing experience. "Young Goodman Brown," was written in the nineteenth century but is undoubtedly set in the seventeenth century, and for the early Americans in this time period the forest was a symbol of the test of strength, courage, and endurance. It took a lot of courage to survive there, and the young person entering the forest would not emerge the same. But the story is more symbolic than realistic, and the dangers that Goodman Brown encounters in the forest are

not Indians or bears; they are dangers of the spirit. It is no accident that such an experience should have taken place in the forest, because there is a long and extremely profound tradition in American literature where experiences of this nature haven taken place in forest settings. Psychologist Bruno Betelheim observes that "Since ancient times the near impenetrable forest in which we get lost has symbolized the dark, hidden near-impenetrable world of our unconscious" (Betelheim, 94). However, this does not appear in "Young Goodman Brown." Instead of bravely battling down the dangers of the forest and emerging a more mature person, Goodman Brown emerges a ruined man.

 It should not go unrecognized that Goodman Brown's wife, a light-hearted, genuine woman, has the name Faith. Faith is not by any means an unusual name for a woman, especially in puritan times, but it becomes significant in the story because she is presented to us first as a very young bride with pink ribbons in her hair, almost like a child. Her pink ribbons symbolize her youth, and her name symbolizes her husband's childlike spirituality at the beginning of the story. Christianity historically has been a religion of obedience and devotion much more than one of logic, as much as the framers of the age of reason would try to argue otherwise. When the story opens, we see Faith characterized by childlike confidence and purity, which can be contrasted with "the man with the snake-like staff," who attempts to persuade Goodman Brown by "reasoning as we go" (Hawthorne 106). Faith does not attempt to dissuade her husband out of his intentions through reason, but through affection; with "her lips... close to his ear," she asks Goodman Brown not to go into the forest on his mysterious errand (Hawthorne, 108). But we are left to wonder what his errand is. Hawhtorne never tells us, but clearly Goodman Brown has planned for whatever it is. He knows that the point of the journey is less than beneficial, because he feels guilty about leaving his wife on "such an errand" (Hawthorne, 108). Terence Martin speculated that "Goodman Brown's Journey into the forest is best defined as a kind of general, indeterminate allegory, representing man's irrational drive to leave his Faith, home, and security temporarily behind, for an unknown reason, to take a chance with one or more errands onto the wilder shores of experience" (Martin, 92). Q.D. Observes that the "theme of the story is simply going to the devil for reasons such as lust, certainly, but more for knowledge" (Lang, 91). Goodman Brown also seems to know whom he is going to meet there, because when he meets the man with the snake-like staff, he is startled by the "sudden appearance of his companion" who was nonetheless "not totally expected" (Hawthorne, 109). Snakes of course signify the devil, and if this individual was not the devil himself, he is certainly a representative of him. His staff is later described as twisted as well. What is here are all the elements of the quest story: the journey into an uncharted and dangerous realm, symbolizing the unconscious, and, shortly after the journey begins, the meeting with the guide who knows this forbidden and mysterious territory well (Martin 100). However, at this point the story veers significantly away from its traditional path. Goodman Brown announces that he does not want to go any further into the forest. He has met the man at the edge of the forest by a previously made arrangement, in response to a vow of some sort; and, "having kept covenant by meeting thee here, it is my purpose now to return from whence I cam. I have scruples touching the matter thou wor'st of" (Hawthorne, 110). Having read the entire story, it can be interpreted on two levels. Goodman Brown may feel, as he says that the exploration of the inner forest may be a sin. It is easier by far to follow the "accepted" path of faith, to walk, as the church often says, "in the light" (Hawthorne 110). By walking in the light, and by following precisely the doctrine of Christian life and avoiding all situations where morality does not separate itself into clear areas of black and white, one feels safe, clean, and perhaps virtuous. By doing this, one also misses out on the depth, and the richness that a fuller experience of life might offer. But it is unquestionably an easier path. However, others choose to walk into the forest of their unconscious, where there is no light. "This can be a scary experience, and one fraught with danger, and is often characterized by the clouds hiding the previously twinkling stars" (Betelheim 110). The real forest is the home of the madman, and sometimes the devil himself. To venture into this unknown land is risky, and to venture into it without being prepared is to be mad, yet we can see that this is clearly what Young Goodman Brown has done. He knows exactly why he is going, but is not at all prepared for what he will find there, namely the sinful natures not only of himself, but horrifyingly, also his wife. He emerges from this experience a completely changed man, but because he was unprepared to accept the visions he would receive there with tolerance and grace, he has been changed for the worst. Goodman Brown was supposed to learn that everyone is human, and should be treated with compassion. Instead he learned that everyone is a sinner, and forever treats people with abhorrence. Enlightenment can impart great wisdom, but only those minds, which are open to receiving it. Goodman Brown was not.