Essays On Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown Essay
The main theme of the Nathaniel Hawthorne's, " Young Goodman Brown," is the struggle between
Goodman Brown's faith, power to resist his own evil impulses and his own doubts within him. It is
a story of Young Goodman Brown's personal conflict over his inner desires and its greater meaning
conflict between good and evil in the world. The characteristics of Young Goodman Brownare
similar to the life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne had his own doubts about his own
Puritan life and beliefs. There are numerous examples in this story whereby Hawthorne clearly
demonstrates to the reader Goodman Brown's personal internal conflict between good and evil.
Hawthorne's knowledge of the historical background of Puritanism combined with the...show more
content...
Upon entering the forest Goodman Brown is suspicious of every rock and tree, thinking something
evil will jump out at him. When he finally does meet someone on the trail, who appears to be of evil
origin, he feels confident that he can refuse any temptations. This evil person makes several
advances and Goodman refuses. At first Goodman feels confident that he can resist any temptation
that the devils throws upon him. Hawthorne describes how closely the devil resembles Goodman.
Hawthorne describes them as though they "might have been mistaken for father and son." The devil
resembles him in order to make Goodman feel more comfortable around him. It makes it easier to
tell lies and deceive Young Goodman Brown into coming with him to the witch gathering.
Goodman Brown discusses his self–doubt after incidences such as his discovery of the 'true nature'
of his community within the forest. Brown thinks that he recognizes voices of his minister, deacon,
and of his wife, but can't be certain since their figures are not visible. He thinks that everyone in his
community is participating in satanic acts. When he sees this it destroys any faith he might of had in
the community or himself, he appears to give up faith completely. Brown's reluctance to take the
Devil's "snake–like staff" also illustrates his uncertainties and defiance in becoming one of the
Devil's chosen. Even the setting of the winding, long journey through the woods demonstrates
indecision and conflict, as
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Young Goodman Brown Goodman Brown's actions in the story, Young Goodman Brown, are a key
element to this story's theme. The author uses Goodman Brown's movement in and out of the forest,
as a method of symbolizing the theme of a symbolic journey into the depths of consciousness. As the
hours of the night pass, Goodman Brown travels farther into the forest, and deeper into the depths of
consciousness. This theme is present in many passages of the text. The story begins with the line, "
Young Goodman Browncame forth at sunset into the street of Salem village; but put his head back,
after crossing the threshold, to exchang a parting kiss with his young wife,". At this point of the
story, there partial daylight and Goodman Brown is...show more content...
As he travels farther into the forest, and further away from Faith (faith), it becomes harder for him
to find his way back. The forest "closes" behind him, symbolizing his enterance into a different state
of consciousness. The forest, in this story, is a symbol for Goodman Brown's conscience, which
includes the roots of all his perceptions. Once he enters the depths of his conscience, he judges his
preceptions, and this makes it harder for him to submerge with these same perceptions in tact. The
devil confuses Goodman Brown's judgment in this story and ultimately after his journey, Goodman
Brown will see everything in a new light. When Goodman Brown starts his journey, he is
symbolically leaving behind his wife, Faith, and his faith in his religion. They are two things he is
consciously aware of, until ironically after his journey. The faith Goodman Brown has in his wife
and religion, however, are the only two things that temporarily hold him back from his journey.
"Faith kept me back a while," he replies to the traveller (the devil) in the forest. The devil ignores
him and says, "Come, Goodman Brown, this is a dull pace for the begining of the journey,". He is
in Goodman Brown's concsience, telling him to take this journey and test his faith; so that he can
alter his perceptions along the way. He wants Goodman Brown to ignore his religious faith, and his
wife, and continue on his journey. Goodman Brown is partially wiery of this

Young Goodman Brown Essays
Young Goodman Brown
An allegory is a narrative in which the characters and objects personify deeper meanings than what
the reader can see on the surface. The allegorical meaning is the writer's real purpose in writing the
narrative so that a lesson can be found when reading below the surface. "Young Goodman Brown",
written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a perfect example of an allegorical story and is filled with many
symbolic elements. The story begins with Goodman Brown starting out on a journey. Hawthorne
does not state what kind of journey or the purpose behind it. By the end of the story I saw it as a
journey into Goodman Browns own mind, heart and soul rather than a literal journey. I feel this is
the most significant...show more content...
The pink ribbons worn by Faith symbolized the innocence of Goodman Brown's faith. Pink is
associated with being sweet, playful, and child like. It is when Goodman Brown sees the ribbons
floating down from heaven that he knows he has lost his faith and that innocence has been
tainted with evil. The staff symbolizes a type of deception of sin. The devil twice offers his staff
to man. Once to Goodman Brown and then to Goody Cloyse. The devil deceives by offering his
staff as a source of comfort an object to lean upon when Brown and Cloyse are tired and weary.
Sometimes in life it is much easier to lean on the evil and take the path of least resistance rather
than stand up for what is right and what we believe in. The forest is a classic symbol used in
many stories. The forest is seen as dark, deceiving and a way to get lost. In "Young Goodman
Brown" the deeper Brown gets into the forest the more lost he becomes. He is separated from his
faith and all he knows as good. The "hanging twig and the coldest dew" is one of my favorite
symbols used in this story. This whole scene is full of imagery with the cold damp rock and the
feeling of hopelessness in the air. The twig with the cold dew on it is what awakens Brown from
his dream or vision. This is what makes him face the reality of

Young Goodman Brown" tells the tale of a young Puritan man drawn into a covenant with
the Devil. Brown's illusions about the goodness of his society are crushed when he discovers that
many of his fellow townspeople, including religious leaders and his wife, are attending a Black
Mass. At the end of the story, it is not clear whether Brown's experience was nightmare or reality,
but the results are nonetheless the same. Brown is unable to forgive the possibility of evil in his
loved ones and as a result spends the rest of his life in desperate loneliness and gloom.
Guilt vs. Innocence
Hawthorne presents Young Goodman Brown's evening of diabolical revelry as the first and last fling
with evil the inexperienced young man ever has. Early...show more content...
Unfortunately, Brown's experience in the forest makes him reject his previous conviction of the
prevailing power of good. He instead embraces the Devil's claim–"Evil is the nature of
mankind"– by crying out "Come, devil: for to thee is this world given." This
ackno..... (1.7 pages / 501 words in this section)
... feel trapped in the forest, as it had closed in behind him every step of the way. When he decided
to continue on with his journey, the forest quickly began to intimidate and overcome him as
"the road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished with length."
This is significant due to the fact that Goodman Brown start to realize that he was destined to come
face to face with evil and there appeared to be no turning back. As he fights his innermost fears and
weaknesses, he continues on with his journey, and slowly comes to the realization that the world
that he is living in is not as perfect as he had once thought.
As Young Goodman Brown enters the bowels of the forest, he is confronted with a haunting
familiarity of the sights and sounds that encompassed him. The sounds of a familiar hymn swelled ...
"Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about testing one's faith (whether
literally or symbolically is a question you'd probably have to consider): that is the subject. The
theme is what Hawthorne says about the subject. He seems to say

Examples Of Evil In Young Goodman Brown
Young Goodman Brown: Good versus Evil
Throughout Young Goodman Brown and other works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the themes of sin
and guilt constantly reoccur. Like many authors, Hawthorne used events in his life as a basis for the
stories that he wrote. Hawthorne felt that ones guilt does not die with him/her but is rather passed
down through the generations. Hawthorne's great–great uncle was one of the judges during the
Salem witchcraft trials. Hawthorne felt a great sense of guilt because of this. Hawthorne used a
great deal of symbolism to depict what would come to be known as the subconscious. In this allegory
he used symbolism to speak of a dreamlike process. Hawthorne used the characters and the events of
the story to create a...show more content...
This unexpectedly causes Young Goodman Brownto distrust things due to his unexpected decision
of occurrence a having gone through either a dream or reality. In Young Goodman Brown, a
figurative allegory is taking place. This traditional allegory is different from most others in that it
derives from the symbolism of the plot, the setting, and the characters. The sub meaning of this
story has social, political, and religious connotations. The characters in this story were often
personifications of theoretical emotions such as faith, greed, and evil. The characters names such as
"Goodman," "Faith," and "Gookin" are symbolic of religion and are at opposing ends of evil in the
story.
On the day of their wedding, Faith, Goodman Brown's wife was wearing pink ribbons in her hair.
This was very symbolic of her being childlike and young. Also, everything that has to do with her
is about her doubting herself and her relationship with Young Goodman Brown. It was important
for Hawthorne to show the youth in these two characters. This was another religious reference. In
the bible it states "Who ever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not receive it
at all." (Hawthorne, 635) This means that it is important to be like a child and be content without
knowing everything else that is out there. It also means that if one is on a quest for knowledge then
he/she does not leave room for someone else to be

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