Unmasking the Superficial Hierarchy of the Church in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

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In Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne tells the story of a young man discovering man's true nature in a fantasized visit to hell. He encounters a world where everyone is equally evil, including the most "holy" of people. Hawthorne's hell is a parallel to the influence of the Church on the real world. In the story, Goodman Brown decides to embark on a night journey, with some kind of evil intentions. He is guided by a man who resembles his grandfather, and despite his hesitancy, proceeds to his destination. Brown is shocked to see religious figures along the way, who share the same evil intentions. He is driven to meet the end when he hears his wife Faith's voice calling out. She is his one strand of good that he struggles to hold on to; when he realizes she might be captured by evil, he fills with fear. At the end is their meeting with the devil-figure, where he calls all people to come together under evil. Hawthorne's depiction of the devil-figure is far from harsh, rather, he is described as more of a father-figure, addressing the congregation as his children. The character is introduced as having "no slight similitude...to some grave divine of the New-England churches." The figure remains rather ambiguous, he does not have a specific identity. He is constantly referred to as a dark figure, as sort of shadow amongst the flames. In one sentence, Hawthorne uses the words "deep," "solemn," and "almost sad" to describe the figure's manner. The figure is addressing his congregation with pity and remorse, "as if his once angelic nature could yet mourn for our race." Using the word "angelic" softens the image of the devil-figure. The devil's speech asks the people to awaken to the reality that virtue isn't possible, that Evil is man's true nature. By welcoming them to the "communion of your race" he emphasizes that people are unified under the fact that everyone is evil. The devil figure is like a puritan minister trying to tell everyone that they are evil, but he tells them to accept it, that "Evil must be your only happiness." People can live happily if they only realize that evil is the way we are meant to be, trying to fight it is futile. The congregation accepts his welcome "in one cry of despair and triumph.

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