Young Goodman Brown: Blind Faith
Is it possible for a man to be SO hypnotized by faith that he is incapable of apprehending the truth that surrounds him? Yes. The principle of faith centers heavily around the confident belief of an idea set by a person or community. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," the faith of an individual conflicts with the faith of the community. The story takes place during the period where all devoted Puritans adopt Calvinism; Goodman Brown being one of them. Calvinism presents the idea that all men are born sinful because of Original Sin. That is, all men are essentially evil within. Moreover, it preaches once man has sin, he is "incapable of any spiritual good" (Hanko 2). Goodman Brown himself is a Puritan, but he is unable to see the dark side of human nature that runs parallel to the faith of his community. The faith that he has is unique to him, thus resulting in the rejection of reality. I FEEL IT IS A LITTLE BIT SUDDEN HERE WHEN YOU TURN TO THE THESIS FROM THE DISCUSSION ABOVE. MAYBE USE A TRANSITION? In the story, Hawthorne uses the imagery of nature to develop the theme of appearance vs. reality. DO NOT START WITH THE WORDS "IN THE STORY" OR "I BELIEVE" OR “I SAY”. I say this because the forest plays a role in exposing the reality that Goodman Brown rejects. He went in a deceived man and exits with a shocking new view. Another use of nature is the serpent, which is quite an appropriate symbol for deception.
The forest INSTEAD OF FOREST, SPECIFY THE SUBJECT LIKE PATH represents Goodman Brown's foreshadowing perception of human nature as evil. The path through the dark woods is itself symbolic of his naive perception of human beings as "angelic." Filled with "innumerable trunks and thick boughs" (HAWTHORNE -GIVE AN AUTHOR'S LAST NAME 197), the path suggests the obscure and misleading views WHAT ARE HIS VIEWS? Brown has on mankind. Feeling his way through the dark wilderness and anticipating the evil that is lurking ahead, Brown is like an innocent student yearning for knowledge. In this case, knowledge is facing the fact that "evil is the nature of mankind" (HAWTHORNE 205), as the mysterious traveler puts it. During the journey, the dark figure "[plucks] a branch of maple and [begins] to strip it of the twigs and little boughs" for a walking stick that was later given to Brown (200). The stripping of the branch signifies the "stripping" of Brown's faith DEAL WITH ONLY PATH-FOCUS ON ONE SUBJECT, thus foretelling his inevitable yield to reality. Another way nature plays a role in pulling down the curtain of deception is the fact that the path is narrow at the beginning of the journey and then comes to a clearing at the end. This is indicative of Brown's pure, but narrow-minded perception of the good in human nature. However, as the path widens his faith begins to diminish and his views become more open. In the end, he finally succumbs to reality, and the reality is that all humans are sinners.
Likewise, the imagery of the serpent can be interpreted as a representation of deception. Of great significance to the story, the serpent-like staff carried by the mysterious figure personifies Goodman Brown's misconceptions of the unknown in human nature. Brown has been deceived by a highly programmed society to believe that humans are virtuous, but he comes to realize that when the curtain is pulled down, their evil nature manifests. The serpent is a suitable representation for deceit as they can appear one way, then shed their skins and appear differently. According to THE OLD TESTAMENT, it was the serpent that tricked Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden apples; "Then the LORD God said to the woman, "what is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:13). Even in nature, the serpent is seen as a cunning creature. The serpent, such as the cobra, is able to spread the hood around the area of its head and neck to make it appear larger to its prey and predators. Ironically, in the story it is the serpent staff that divulges the falsification of Goody Cloyse. With his serpent staff, the mysterious traveler "[touches] her withered neck with what seemed the serpent's tail" (HAWTHORNE 199). Consequently, the "pious old lady" reveals herself as a witch and a friend of the devil. As soon as Goodman Brown sees his community participating in the satanic act, and himself inevitability succumbing to evil, the serpent staff is not heard of again.
The trees and brushes NOT PATH? in the forest, along with the imagery of the serpent associated with the mysterious traveler's staff, are symbolic of a mind that is just about to be exposeD to reality. As his allegory ALLEGORICAL name implies, the virtuous nature of Goodman Brown deters him from seeing his community in a different light. His devotion to his own faith results in a detrimental yield to reality. In the end, he himself becomes evil HE DOESN'T BECOME EVIL. HE JUST AVOIDS THE EVIL. as he rejects everyone in his community. The use of nature by Hawthorne demonstrates the conflict between the world of fantasy versus the cruel nature of reality. The fantasy in the story is the faith of a sinless society; however, the reality is that sin is a part of human nature, which parallels the beliefs of Calvinism.
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