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.
Young Goodman Brown was a man who was naïve to the world around him. Ever since he was a child, he had always practiced a very Godly life. Not only does he believe that everyone around him follows the same path, but he also believes that it is the only path. This naivety and innocence was taken from him by the Devil, who opened his eyes to the world of evil around him. After the pagan ceremony, which Brown attends, the Devil even states “Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind” (Hawthorne 9). By saying this, Hawthorne is trying to say that it is better to know the whole truth than to live a lie. By not knowing the truth about evil existing in Salem village, Brown has essentially been living a life that is not complete or accurate. This perfect and fair world that was found in the Bible is not the real world that surrounds him. When his innocence is stolen from him so abruptly, he begins to lose both his faith and stability in the world.
The biggest symbol in Young Goodman Brown is the idea of faith. Before he goes on his “errand,” he is talking to his wife, promising he will come back, but in actuality he is talking to his faith, as in religion. He subconsciously knows he is going against his faith on this errand, but will return. “My love and my Faith,” replied young Goodman Brown, “of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again…” When Brown says later in the story “I am losing my Faith”, he is not only about his wife, (which is shown through her pink ribbon in the tree), but more about his religion, which is flashing before his eyes. This errand was a test of Goodman Brown’s faith. When Brown hears people singing hymns in swears, it is a symbol of the corruption of the church. The name Goodman Brown I think is very ironic. Is he a good man after this errand?
To begin, the introduction to Goodman Brown begins with introducing characters that seem to exemplify youthfulness, earnestness, and innocence. Interactions between Goodman and Faith, such as the "parting kiss" (Hawthorne 239), and even the description of Faith, whose cap contains pink ribbons that the wind plays with contains a sense of whimsy and playfulness that sets the reader up thinking of the young couple in positive terms. However, Goodman changes this quickly with his discussion of leaving, as well as his parting. At this point, we see the conflict within the characterization of Goodman Brown emerge, referring to himself as "a wretch...to leave her on such an errand" (239), a contrast to the initial idea presented of him. This is the beginning of what interested me so much, as the appearance of Goodman Brown was presented ambiguously and painted to be "good" by his interactions with Faith, who was described in a bit more detail.
Before young Goodman Brown begins his journey, he says his farewells to his wife, Faith, who is reluctant to see him go. “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 while she called to Goodman Brown. ‘Dearest heart,’ whispered she…, ‘prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed to-night…’ ‘My love and my Faith,’ replied young Goodman Brown, ‘of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee…’” (Hawthorne pg. 1). Before departing on his “journey”, Goodman Brown bids goodbye to his wife. Faith’s pink ribbons are not only a symbol of the innocence and purity of Faith, but also for the innocent and immature views of Goodman Brown, who has until his journey into the woods, only seen the unblemished and holy side of his fellow townspeople rather than understanding that almost all people, good and bad alike, will carry some kind of sin. After entering the woods, Goodman Brown meets a man dressed in “grave and decent attire” who greets the goodman upon seeing him. “‘You are late, Goodman Brown,’ said he. ‘The clock of the Old South was striking as I came through Boston, and that is full fifteen minutes agone.’ ‘Faith kept me back a
During Goodman Brown’s journey, he recognized Goody Cloyse, his catechism teacher, the preacher, and Deacon Gookin is going to the devil’s meeting. However, after seeing his church members at the devil’s meeting, Goodman says, “My Faith is gone! and There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! for to thee is this world given” (Hawthorne 27). “But, where is Faith?”, asked Goodman Brown (Hawthorne 29). As hope came into his heart, he trembled when he found the pink ribbon of his wife, Faith, in the forest. At that moment, Goodman Brown lost his faith in his family and church members. Goodman becomes unforgiving of others and believes only evil can be created from evil and there is nothing that anyone can do to change it. Here, Hawthorne demonstrates that a naive faith in our family, friends, and church member’s righteousness could lead to distrust. While, “Young Goodman Brown” lives a long life with Faith, he never loses his meanness toward humanity and the evil in the world, “for his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne
Through the work of "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne is able to express his views of hypocrisy in Puritanism. Goodman Brown was convinced that his Puritan family was sinless and deserved to be honored. When traveling through the forest he says, "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" ("Young Goodman Brown" 238). What Goodman Brown does not know is that his previous generations have taken part in these sinful actions that occurred in the woods. Although Brown's ancestors were supposedly righteous Puritans, they were involved in lashing a Quaker woman and setting fire to an Indian village, according to the traveler speaking with Brown. Through these stories that the traveler tells, Hawthorne makes known to his readers that Puritan's are hypocrites because they say they are holy and pure when in reality they are committing impious actions. Throughout this story Young Goodman Brown takes his journey through the woods and sees nearly eve...
In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism. Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young Goodman Brown is unable to accept the indefinable vision of betrayal and evil that he encounters in the forest. The uncertainty of this vision, enhanced by Hawthorne's deliberate, yet effective, use of ambiguity, is also seen in the character of Faith, the shadows and darkness of the forest, and the undetectable boundaries that separate nightmarish dreams from reality.
In “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne uses the hypocritical nature of Young Goodman Browns neighbors and friends to show the hypocritical nature of the puritan people. In the story, Young Goodman Brown is led by the devil to a witching party in the woods. At the witching party he sees all the people he thought to be honorable and pious. He sees his minister, and Goody Cloyse, the woman who taught him his catechisms, meeting with the devil. He even sees his wife about to join the commune but doesn’t see whether she does or not because he resists the devil and wakes up by a tree. After witnessing these things in the woods Young Goodman Brown can’t look at the people he loved and looked up to in the same way anymore. He becomes a bitter and distrustful old man because of their hypocr...
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.
From the beginning of Hawthorne’s story a test of faith prevails. From the moment that Young Goodman Brown parts with his wife, Faith, to when they meet again at the heart of the forest, the very manner Young Goodman Brown has been taught his entire life is at stake. Yet it is not so much Goodman Brown’s faith in God that is the concern but whether or not Goodman Brown feels he can trust anyone or anything he has ever come to know and believe in. Society has preconditioned him to think a certain way, thus through this journey Young Goodman Brown cannot deal with the new Puritan life he witnesses. Since he is unsure of what his society is truly like Goodman Brown is now incapable of knowing his place in society and knowing whom he really is.
“Question with boldness even the very existence of a God, because if there be one, he must approve of the homage of reason than that of blind folded fear.” When Thomas Jefferson was quoted saying this, he was explaining that everything should be questioned boldly without feeling timid. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne describes the story of a good Christian that falls into temptation, by journeying into a dark forest to meet up with the Devil. Hawthorne’s use of symbolism in Young Goodman Brown is shown through the setting, the characters, and objects in the story.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with staying pure and not giving in to the devil. Hawthorne utilizes allegory and ambiguity to leave unanswered questions for the reader.
Given Nathaniel Hawthorne's background, it is not a stretch of the imagination to say that Young Goodman Brown is a critique of Puritanism. Hawthorne lived in the deeply scarred New England area, separated from puritanism by only one generation. His grandfather had been one the judges who presided over the Salem Witch trials. Some of the principle motifs that run through Hawthorne's works are hidden sin, the supernatural, and the influence of evil. Ironically enough, puritanism is also a part of those tales. What then is the moral/ philosophical import of Young Goodman Brown? It suggests, in an allegorical sense, that puritanism is a deceptive religion that creates a false reality; one to which it is not righteous to belong.
Hawthorne begins to show his dislike for Puritanism while Goodman Brown is having his conversation with his traveling companion. Goodman's remark that he wishes to go no further in this journey, reasoning that his father and other ancestors had not been down this path before. His companion then remarks that in fact he has been down this path with both his father and grandfather when they needed his assistance. The other traveler tells Goodman Brown of the wicked things his ancestors did and how he helped them accomplish them. Goodman finds this hard to believe but the other traveler says he and Goodman's ancestors were in fact good friends of his. This passage in the story show's Hawthorns dislike for Puritanism by showing how these supposed highly religious people beat and killed people unlike themselves. This shows how truly intolerant the Puritan religion was.
Goodman Brown, a young man who was only married for three months, left his home and his wife, Faith, to go into the forest and spend the night on some mission that he will not explain. Even though Faith has strong feelings about his journey and begs him not to leave, Brown has made his decision and leaves everything behind. Faith is appropriately named, because she represents Browns faith and what he believes in. The name is genuine, religious and hopeful. It represents the good side of Brown and his hope for life. He feels bad for leaving her because he knows what he is about to do is evil and goes against his faith. Brown swears that after this night he will be good and not do anything evil again and vow his life to Faith. Brown is upset about leaving her because he knows that what he is about to do in the forest is evil and goes against his Faith. Hawthorne describes Browns journey as "crossing the threshold", meaning that he is going from one part of his life to another, he is leaving the genuine good side to go to the bad evil side.