Exploring Goodman Brown’s Perceptions of Reality The story of Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, chronicles the dreams and visons of a young man struggling with his beliefs in 17th Century Puritan society. In the dream, Goodman Brown is compelled to evaluate and reflect on the evils that exist in the world. He is shown to be completely disillusioned. The story relies heavily on the reader’s interpretation of the meaning of Goodman Brown’s encounter in the woods (Trevelyan 1983, pp.35). The story also explores Brown’s introspection and questions his morality and belief. The introduction begins with Goodman Brown’s leaving his wife Faith to run an errand in the forest. Faith makes many futile attempts to deter Brown’s from leaving the house. Faith may be interpreted as his conscience, the bearer of something good, something Goodman is looking and hopes for. Hawthorne describes that Goodman Brown believes Faith “is a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven”. Goodman Brown hopes that Faith, his love, will redeem him after he completes his “evil purpose” (Hawthorne). Goodman’s statement amplifies his …show more content…
They have been married for a brief period of three months and very much in love. Faith is slowly getting used to being married and tries to enjoy her new life with Brown. Brown extends the same love Faith has towards him. Yet, hurts his wife in the process of finding himself. He sides with “evil” by leaving his house. He disobeys the people he cared about and goes against his religion. But, in doing so he sees the true colors of his loved ones and his close friends. The truth is ultimately unveiled and Brown discovers the hidden evil. He was a hero because he knew the truth and kept it as a burden in his life. He was a hero for acknowledging and accepting the truth and moving on (Guerin, 1985, pp.
First, we will start with Goodman Brown. He is the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story titled “Young Goodman Brown”. “Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society” (McCabe). I think that Hawthorne’s own past is and complications are reveled in his story about Goodman Brown. I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and is trying to reach beyond his past in order to reach heaven. Goodman has some major problems with his wife, Faith, and everyone else in his community. I think that he is seeing everyone as perfect people, but he is having impure thoughts about himself and his past. In order to deal with these problems within himself, he is making up that everyone has this awful bad side. When he goes into the forest, he believes he is talking to the devil with looks much like his grandfather. The devil is feeding him bad thoughts about everyone he knows, even his own father and his wife Faith. Next, I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and in order for him to overcome this within himself he must search for attention. This attention may not be needed from his wife or community members, I believe it is needed from him. He is feeling overwhelmed with obligations from his wife and peers that he has no time to decide whether this type of life is right for him. So, in search for the answer to his questions about life, he turns to the devil and takes his...
Within “Young Goodman Brown”, the naive and malleable character’s intoxication of grief and dread lead him upon the revelation of the town’s hypocrisy. The fact of the initial impact upon Brown’s mentality and changed outlook of the town’s people revolves around the imagined forest meeting which leaves him bitter and spiteful. Satan’s true intent was to make him: “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the night of that fearful dream”. Whether the forestry scene did in fact occur is truly a matter of the readers insight, however the overall impact that the scene had upon the story’s primary thematic detail of hypocrisy does evolve around the secrets of which the townspeople in turn remain to hold to themselves. Hawthorne’s works primarily emphas...
"Young Goodman Brown" begins when Faith, Brown's wife, asks him not to go on an "errand". Goodman Brown says to his "love and (my) Faith" that "this one night I must tarry away from thee." When he says his "love" and his "Faith", he is talking to his wife, but he is also talking to his "faith" to God. He is venturing into the woods to meet with the Devil, and by doing so, he leaves his unquestionable faith in God with his wife. He resolves that he will "cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven." This is an example of the excessive pride because he feels that he can sin and meet with the Devil because of this promise that he made to himself. There is a tremendous irony to this promise because when Goodman Brown comes back at dawn; he can no longer look at his wife with the same faith he had before.
The story begins with Young Goodman Brown departing from his wife. His pretty young wife Faith is immediately identified by the pink ribbons in her hair. “And Faith, as his wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her cap.” (Hawthorne 197)...
“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The literary work entails a young man’s journey into the woods one night and stumbles upon a variety of people that will change his life forever, but not for the better. The overall tone for the passage is more skeptical in the beginning as Brown tries to figure out his stand on the subject of his puritan faith, however, the it shifts towards a more traffic tenor at the end as he lives with the consequences of his choices from the night in the woods when he decided to walk along side with the weary old traveler. Young Brown proclaims during his journey, “‘Faith! Faith!’ as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness… ‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he,
The ambiguity surrounding Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, immediately becomes apparent at the story's beginning. As Young Goodman Brown is leaving his comfortable and reverent Puritan home to embark upon this mysterious journey, Faith unexpectedly plunges her "pretty head into the street" allowing the wind to tousle and "play with the pink ribbons of her cap"(1199). Hawthorne uses natural imagery, such as the image of the wind "playing" with Faith's pink ribbons, to convey Faith's attachment to nature; the dark and mysterious part of life that is somewhere outside the constraints of Puritan society. In fact, the image...
In the same way, Hawthorne uses faith symbolically again to represent Goodman Brown own faith in God. As the story begins we see Faith pleading with Goodman brown not to go on the journey but to stay home with her. Hawthorne shows that Goodman has strong faith before he departs for his journey and sometimes in the deep forests, by the way in which he replies to faith as to reassure that his faith will not be weakened by anything he comes across in his journey the author states " 'Amen! ' Cried Goodman Brown 'Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee '" (Hawthorne). So we see that Goodman brown not only knows the consequences he will encounter, but he welcomes it because of the curiosity and will that inflame his heart. He acknowledges his motives and he "felt justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose" (Hawthorne). Even though he knows what he’s about to do is evil and sinful, Goodman
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “”Young Goodman Brown” is an allegorical piece that cautions against the potential of human evil. Hawthorne believed the most evil thing a person could do was deliberately harden his heart, to disregard others’ emotions entirely and therefore their humanity. In the story, young goodman Brown commits this unpardonable sin. He through on many separate occasions decided to continue a wicked journey, when it did not end exactly the way he wanted, he ended his relationship with Faith. Hawthorne uses symbols to demonstrate and hopefully prevent people from turning into young goodman Brown. Hawthorne chronicles Brown’s departure, his journey through the woods, and his arrival at the ceremony.
Representing the superego is Young Goodman’s wife Faith. Her name becomes a multi-layered metaphor. Hawthorne writes, "And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her caps while she called to Goodman Brown" (Kelly, 190). This statement suggests that Brown's wife’s name is symbolic. Faith is condensed to represent innocence, the Puritan religion and Brown’s consciousness. Since, young girls are often equated with pink. The pink ribbons in her hair serve to symbolize her innocence. When Brown meets the man in the woods he says, "Faith kept me back awhile" (Kelly, 191). In this case Faith represents the Puritan religion.
It is surprising, in a way, to discover how few of the many critics who have discussed "Young Goodman Brown'' agree on any aspect of the work except that it is an excellent short story. D. M. McKeithan says that its theme is "sin and its blighting effects." Richard H. Fogle observes, "Hawthorne the artist refuses to limit himself to a single and doctrinaire conclusion, proceeding instead by indirection,'' implying, presumably, that it is inartistic to say something which can be clearly understood by the readers. Gordon and Tate assert, "Hawthorne is dealing with his favorite theme: the unhappiness which the human heart suffers as a result of its innate depravity." Austin Warren says, ''His point is the devastating effect of moral scepticism." Almost all critics agree, however, that Young Goodman Brown lost his faith. Their conclusions are based, perhaps, upon the statement, "My Faith is gone!" made by Brown when he recognizes his wife's voice and ribbon. I should like to examine the story once more to show that Young Goodman Brown did not lose his faith at all. In fact, not only did he retain his faith, but during his horrible experience he actually discovered the full and frightening significance of his faith.
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.
Hawthorne skillfully uses Goodman Brown’s wife’s name, Faith, as a symbol of Goodman Brown’s strong faith when Brown’s reassuring response to Faith imply that his faith cannot be weakened: “Amen!’ cried Goodman Brown, “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” (Hawthorne 22). Brown leaves Faith; whom he describes as a “blessed angel on earth,” and journeys to the forest (Hawthorne 22). Taking the dark, dreary road into the forest symbolizes his act of jumping into the path leading to despair. The forest represents sin, and the evil grows stronger and stronger as Goodman walks further into the
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an excellent example of the use of allegories and symbolism as a form of satire on Puritan faith. According to Frank Preston Stearns, author of The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Hawthorne may have intended this story as an exposure of the inconsistency, and consequent hypocrisy, of Puritanism” (Stearns 181). Throughout the story of “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne tries to infuse as many symbols and allegories as he can to enhance the overall meaning of his story. He uses the village, Goodman Brown, Faith, the man in the forest, and the time spent in the forest as either a symbol or an allegory to get his point across that Puritans are not always what they seem to be.
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.
Young Goodman Brown goes into the forest at first with only a small expectation of what he is going to experience. Of his fellow Puritan society he sees the bad seeds as well as supposed men and women of the utmost regard. He sees virgin girls filled with reverence and innocence, and even members of the church present at the devil’s ceremony. This causes Young Goodman Brown to question his entire upbringing and trust in his society. It creates...