Examples Of Realism In Young Goodman Brown

A Walk Through the Woods: Brown’s Realization

A simple walk through the woods is not always as innocent as it seems, uncertain truths can be brought out in the worst of ways. In fact, one may witness sights that he does not want to see, changing him forever in the worst of ways. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with faith, changes his view towards the community, and walks a symbolic path of acceptance and denial.

As Goodman Brown strolls along the forest trail, he meets a mysterious figure. Brown has always been a good Puritan man, yet the traveler he meets on the trail opens his eyes. It is revealed to the reader that the Devil is the unknown traveler, but to innocent Brown, he appears as a normal wanderer.

Most of the story takes place within a large forest during the night, which already gives off a small feeling that something is just not right. As I read the story, I could feel that something bad was going to happen while Brown wandered through this dark, abandoned forest. Then the devil decided to show up, as well as one of Browns former teachers, revealing to Goodman Brown the evil that he had got into. At the beginning of the story, everything seemed calm while he spoke with his wife outside of his safe house, but as the setting changed, things took a turn for the worst. The setting tells a lot about what is going on in the story, and in this case, things did not go well for Goodman Brown.

The theme for this story can easily be described loss of innocence. Goodman Brown begins as a pure, innocent man, but sin lies within even the best of men. As he loses his faith and innocence, he also begins to lose what he holds dear to himself- his life and his love. Towards the climax, Brown’s once evil thoughts have now created an evil life, forcing Brown to suffer for the rest of his days until the Devil returns for his