The word “grave” suggests the danger and seriousness of the journey. Soon the author persuades us that this man represents the devil in Goodman’s struggle with his beliefs. The man is willing to lead Goodman deep into the forest, or in other words, deep into sin. The man even addresses Brown telling him... ... middle of paper ... ... himself from the generations before; he cannot completely separate himself from his parent’s faith and culture without losing his own identity. Hawthorne displays vivid setting throughout “Young Goodman Brown” to help him deal with the insecurities concerning not only his character but also his own forefathers and his own faith.
As Brown is leaving he kisses his wife, Faith, goodbye; the name Faith is intentionally used to symbolize the faith in god that they both share and also what Brown is leaving behind to go on his journey. Brown's wife, Faith, is also wearing pink ribbons in her hair, which give the impression that she is an innocent godly woman. Right before Brown leaves on his journey Faith says, "pr'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise." (309). This is showing that sunrise is a more pleasant and peaceful time to go on a jou... ... middle of paper ... ...ed by the devil tempting Brown to join the dark side.
Prior to entering the forest Brown demonstrates a strong sense of faith. Hawthorne uses the name of Brown’s wife, Faith, as a symbol of Brown 's own faith throughout the story, as shown by his description of her "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" (CITE THIS). She like Brown’s faith is innocent, young, pure and sheltered. He is only is able to see the goodness in others. Goodman Brown sets off on his journey with "excellent resolve for the future" (CITE), and “[feels] himself justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose" (CITE).
Obviously, in the time of the Puritans evil was by no means tolerated. It was more or less hunted out and destroyed. Being the wildly religious Puritan he is, Goodman Brown sets of into the forest on a quest to find evil and relinquish its temptations once and for all. Brown expresses that by doing so he will gain some unworldly benefit when he states “ . .
This journey that Young Goodman Brown encounters could of been a dream or even a true event that is manifested by his own internal desires. Unable to accept that society is a mixture of both good and evil, Goodman Brown chooses his own damnation. In the forest Brown saw a mixture of religious and wicked people, and it was strange to see that "the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints." Brown ultimately decides to accept that everyone is evil, and he loses his chance at redemption when he makes the decision to completely isolate himself from society and even from his own wife.
The very first description of her “She thrust her pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap.” (Hawthorne 449) is suggestive that she is innocent and pure much like Browns own Faith in his religion. Brown’s own replies to his wife are also suggestive that he is strong within his faith " 'Amen! ' Cried Goodman Brown. 'Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee '" (Hawthorne 449) After bidding his wife farewell he proceeds with his journey with “resolve for the future” even stating that he feels” justified in his present evil purpose” (Hawthorne 449). This statement alone destroys the perception of his “simple and pious nature.” (Hurley 413) Because he is knowingly going to partake in a sinful act but he still maintains belief in his faith that he will arrive home untainted from this wrongdoing and safe.
In the story he is meant to represent "everyman" in society and the struggle they have with the evil within themselves. Then there is Faith, Young Goodman Brown's wife, who also has a name that reflects who she truly is. She is young, like her husband. She is also a very innocent woman. The pink ribbons she wears in hair represent this.
Goodman let his excessive pride in himself destroy his relationship with his wife and community, and his ability to worship God. Goodman Brown goes into the woods to meet with the devil, therefore, he is questioning his faith from the start. He steps away from his faith for a short period of time to go on his journey saying that, “After this one night, I’ll cling to her (Faith) skirts and follow her to Heaven” (Hawthorne 1). This is one example where Goodman’s excessive pride comes in to play. He feels that he can do this sinful deed because he promised himself he would repent afterwards.
Faith, his wife, with her pink ribbons embodies his purity and innocence, “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” (Hawthorne 1). Here Faith seems young, free and innocent as she lets the wind play with her pink ribbons. Faith does not want Young Goodman Brown to leave her alone for the night, yet he does anyway. If he had simply just stayed home as his Faith wanted, he never would have walked with the Devil or almost given up his innocence. An online source entitled “Color Psychology” calls pink a representation of “[...]the sweetness ... ... middle of paper ... ...oodman Brown’s innocence is directly intertwined with his wife Faith, so, when she is seen at the satanic ceremony, Young Goodman Brown does not know what to believe in anymore.
When we read about Young Goodman Brown and his wife, Faith’s, relationship, we get the sense of eternal love, which would make the previous statement true. We learn that Young Goodman Brown holds on to love for his wife Faith until the end of the story when his relationship changes. We can argue that the era of when this story took place wasn’t romanticism, rather than dark and faithless. The beginning of the story might give us a sense of love and how a husband is reluctant to leave his wife behind. But, if we analyze the story we can actually see the real meaning of every symbol that the story holds.