Is the Fellow Traveler in Young Goodman Brown Friend or Foe?

683 Words2 Pages

Friend or Foe?

"Why did Goodman Brown leave his wife to fulfill an evil purpose?" "What was his evil purpose?" "Who did he meet in the woods?" "Was it a dream or was it reality?" These are just a few of the questions that ran through my head after reading the short story, Young Goodman Brown. After several nights of reading, rereading, thinking, and debating I've received many revelations of this story; one being the true identity of the "fellow-traveler" mentioned throughout this adventurous tale. You see, he was not just any man, he was the devil himself.

In the beginning of the story, after Goodman Brown leaves his wife and begins his journey through the woods, fear starts overcoming him. He creeps slowly along the path in the forest and is in constant torment because he isn't sure of what lies behind every rock and tree. He even said out loud, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" (Hawthorne 383). Then, just as he turns around, a man appears. How ironic. The man tells Goodman Brown that the "clock of the Old South was striking" as he came through Boston and that was "fifteen minutes agone" (Hawthorne 383). If thought is put into this statement, you will come to realize that this is impossible. The story took place in Salem Village and Boston is seventeen miles away from there. Traveling by horse, because that was the quickest way to travel in the 1800's, this journey would have taken an entire day; no one could have possibly made the trip in fifteen minutes.

Another sign that upholds the fact that the traveler is the devil is the staff that he carries. It bears "the likeness of a great black snake" and it seems at times to move "like a living serpent" (Hawthorne 384). Ever since the beginning of time, serpents have been an accepted symbol of evil. In the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by the devil in the form of a snake; and when she gave into the temptation, she caused all of humanity to fall into the bondage of sin. In the same way, the fellow-traveler tempts Goodman Brown by constantly persuading him onward into the forest, which in turn would crush his Faith.

Show More
Related

  • Pit and the Pendulum vs. Young Goodman Brown

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Follow Your Faith In Young Goodman Brown

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Young Goodman Brown” the author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a story about how Young Goodman Brown, who is a recent Christian man and was going to test his faith against the devil, but the devil was not going to make it easy since he test Young Goodman Brown along the way.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown VS. Paul

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Excessive Pride in Young Goodman Brown

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    When Goodman Brown finally meets with the Devil, he declares that the reason he was late was because "Faith kept me back awhile."   This statement has a double meaning because his wife physically prevented him from being on time for his meeting with the devil, but his faith to God psychologically delayed his meeting with the devil.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Young Goodman Brown is about a young, newly wedded man who leaves his wife, Faith, and to go on a journey into the forest one night. Young Goodman Brown has an innocent and maybe even naïve soul and was looked upon by townspeople as a “silly fellow” (Hawthorne 83). He is accompanied by a mysterious, older man who is later on revealed to be the devil. As they are walking, Young Goodman Brown tries to turn back several times and at one point succeeds in getting rid of the devil. However, when he sees that even his wife has surrendered to the same evil path that he was on, he stops resisting and continues into the forest. He ends up at a witches’ sabbath where he sees familiar faces of people whom he previously looked up to for spiritual guidance; he also finds Faith there and becomes devastated. In the end, he cries out to resist the devil and then wakes up to find himself alone in the forest.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown Analysis Essay

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    The traveler’s identitybecomes known to the reader by the description of his cane that he carries, “… which bore thelikeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist andwriggle itself like a living serpent.” (1034) Many would recall the serpent from the first book inthe Bible, Genesis. The serpent is a symbol of chaos and evil power. The serpent that convincedEve to eat from the forbidden tree; resulting in man’s fall from grace. Here too in our story,similar to Eve, Young Goodman Brown is confused which results in his travelling down thewrong path resulting in a fall from the grace of God.Nevertheless, Goodman Brown, states that he wants to return to the village for his wife,Faith’s sake. Shortly the two travelers come upon an old woman hobbling through the woods.She is a member of the village known to be a pious and respected woman, Goody Cloyse.Shamed to be seen with the man, Goodman Brown hides from her. The man taps Goody Cloyseon the shoulder and is identified by her as the devil and she reveals herself to be a witch, on herway to the devil’s evil forest ceremony. Despite this revelation, Goodman Brown tells the manthat he still intends to turn back, for his wife, Faith’s sake. The man says that Goodman Brownshould rest. Before disappearing, he gives Goodman Brown his staff, telling him that he can useit for transport to the ceremony if he changes his mind.Shortly Goodman Brown hears voices which he recognizes as the church minister andDeacon Gookin, both on their way to the ceremony. This alarms Goodman Brown. He begins toquestion all he knows, wondering if everyone has gone to the devil. He decides to stay true toGod if only for his wife’s sake. But his faith is tested as all of our faiths must be tested; he hearsFaith’s voice coming from the ceremony. He screams her name, and a pink ribbon from her capflutters down from the

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Rip Van Winkkle And Rip Van Winkle

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    Goodman Brown heads into the forest for an undetermined journey. Which is assumed that he is going out to do one last act of sin then come back and stay faithful to his wife Faith. Goodman Brown 's wife Faith is a symbol for his religious faith. Before his voyage he is held up by Faith. " 'pr 'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone women is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she 's afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!" ' (Hawthorne ). Goodman Brown goes on his journey in the woods and when he talks to the man that he comes across in the forest he says that he knows Goodman Brown 's family. " 'Well said, Goodman Brown! I have been as wee acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that 's no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker women so smartly through the streets of Salem. And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, In King Philip 's War. They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight. I would fain be friends with you, for their sake. '" (Hawthorne ). Goodman Brown then begins to see all of the

    Read More

  • Literary Motifs in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    First of all, the tale involves the common motif of a journey in quest of something. The young Goodman Brown, at the beginning of the story, takes leave of his wife, Faith, in order to journey into the woods where he keeps an appointment with the devil: "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, must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise.”

    Read More

  • Goodman Brown Allegory

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    It seems necessary to write down some lines about the author. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Because of the involvement of his ancestor in the Salem witch trials , Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, and graduated in 1825. Hawthorne published his first work, Fanshawe, in 1828. He published several short stories after that which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. His masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, was published in 1850. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864.

    Read More

  • The Sins Of Young Goodman Brown

    1501 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is impossible to fairly analyze Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown" around a single literary approach. American novelist, essayist, and poet, Herman Melville, once wrote about Hawthorn's short story that it over time, like wine, it only improves in flavor and body (The Life and Works of Herman Melville). Hawthorne's short story continues to get better with age, and carries today's readers into a world filled with a plethora of meanings for them to pick from its symbolism. Modern readers have interpreted the meaning of Goodman Brown's experience in many ways, but to pigeon hole the story into one view would destroy its veracity.

    Read More

  • The Journey of Young Goodman Brown

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, Young Goodman Brown, Brown goes on a journey through the forest that drastically changes him. While we never know the real reason why Brown went to the forest, the experience in the forest caused him to become a bitter, sad, and lonely man who couldn't look at life the same after that night. There were many events that occurred in the forest that caused this change in him.

    Read More

  • Theme Essay Young Goodman Brown

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of his journey, Goodman Brown’s will and pride were both embedded in the belief that he was a pious man. Goodman’s pride in piety evidently fails him, as he discovers that his faith was based on the principles of individuals who had sworn allegiance to the devil. This deplorable truth destroyed his conviction, and in this sense the devil prevailed against Goodman Brown.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown Character Analysis Essay

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story, Young Goodman Brown, the character, Goodman Brown changes throughout the story. In the beginning he was a kind man, loving husband with nothing holding him down, not even the warnings of his wife, Faith. As he walked and talked with the Devil, he became more aware of what had happened in the past with his own family. When he saw the Devil talk with Goody Cloyse on the path in the woods, he figured out by the nature of their conversation that the Devil was more mischievous than he thought. He started to have uncertainties about the errand he was on. At that point, Goodman Brown told the devil he was not going another step. Shortly after the Devil left him in the path, Brown found a ribbon on a branch of a tree

    Read More

  • Theme of Alienation in Literature

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Late one night he finds himself in the middle of the woods with the Devil, on his way to a meeting of the Devil's followers. After seeing respected townsfolk at the Devil's meeting, including his minister and his wife, Faith, he loses hope in humanity and all that he had known to be true or real. Goodman Brown wakes up in his bed immediately following the Devil's meeting and wonders if what had happened was reality or simply just a dream. Despite his confusion about the events that took place, he was unable to forget what had happened and lost faith in religion and his com... ...

    Read More

More about Is the Fellow Traveler in Young Goodman Brown Friend or Foe?

Open Document