In all stories, there is a struggle or downfall the hero overcomes to reach greatness. “Young Goodman Brown” is no different in this circumstance. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” Goodman has his faith tried by wandering and conversing with the devil amidst the forest, observing the devil-worshiping ceremony, and discovering that his wife, Faith, is the newest convert. “Young Goodman Brown” begins with Goodman Brown readying for a voyage into the woods. He will be away from Salem a large amount of time. During his time away from Salem, he comes upon a man. He wanders through the forest talking with the man. The man offers Goodman his staff to help him on his journey, saying, "This is a dull pace for the beginning of a journey. …show more content…
He eavesdrops on their conversation of the night’s plan of a ceremony and the taking in of a new woman. Faiths distant voice come to Browns’ ears and slowly fades away as the ribbon from her hair falls from the sky (Hawthorne). The symbolism of this pink ribbon, strung in faiths hair during Brown’s departure from Salem is crucial to the story. The ribbon symbolizes the loss of not only Faith but also the innocence of Faith. Brown realizes the ribbon fluttering in the wind mean that Faith is the newest convert and is to be inducted into the ungodly group that he had encountered within the deep wretches of the forest. “Maddened with despair” Brown rushes into the forest following the cries of Faith, hoping it to not be true of Faith’s loss of innocence (Hawthorne). Although Brown had seen the ribbons himself, he must receive further confirmation of seeing Faith at the ceremony. This suggests that he has not lost all of his faith and could still have thoughts about the validity of the situation. This is a sign of trust and that Brown has been irresponsible of finding the identities of the ones around
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown based on morals and what Easterly in "Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' " calls "spiritual maturity" (Easterly 339). In the short story, Goodman Brown, a young Puritan leaves his wife of three months to watch a witch ceremony in the forest. During this point in time, Puritans based their lives on teachings of religion and morality; therefore, witch-meetings were surely immoral, and they betrayed the commitment of God. Dwelling in the forest throughout the night, Goodman Brown experiences an event that changes his entire perspective of life. In one night, the event destroys "his relationship with his wife Faith, isolates him from his neighbors, and destroys his ability to worship God"(Easterly 339). Eventually, Goodman Brown dies without his faith, and "they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom"(Easterly 339).
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
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown, short story is about a young man who takes a journey into Salem’s Village forest, although he made it farther into the gloomy forest than his past generations did. His wife Faith was begging him to stay home, however against his wife’s wishes he continued, experiencing a twist of betrayal while on his journey to Salem’s dark gloomy forest. Meeting an odd old man who seemed to resemble Goodman Brown, revealing to the secrets of devilish worship that would change his life forever. The author uses characterization, sulky tone, and elevated diction to prove knowledge leads to downfall.
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
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...
Taking this path that closes behind him represents Young Goodman’s decent into the unconscious and his loss of innocence. On this journey he soon meets a man who is a condensation of several different factors. The man represents the devil, as well as Brown unconscious
“Young Goodman Brown” believed he found his salvation. This is not the actual way to
Hawthorne uses symbolism to imply that when individuals lose their faith in the goodness of mankind, they may begin to imagine that their peers have yielded to temptation. The character of Faith is Goodman Brown's spouse, but she is also a symbol of his faith in mankind. Brown's relationship with Faith changes as the story progresses, from tender and caring love to judgmental scorn. Brown's thoughts about Faith as he leaves on his journey are: "Poor little Faith...she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven"(212). This statement shows that the protagonist has a deep love for his faith and knows that it can be his salvation. Later in the journey Brown offers his faith as the last reason to abort his walk with the devil: "Well, then, to end the matter at once,... there is my wife, Faith. It would break her dear little heart; and I'd rather break my own!" (214). At this point his faith is still more important to him than his own life. Later, just...
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.
Regarding the theme, the clues increase when Goodman, having left his wife, Faith, all alone and melancholy, enters the woods and encounters a sinister type with whom he has previously made an appointment for this particular evening:
When he found himself filled with doubts and his beliefs of good and evil, just the thought of his wife, Faith, supporting him. Brown began to pray when he hears Faith's voice, and soon found that she was about to launch into the devil's party. Brown scream confidence to resist the devil, but immediately found himself alone in the forest. The next morning he returned to town, He never finds out whether he dreamed his experience in the forest or if it really took place, but since then, Brown was a lonely, do not trust the people, rejected his wife and his
...ssed though the use of setting, foreshadowing, and symbolism. William Graham Sumner once said “Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the moment when they are losing faith in them, and know it, but do not dare yet to confess it to themselves.” (brainyquote.com). This statement holds many truths to the thoughts and actions of the young Goodman Brown in Hawthorne’s allegorical story. Brown was quick to go on his foreboding quest, knowing what his meeting with the devil may lead to, and only when threatened and scared attempted to turn back to hold on to both Faith physically and psychologically. Whether his journey into the forest was an illusion or not, Brown’s perception of faith in society have been dramatically altered, as he may have lost all faith in humanity.
In order to grasp the allegory Hawthorne uses in Young Goodman Brown, the story needs to be considered in a way that recognizes the blending of its historical background at the time of the Salem Witch trials and its relationship to religious symbolism within that perspective. By understanding the Puritan beliefs about sin, the forest and their own inherent faith, it becomes easier for the reader to understand the deeper meaning of Goodman Brown’s journey into the forest.
Goodman Brown learns many things about himself when he takes that journey into the woods, among many if his faith.
From the very outset of the tale, Goodman is a person of action: “YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife.” The reader sees him develop emotionally even as he walks away towards the woods: