Symbolism And Allegory In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very well-known American writer. His use of allegory as well as symbolism makes Hawthorne one of the most studied writers. Hawthorne was born on July fourth 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts into a Puritan family. An ancestor of his from England settled into Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 and his name is William Hathorne. William Hathorne became a judge and is known for his barbarous sentencing. William 's son is John Hathorne and was one of the three judges in the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel Hawthorne felt ashamed about his family history and infamous acts that he decides to make the decision to have a change in name. The family name is originally Hathorne so to detach himself he put a “w” making it Hawthorne. The influence of his Puritan religion, culture and education as well as his hometown of Salem is a topic seen in his work. Experiences and witnessing hypocrisy of religion inspired him to write about it. It can be seen in one of his written works called “Young Goodman Brown.” It is a moral allegory which is a lesson to be learned through symbolic meanings or events. In the story “Young Goodman Brown,” religious hypocrisy is expressed through symbolism showing that the wickedness of people is hid by their innocence,

His knowledge for his beliefs came from these religious figures and to see them go against their very own words left him appalled. Young Goodman Brown realizes that even those whom seem pure and righteous are not who they seem to be because it is being concealed by their “innocence” or their reputation of high standards in the community. Events like Goodman Brown witnesses bares a great resemblance to that of today’s society and how hypocrisy is very common in a religious setting. Clearly. through these experiences not knowing who to trust causes him to go back to town miserable, faithless and cold