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In the story "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a dream to illustrate a young man’s loss of innocence, understanding of religion and his community. Through this dream, the main character Young Goodman realizes that the people that he surrounds himself with are not who he believes them to be. The story of “Young Goodman Brown” focuses on the unconscious mind. The characters in this short-story are able to represent the struggle of Young Goodman’s superego, ego, and id. Representing the superego is Young Goodman’s wife Faith. Her name becomes a multi-layered metaphor. Hawthorne writes, "And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her caps while …show more content…
His name also becomes a multilayered metaphor. Being known as “young” represents Goodman Browns innocence and virtue. He is also condensed to represent his own consciousness. But, by leaving his wife, Faith, Young Goodman Brown is giving into the unconscious. "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind" (Kelly, 191). 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 …show more content…
Brown begins the journey believing that his forefathers are innocent, good men, but the devil tells Brown that he has been, "…well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that’s no trifle to say" (Kelly, 192). Brown's forefathers become equated with the devil. The people of the town are also displaced as the devil. The devil tells Brown, "I have a very general acquaintance here in New England. The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wince with me; the selectmen of divers towns make me their chairman; and a majority of the Great and General Court are firm supporters of my interest, The governor and I, too----But these are state secrets" (Kelly, 192-93). A specific person in the town that is displaced with the devil and Brown’s loss of innocence is Goody Cloyse. When Goody Cloyse is approached by the devil she accepts him, showing that she is well acquainted with him. When Goodman Brown witnesses this interaction between the devil and Goody Cloyse he says, “That old woman taught me my catechism” (Kelly 195). Brown’s catechism is brought up to represent his childhood and contrast with this loss of innocence. Brown learns that the minister and Deacon Gookin are also heading to the meeting with the devil. Brown learns that they too represent
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.
But, was Goodman Brown just dreaming or did these events actually happen. These events could not have happened so he had to be dreaming this whole time. Goodman Brown had been questioning his faith for some time and had a very realistic dream. In the story, Goodman Brown is confronted with much more evilness rather than good which ultimately causes him to question his faith. Nathaniel Hawthorne is believed to be the author with the most symbolic messages and the symbols that he uses in "Young Goodman Brown" are strong with great meaning behind them. Symbols are a prominent part of nearly every story, they help improve the story by branching out on the main idea with other meanings in the
The use of symbolism in "young Goodman Brown" shows that evil is everywhere, which becomes evident in the conclusion of this short story. Hawthorne's works are filled with symbolic elements and allegorical elements. "Young Goodman Brown" deals mostly with conventional allegorical elements, such as Young Goodman Brown and Faith. In writing his short stories or novels he based their depiction of sin on the fact that he feels like his father and grandfather committed great sins. There are two main characters in this short story, Faith and Young Goodman Brown. "Young Goodman Brown is everyman seventeenth-century New England the title as usual giving the clue. He is the son of the Old Adam, and recently wedded to Faith. We must note that every word is significant in the opening sentence: "Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street of Sale, Village; but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young w2ife.
Although one may be surprised that Hawthorne could write such a story about what was considered a taboo topic during his time period, and even have such blatant evidence of personal interaction with a demonic individual, the reader can suggest that the topic of his story is caused by the fact that Hawthorne’s grandfather was involved with the Salem witch trials. Hawthorne’s grandfather was not the only one involved in the witch trials from his family, however, he was also related to 4 of the accused witches. Considering Hawthorne’s family history, the reader can clearly see the where the author’s interest was sparked. James Williamson, author of Young Goodman Brown: Hawthorne 's 'Devil in Manuscript, has a strong opinion about Hawthorne’s motives behind the story. He states, “…there is a connection between the writer and the devil and the writer/speaker is actually a member of the devil 's party. Brown actually meets with three devils: the old man, Goody Cloyse, and the speaker. The speaker is the devil in the manuscript in that he has the ability to make Brown and the reader perceive devilish qualities of the other characters (127).” Though it may go against conventional views of the author, Williamson raises good insight and starts a great discussion concerning the mindset of the author, rather than Young Goodman
According to Thomas Connolly, “not only did he retain his faith, but during his horrible experience he actually discovered the full and frightening significance of his faith.” At the beginning of the story, Brown was seen as a devout Calvinist in which he truly believed he was one of the elect. The errand on which he is going is understood as a prearrangement with the devil. Because of his belief, it is after meeting the devil that Brown’s disillusionment will come.... ...
In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism. Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young Goodman Brown is unable to accept the indefinable vision of betrayal and evil that he encounters in the forest. The uncertainty of this vision, enhanced by Hawthorne's deliberate, yet effective, use of ambiguity, is also seen in the character of Faith, the shadows and darkness of the forest, and the undetectable boundaries that separate nightmarish dreams from reality.
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses different people as symbols throughout "Young Goodman Brown." The largest symbolic roles in the story are goodman Brown and his wife Faith. Both of the characters' names are symbolic and representative of their personalities. "'With Heaven above and Faith below, I will stand firm against the devil!' cried goodman Brown," is just one of many quotes that directly relates goodman Brown's personality with his name (189). Goodman Brown is truly a good man. Faith, goodman Brown's wife, also has a name that is indicative of her nature. The story directly supports this point in the phrase "Faith, as the wife was aptly named . . . " (184). Faith is persistent in trying to keep goodman Brown off the path of sin in the first part of the story: " . . . pr'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night" (184). Hawthorne does an excellent job of turning the main characters into symbols that are prominent throughout the story.
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.
The account of Young Goodman Brown is a fictional story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This is about a young gentleman who looks at the world at an exterior point of view, not knowing the fundamental problems in his surroundings. This tale describes the obstacles we face in our day to day lives. One can say that Hawthorne has effectively retained his readers’ undivided attention, yet communicated to them a valuable lesson in this story. In the beginning, Young Goodman Brown was a much acquitted young man. He was the type of individual who saw the good in everyone and, in turn, never recognized the bad. One could admit that Goodman Brown was very guarded from the evils of the world. That was until he was exposed to great evil all in one night. Basically, Brown realized that all that he thought he knew about the people in his life were merely shadows of what they truly are. Everyone that he looked up to turned out to be evil, thus leaving him dismayed. Even though it is not clear if the events that occurred were real or a dream, but from that night on, Young Goodman Brown never trusted anyone ever again.
Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism throughout his short story Young Goodman Brown to impact and clarify the theme of good people sometimes doing bad things. Hawthorne uses a variety of light and dark imagery, names, and people to illustrate irony and different translations. Young Goodman Brown is a story about a man who comes to terms with the reality that people are imperfect and flawed and then dies a bitter death from the enlightenment of his journey through the woods. Images of darkness, symbolic representations of names and people and the journey through the woods all attribute to Hawthorne's theme of good people sometimes doing bad things.
Hawthorne's tale begins early in the evening, when the young Goodman Brown reluctantly leaves his new wife, Faith (aptly named), and heads toward the forest to embark on an over night journey into the darkness of his own soul, accompanied by none other than the devil himself.
The names of the characters Young Goodman Brown and his wife Faith are both symbolic. “Young" infers the title character is naive and new at life. Brown’s youth suggests that he is an uncorrupted and innocent young man. Moreover, "Goodman" suggests his self-righteousness thinking he is a good man. Furthermore, "Brown" indicates he is a commoner. Thus, the full name implies he is the average naive and self-righteous Puritan. Faith’s name in the story represents his need to cling to faith. She symbolizes everything that is good and Christian to Goodman Brown. Brown’s marriage to Faith is symbolic of how he clings to faith in good in the world.
Once Brown enters the forest he meets the devil, who resembles his father. The representation of his father as the devil symbolizes that even Browns own blood is evil, and that everyone has some evil inside themselves. It shoes how far back evil goes, and that...
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... ...