Loss Of Innocence In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

From a young age, people are taught to have faith in what they believe in. Whether it be Santa Claus or a religion, there is a certain innocence that resides within all beliefs. However, once a person’s eyes are opened to the truth, there is no way to regain that innocence. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a metaphorical story of a man as he loses his faith in humanity. Goodman Brown is unable to suppress his inner curiosity and instead ventures into the perilous forest. Brown’s journey concludes in devastation as it exposes him to the evils that lie within the world. Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to portray how an individual’s loss of innocence leads to a lack of trust and the ultimate demise of public morality.

Faith’s ribbons

In the guise of a black, twisting snake, it not only indicates temptation but is also a form of identification for His followers. The staff is described as “[bearing] the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent” (Hawthorne 2). This description of the staff shows its more evil nature and relates it to the presence of black magic at the time in New England. The vivid imagery creates an ominous sense of dread, and sets the stage for what is to come. The staff is also shaped like a snake, due to the creature’s reputation for cunning and manipulation. This description implies a comparison between snakes and the Devil, and attempts to warn the reader of Brown's downward spiral. Just as a serpent encroaches upon and strangles its victim, Goodman Brown is strangled by his own weaknesses and the temptation surrounding him. At this point, he has not only begun to lose his purity, but has also started to succumb to his negative attributes. The staff also acts as an important prop and hints at the Devil's capabilities. He showcases these powers in a short interaction, when he, “[puts] forth his staff, and [touches] her withered neck with what [seems] like the serpent's tail. ‘The devil!’ screamed the pious old lady” (Hawthorne 4). The devil’s staff allows for Satan to reveal himself entirely to the

The forest is representative of a transitional phase, allowing Goodman Brown a space to travel through as he makes his full transformation to evil. Though he does not willingly side with the devil, he still forwards the Satanic mission as he rejects the people around him. The congregation is asked to reveal the converts, and, “They [do] so; and, by the blaze of the hell-kindled torches, the wretched man [beholds] his Faith, and the wife her husband, trembling before that unhallowed altar” (Hawthorne 9). Brown realizes that he has completely lost his Faith; she is in the same evil place as him now, with no hope for getting out. In addition, they are both being baptized unto the devil with the bloody basin, another symbol to emphasize the societal pressure being put on Brown. It almost completely shatters him and causes him to look suspiciously at those around him. His life is completely ruined, and those around him notice as he becomes distant, cold and cruel. He is now seen as “a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man...from the night of that fearful dream” (Hawthorne 10). Throughout the story, the setting of the forest is used to portray the idea of being lost and confused and the exploration of these things. Goodman Brown chooses to enter the forest out of pure curiosity and in search of an explanation for his doubts. The