Reality In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

The next most important symbol is Young Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith. Yet again, Hawthorne has made these symbols clear to his readers by naming the characters in such a way that the reader makes a clear connection to what it is that they symbolize. Faith represents Young Goodman Brown’s faith in God and people. We know that he grew up in a christian family after the Devil was telling him that he was acquainted with his father and grandfather, a generation

The main character’s name, Goodman Brown, represents how good he is and how faithful he is. His wife, Faith, fully represents Goodman Brown’s faith and purity. At first, his wife, Faith, was at home which symbolizes his faith was still intact and safe: "Then God bless you!" said Faith, with the pink ribbons, "and may you find all well, when you come back." However, Goodman Brown would not be coming home well as he ventures into the woods and finds Faith’s pink ribbon, which symbolizes that his faith has been taken from him. Faith represents the conflict as a symbol of Goodman Brown’s faith. He finds Faith’s ribbon in the woods, which symbolizes the fact that she was in the woods as well and losing her purity. The outcome of the novel is hinted at when Faith is seen in the “Devil’s” arms. “[T]he wretched man beheld his Faith” portrays the fact that his faith is now gone and he has nothing left to hope

Young Goodman Brown faces Internal conflict when leaving his wife during the night to meet with the mysterious man in the woods. “My journey as thou callest it forth and back again, musts needs be done twist now and sunrise. What, my sweet pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already.” (pg.1). This scene shows the conflict Brown experiences between his actual faith and his wife Faith caused by the mysterious man.

Brown had possibly chosen to speak with the devil for something in return, but he starts to have second thoughts upon entering the forest. He never told Faith of his journey, only telling her that he must go despite her warnings and pleas. It's seen clearly here: “So they parted; and the young man pursued his way, until, being about to turn the corner by the meeting-house, he looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after him, with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons.” (1) Brown had just told his wife, Faith, that he was leaving for a journey in the night and would be back the next day. He never told her what his business

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Brown leaving Faith, his wife. Interestingly, “...my Faith, of

In the exposition, Goodman Brown becomes doubtful of his ancestors, but he still trusts Faith and the Puritans. Firstly, he shows faith in God and his wife. Goodman Brown prompts Faith to pray before sleeping: “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” (Hawthorne 1). This quote characterizes Goodman Brown as a pious and incredulous young man because he wishes that God will protect Faith from harm. Then, Goodman Brown loses his certainty for his forefathers. When the old traveler tells him the truth, he exclaims in disbelief, “Can this be so?” (Hawthorne 4). In other words, Goodman Brown questions the faithfulness of his ancestors whom he admires. Although he starts to doubt his forefathers, Faith keeps him holy and innocent.

American currencies, specifically coins, have two sides: a head and a tail. The head and tail are different, yet they are still part of the same coin. Two American authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, represent two sides of the same coin: Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism swept through America as a new worldview in the 1900’s. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material, that deals with aspects of nature. Men committed their lives to the study of nature. Nature became a religion. Emerson, a transcendental optimist, claimed that each person is inherently good. Hawthorne, a transcendental pessimist, demanded that man was corrupt and inherently evil. Emerson

He believes that his Faith is salvageable, yet due to Hawthorne’s use of deliberate ambiguity, Goodman Brown does not know “whether Faith obeyed” him or not (395). Goodman Brown awakes the next morning unsure if his Faith remains intact, unsure how the hellish communion ended. His uncertainty causes him to distrust those around him, “he shrank from” the minister and “snatched away [a] child,” from Goody Cloyse (395). He even distrusts his own Faith, deciding not to speak to her and only “looked sternly and sadly into her face,” attempting to discern if Faith is without sin (395). As such, he commits the unpardonable sin, looking for sin in others. He fears that he has lost God’s grace, or fears that others may tempt him into sin. Uncertain of his place and of the intentions of others, he attempts to find the sin before it may taint him further. However, sin’s taint had already reached him. Weighted down by his constant search for certainty, Goodman Brown became “a sad” and “desperate man” (395). His sin haunted him until his final breath, “for his dying hour was gloom” (395).

Furthermore, I noticed the way Hawthorne described the road in the forest. He uses descriptive words in order to create a visual of the forest. In page 1 it says, “He taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest...narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind.” The descriptive words the author establishes makes readers visualize the forest. As I kept on reading further, I didn’t comprehend why Brown and the man decided to meet in the forest? It seemed Brown was afraid of the forest because he mentioned there being a devilish Indian behind

The Danger of A Walk With the Devil: The Consequence of Sin and Guilt in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”

Brown died with a lost soul. The narrator stated, “They carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was in gloom” (Hawthorne, 1835, 323). His decision destroyed his faith but also with his wife Faith, which she was the representation of his faith. “My Faith is gone!” Cried he after one stupefied moment” (Hawthorne, 1835, 319). Which represent faith in God had left him and his wife Faith symbolized his religion. Faith warned him not to go into the forest, as for she knew that it would be a danger and will change his life, but he did it anyways. Brown could have made a decision to stay out, but his mind was so curious to find out more about the unknown that it destroyed his life forever. Overall, if Young Goodman Brown would have made a decision to choose the good path and not go into the forest with the devil, his life would have not changed for the worst. He would have kept his wife Faith. Also Brown would have kept his innocence and died peacefully instead of in

Young Goodman Brown may leave you feeling a bit confused after reading his story the first time ,and may require a second reading .Many things aren't what they seem, and can be interpreted in different things.Hawthorne includes many long , run on sentences.For example "And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad as the younger, and as simple in manner too, he had an indescribable

. .” (Hawthorne 355). The idea of the Satanic congregation is cemented and proven correct with this quote. Here by this point Goodman Brown has nearly given up on his Puritan religion and is about to switch to Satanic instead. He is preparing to take part in this congregation with the people around. Preparing to accept 'his destiny ' as the dark figure so boldly stated. By the next Sabbath-day that takes place, Goodman Brown is present yet he is a changed man. “. . .when the congregation was singing a holy psalm, he could not listen, because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear, and drowned out all the blessed strain” (Hawthorne 357). Here readers are shown that Goodman Brown is trying to stay and stick with Puritanism. Goodman Brown seems to be trying to get over what he witnessed in the forest, and continue on being a good Puritan. Yet when the first holy psalm is being sung, he cannot bring himself to do so and only remembers the sins he has done. Proving that he can not long follow Puritanism and may have joined the religion of Satanism while he was in the forest. In brief, Goodman Brown undergoes a religious revelation while in the forest and must choose between staying a Puritan or becoming a

Hawthorne orchestrates the underpinning of chauvinism within the very first paragraph “put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife. And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street,” (1) which implies that Faith’s place is in the home which was a common place for woman during the time period. Her role was to keep house, cook the

His opening phrase in this scene is, “ “Faith kept me back a while” replied a young man, with tremor in his voice” (406). Although Goodman Brown’s conversation with his wife delayed him, he was referring to his faith in Puritan beliefs. In the beginning, he is uneasy with the idea of darkness and the unknown because that is all he has learned is to stay true to God. His faith is all he has known his whole life and deviating away from that ideal lifestyle is a foreign yet tempting idea. This is evident when he says, “ “Too far! Too far!” exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk” (406). His brain knows it is a bad idea to continue forward, but his subconscious is eager to know what lies ahead. Brown is experiencing his first real conflict of the story with accepting temptation and the battle between his faith and