Young Goodman Brown Character Analysis

In today’s society the general attitude towards an individual is conform or be an outcast. It is seen in schools where people who do not fit into specific cliques become outcasts, the weird people. It is seen in the work place as well. People have conformed to standards set by society simply because society has said to do so. Society asks people to change themselves to fit in. However, people do not have to conform to the standards set by society.

“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story that is meant to hold a larger truth about society. This story is comprised of many different symbols that work together to make that truth all the more clear to the reader. Hawthorne will accentuate the fact that faith is a choice, and each individual faces a struggle whether or not to accept faith as a part of who they are. He uses each character and event in the story as a representation of different influences that people are impacted by in the process of making a decision on faith.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was known for his many ways of writing including hidden messages, allegory meanings and symbolism. Nathaniel also brought back Puritan style writing by discussing religion as a main focus in his texts with everyday people good or bad, also known as religious symbolism. In “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolically illustrates the dark and bright sides of characters throughout the story in order to teach the moral lesson of man and the conflict within, the hidden evil among everyone represented in the mysterious man and Goody Cloyse, Goodman's unknown past, and his unknown future with his wife.

“Young Goodman Brown” is a story about a man who challenges his faith in himself and in the community in which he resides.

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.

In the text, “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown’s gloom and withdrawal is justified by the shocking events in the forest. This is because, during his time in the forest, be bears witness to supernatural events in which he sees that many people he knows from the path of god are in reality on the path of the devil.

During his journey of sin, Young Goodman Brown and the devil come upon Goody Cloyse, Young Goodman Brown's catechism teacher, and, still believing that she is a “pious and exemplary dame” Goodman Brown tries to stay away from the woman by pleading with the devil “I shall take a cut through the woods… being a stranger to you, she might ask whom I was consorting with” (3). Because of Young Goodman Brown’s beliefs of her innocence, it is even more jolting to him when she “knows her old friend,” the devil, and speaks about stolen broomsticks, recipes including “the juice of smallage and cinquefoil and wolf’s-bane,” and even the same devilish meeting that Young Goodman Brown and his accomplice are to attend (3). With signs that all point to sin and witchcraft, Young Goodman Brown’s shock in saying “That old woman taught me my catechism” had “a world of meaning” as he cannot possibly believe that a woman known to be so holy and righteous in the community could be so evil within. As Goodman Brown moves past the shock of Goody Cloyse’s actions, he is exposed to the sins of the holiest members of their Puritan community, the minister and Deacon Gookin. While Goodman Brown shamefully “[conceals] himself within the verge of the forest… he recognized the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin” who speak of the same evil “meeting” as Goody Cloyse and even remark that “several of the Indian powwows” will even be present (4,5). This talk of devilish acts from people known to Goodman Brown as holier than all causes Goodman Brown great pain and confusion even to the point where he was “ready to sink down on the ground, faint and overburdened” from what he had just witnessed (5). In the short time from when Goodman Brown enters the forest, sees Goody Cloyse, and sees the minister and the deacon, his entire life and upbringing is

Young Goodman Brown could have made a different decision by choosing not to go into the forest. Instead of making the choice to enter the forest, he could have chosen to follow the good path avoiding the evil path. If he had gone down a different path it would have prevented him from losing his belief, religion, and faith he had in God. By Brown going into the wicked forest, he changed as a person because he did not come out the same. After going into the forest Brown realized the world was evil and couldn’t see the good in anything no longer. “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name” (Hawthorne, 1835, 319). If he stayed out of the forest he would have still had his religion and seen the good in people and things while living on Earth. While inside the forest he became confused, lost, and doubtful over his life. Brown lost the innocence that he once had and gain new awareness to things that he once couldn’t see

For many years, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing of “Young Goodman Brown” has been used frequently when discussing the topic of a moral allegory. This story is both a literal and metaphorical journey of a man who is walking to a spiritual crisis, with the devil himself. The use of symbolism and imagery help to set the tone for the reader, when going along with Goodman Brown on his “soul-searching” journey. Herman Melville once wrote that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” has only been improving over time. He said “like wine, was only improving in flavor and body.” This story leads to modern thinkers. It teaches the readers and students to find a deeper meaning, and go beyond the literal meaning. Goodman Brown investigates man’s inborn

A glimpse of evil, witchcraft, and the sudden loss of innocence.It's sunset in colonial Salem.Brown sets off on a voyage towards the forest near his hometown.as he leave, he gives a goodbye kiss to his wife, Faith. Faith begs young Goodman Brown not to leave her alone at night. The setting becomes frightening, and the challenges become more tought.First he come across an elderly witch.Follow by a couple of devil-worshippers.he then come encounter with a spooky "black mass of cloud". Shortly after, brown faces the devil himself and his minions.At last brown returns home safe from all the evil things.

Young Goodman Brown has lost all hope and is now an empty vessel waiting to be filled with sin. This shows how Young Goodman Brown’s lost of faith has allowed him to be less than human. He becomes a shadow of himself looking for trouble and specifically the devil. In an essence, Young Goodman Brown’s internal conflict vanishes and the story continues to resolve the external conflict.

(pg. 453)” Young Goodman Brown is a man living in the puritan era who has a wife and family, and is deep in his Christian faith. Young Goodman Brown lived in a town that is all connected to through the local church. Early in the story Young Goodman brown would set out to meet a person who would later be labeled as the devil by one of the locals. Young Goodman brown would have a vision of everyone in his community that would show him their wicked sins. “On the Sabbath day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he would not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain. (pg. 456)” Brown would grow with the idea that all his loved ones are “sinful” and he would be somewhat of a recluse, by setting himself apart from the community, family, and church. The story states that he would die this way, and hardly anyone would come to his grave. We see that with Young Goodman Brown, even though he was sound in his faith, he lost what it is that made him feel free. In a since, if his dream was true, then he lost the point of redemption, and could not handle the truth. In his story, the truth did not set him free, but this caused him to be a slave wasting away in his prison called

. .” (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

Brown shows innocence and corruptibility as he vacillates between believing in the inherent goodness of the people around him and believing that the devil has taken over the minds of all people he loves “SparkNote on Young Goodman Brown.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

The significance of the title is to demonstrate that the protagonist is a good person. That he wouldn’t do any actions to harm anyone in which is seen when he was having second thoughts of leaving his wife, Faith for the night by the look of her troubled face. Perhaps, the author named the story “Young Goodman Brown” in order to foreshadow his actions. The significance of his wife’s name is to show that there is still some faith and goodness in him left to overcome any negative influences. However, he chose to follow the negativity which affected his life drastically by having a “realistic dream” about a witch meeting where his wife, Faith was presented demonstrating how Goodman left his innocence behind for deviltry. Faith wants to motivate