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Kylor Owen

Dr. Mary French

English Comp 1301

May 5, 2017

Analysis of Young Goodman Brown

In Nathaniel Hawthornes, Young Goodman Brown an honest young man sets

forth on a journey from Salem into the woods to run an errand. His wife named Faith urges him

not to go, while YGB makes promises to return to her after this night and never stray again. So

nevertheless, at nightfall YGB wanders into the forest were most honest men wouldnt go, or so

he thought. The further into the woods he goes the more he is urged to turn around and go back.

As he is walking along a small path Brown feels scared believing evil beings were lurking

behind the trees. Then the young man is met by an elder man who has similar features to

Goodman, they even seem to be wearing comparable clothing. As Goodman goes along this

journey he is quite disoriented to see many people who were of high devotion wandering around

the woods at night. Seeing these people leads him to question his religion and eventually give

into evil. He begins to take the journey faster and faster leading him to what seemed to be a

witch meeting, where he sees his Faith prepared to give into evil herself. Towards the end,

Goodman wanders back into his town not sure if what had happened was real. For the rest of his

life he believes the world is nothing but sin and dies a depressed man.

In this story, many forms of symbolism are used. A lot of irony is displayed in the names

that Hawthorne chose for the characters. Young Goodman Brown, Goody Cloyse and even the

wife is named Faith. These characters are all symbols related being pure, good and righteous.

then God bless you! said Faith with the pink ribbons (para. 4). All throughout the story faith
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pink ribbons are used to symbolize innocence. Whenever you think of a pink ribbon, you relate it

to a little girl who is innocent. Further in the story whenever YGB is on his errand he sees a

cloud in the sky above him even though there is no wind around him, he hears voices of both

saints and sinners, but through them all he hears his wife Faith. Whenever he cries out her name

the cloud sweeps away, only to leave behind a pink ribbon. Whenever Goodman sees this ribbon

her cries out My Faith is gone There is no good on earth and sin is but a name. Come, devil

for to the is the world given. (50) Before Goodman enters the forest he reassures himself that he

will be faithful after this night. Goodman Brown felt himself justified in making more haste

on his present evil purpose. (8) This leads you to believe that YGB knew that what he was about

to do would not lead him to righteousness but to turmoil, still he went onward due to curiosity

and weakness. At the beginning of YGB journey he seems to feel very uneasy due to the sounds

and shadows of the forest and as he is looking in the other direction he stumbles upon what

seems to be a normal man. As the man tells Goodman that he is late Goodman replies with,

Faith kept me back a while with a tremor in his voice (12) Did YGB know that this man

was going to lead him to evil? In the next paragraph the elder man is explained to have

resemblance to YGB, and the elders man staff is explained to look like a serpent, remarkable

was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake it might almost be seen to twist

and wriggle itself like a living serpent. (13) Snakes have many times before been related to evil,

because it was the devil disguised as a serpent who tempted eve in the garden. Through his

journey in the forest he sees his minister, is told that his family before him were great friends

with this devilish character that is walking alongside him, even the woman that taught him his

catechism is found in the forest. Goody Cloyse is a character who is in the woods and has lost

her broom stick, essentially broomsticks are related to witches. But how could this good woman
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of faith be associated with something so wicked? The devilish man give Goody his serpent like

staff and almost as if magic happened, Goody is gone in a flash. All throughout this story

Goodman is fearful and goes to hide every time he hears or sees people he knows from the

church. Goodman knows what he is doing is evil and the more he sees these people who are

supposed to be righteous on the same evil errand, the more he questions his Faith. I believe that

his Faith is portrayed as his wife because this is known as a sacred connection, a bond that is

very hard to be broken. Towards the end of the story YGB sits at a tree stump and refuses to go

any further with this man that has been walking beside him, so the elder man leaves behind his

staff and tells YGB if he decides to move forward use this staff and you will not grow weary.

After YGB loses his faith he takes hold of the staff and moves forth with his journey at a fast

pace. YGB is no longer afraid of the forest, But he was himself the chief of horror of the scene,

and shrank not from its other horrors. (51) The staff represented evil and as soon as Goodman

took ahold of it he no longer feared the evil surrounding him in the forest. Instead he mocked the

evil voices as they did him. YGB comes upon what seems to be a witch trial of some sort, which

is ironically being held at midnight which is considered the witching hour. He is met by his

mother and father there whom are both deceased so this gives some clue to this whole journey all

being a dream. the shape of his own dead father beckoned him to advance, looking

downward from a smoke wreath, while a woman, with dim features of despair, threw out her

hand to warn him back. Was it his mother? (60) During this ceremony, everything seems to be

on fire and this is typically related with hell, which in many religions is where you go whenever

you lose your faith and give into sin. Faith was also at this meeting and just before she is to

receive the mark of the beast Goodman cries out to her. Faith! Faith! Look up to heaven and

resist the evil one. (68) Then YGB seems to pop back into the forest unaware if what had just
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happened was a dream or reality. The staff that the evil elder man had given him was now just a

maple branch. Goodman staggers back into the town of Salem and comes across a couple of

people that had accompanied him in the forest the night before. Faith still has her pink ribbons,

which in turn could justify that this was a dream and she was still pure. Goodman was never

himself again, never believing in goodness or innocence. But he would never come forth and

question any of the town people because then he would have to reveal that he himself gave into

evil.

I dont believe this is a story of an actual errand. I believe it is metaphorical for the

challenge that was going on in YGB head. I dont even believe that most of the characters were

even real, but only symbols for his fight within himself. The forest represented YGB head as a

place where no good was possible, Goodman chose to give into evil even though his faith

warned him not to. Goodmans faith was rooted in the ideas that those around him were

righteous, and he learned that when you copy the faith of others you become weak and give into

temptation. He clings to faiths purity throughout the whole story and once he sees she is not as

pure as he had believed he gave into evil.