The story begins as Goodman Brown is about to leave his wife Faith in
             order to complete an errand in the forest. He suspects that there is an
             evil purpose to the errand, yet he continues down the dark path to the
             forest despite his misgivings. Once inside the forest, Brown encounters a
             strange man, who he soon realizes is the Devil. Brown wishes to return
             home immediately, but the Devil begins to share startling information with
             him. Indeed, the Devil asserts that he had a connection with both Brown's
             grandfather and father, both of whom he helped' as they committed acts of
             Brown is persuaded to journey further into the woods with the Devil,
             and they come upon a large clearing. There, Brown witnesses a strange,
             dark ceremony being performed, not by mysterious, evil strangers, but by
             his neighbors from Salem. However, Brown is most horrified by the fact
             that his beloved wife Faith is among the celebrants. The next thing he
             knows, it is morning, and he returns to town. He is unsure whether the
             experience in the woods truly occurred or if he dreamed the entire thing.
             Regardless, Brown now suspects evil in everyone he sees, and any vestige of
             innocence within him is lost forever.
             In telling this story, Hawthorne employs several significant symbols
             in order to convey his message. The title character's name can be viewed
             as symbolic of both his innocence and his strong sense of morality.
             Indeed, Brown "â€represents the young person's introduction into human ways.
             It is important that his innocence should derive from his youth" (Tharpe
             76). Certainly the fact that Hawthorne establishes Brown as young' leads
             the reader to assume a certain innocence and purity about him. He is thus
             the perfect character to witness the ceremony in the woods (Levy 115).
             Furthermore, the name of Brown's wife, Faith, is also symbolic, as
             ...