In "Young Goodman Brown" Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism and irony to illustrate
             the theme of man, oblivious that sin is an inescapable part of human nature, attempting to
             escape from sin. The way in which Hawthorne uses to describe the way Goodman Brown
             is changed by realizing the reality of the world is superb. By using the idea of dreams to
             convey the point of no body in the world is perfect was I believe an excellent idea. The
             idea that mankind is perfectible, or perhaps that good Puritans are without imperfection,
             seems to dominate the world view of Hawthorne's Puritan character, Young Goodman
             Brown. His naive ideas are contrasted against the vision of profound betrayal in the forest
             to create a stark illustration of one possible "truth."
             Goodman Brown's struggle between the evil temptations, the devil, and the proper
             church abiding life, is a struggle he does not think he can face. He reiterates his false
             confidence to himself repeatedly. This characteristic of Goodman Brown is similar to the
             life lead by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of self-doubt. Nathaniel Hawthorne was
             an unhappy person his entire life, never satisfied with his accomplishments.
             At the story's outset, Young Goodman Brown bids farewell to his young wife. The
             facet of Brown's life which she represents is illustrated by her name "Faith." and in
             Hawthorne's visual description, "...thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the
             wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap..."(pg.310) The very image of this woman's
             "pretty head" being "thrust" out into the world after Goodman Brown, as the wind, an
             unforgiving element of profane nature, fondles her pink ribbons, sets up the comparison
             between nature and the home symbolically. Nature, specifically the wind, the forest, the
             darkness of evening, symbolizes evil and sinfulness. The home, namely Faith and her
             ribbons, symbolizes the perceived safety ...