In the short story "Young Goodman Brown," a character by the name of Goodman Brown goes into the woods to test, or perhaps even find his faith, which happens to be the name of his wife. Nathaniel Hawthorne did not simply pick the names of the characters in this story out of thin air. There is a reason and a purpose why the characters have the names they do. In this short story there is much symbolism behind the names that were chosen.
             The title of the story is also the name of the main character, Young Goodman Brown. Even though Goodman Brown is often referred to as "Young" Goodman Brown, the term young is not necessarily used as a description of his age. Young could be used as meaning naive or inexperienced, or maybe even a little immature. This description would be fitting to Goodman Brown as he takes his first trip through the woods and is really not sure what to expect.
             The last name of Goodman Brown can also have other meanings. When one thinks of "brown," the words plain or boring may come to mind. Many associate brown with the Puritans because this was the color of their clothing. The story was set about the time of the Salem witch trials, which is the time when many Puritans inhabited the New England states. Brown is a very common last name. Common is also a word that could be used to describe Goodman Brown. He had a lot in common with the people in the woods, even though throughout the story he thought he was different from, or even better than, the rest of the people in the woods. As Goodman Brown first meets up with the traveler, he tells him about his family and how they are "a people of prayer, and good works, to boot, and abide in no such wickedness." Goodman Brown felt that because of his family and who he was that he was in some way better, or less evil, than the others in the story. The term Goodman is used to address someone. This term can mean master or husband. In the...