Goodman Brown is portrayed to be a good man with the best of intentions. As most of us know, however, the best of intentions are not always enough. He begins his evil errand with the firm mindset that "after this one night" he will never do wrong again (Hawthorne 164). Unfortunately, this was not the case for Brown. His resolve is tested several times before the end of the night. Throughout the story, we will see instances where Brown has opportunity but lacks the willpower and discipline to turn back while he still can.
             The first crack in Brown's resolve comes when he meets the Devil waiting for him in the woods. He explains to the Devil that his Faith caused him to be late, but instead of turning back, he continues forward, "unconsciously resuming his walk" (Hawthorne 165). Here we see the first of Brown's good intentions. We also see that Faith plays two roles in this story; Faith, the wife, and faith the substance of Browns' resolve. Faith the wife is the character of the woman he left behind that night. His faith is also left behind that night after the events take place in the forest.
             The fact that Brown is not shocked at the appearance of his fellow traveler leads the reader to believe that perhaps Brown has been down this road before. However, Brown maintains a level of distance between himself and the other traveler, and is willing to negotiate the continuance of the journey. This is the nature of mankind. The apostle Paul described it best in the Bible when he said, "For the good that I would do I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do". (Romans 7:19) The Devil also does a pretty good job of summing up the nature of mankind when he tells the new converts, "Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race" (Hawthorne 171). He is speaking of the human race and how the race of humanity is ev...