The Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown

             The Symbolism in "Young Goodman Brown"
             Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" is a story of a man whose faiths and beliefs are tested by evil and temptation. Goodman Brown loses his faith in humanity when he discovers that evil is everywhere and every man has an evil nature. The title character is consumed by this knowledge and withdraws from life. An alternative reaction would have been to accept man's flaws, and use that knowledge to better interact with others. Hawthorne uses almost every character and item in this story as a symbol to help reinforce this theme.
             One of the more obvious symbols seen, the forest, is also one of the strongest. The forest provides the setting for most of the story. To the Puritans the forest was an evil, unknown territory populated by witches and devils. When Hawthorne describes Goodman's path he says, "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest" (292). The forest represents evil and sin. When Hawthorne says the forest closes immediately behind Goodman, he is implying that evil is everywhere. The evil grows stronger as he walks further into the forest.
             Hawthorne names his title character Young Goodman Brown to represent all mankind. Young Goodman Brown's name itself is a symbol in this story. Young obviously implies a relatively low age; Goodman means that he is just an ordinary man not especially distinguished in his village, and Brown was a very common last name especially in that era. All of this alludes to Young Goodman Brown representing all men.
             Another apparent symbol is the traveler Goodman Brown meets in the forest. The traveler is an obvious physical manifestation of evil and temptation. More than once Goodman says he does not want to go any further, but the traveler is right there to lead him further into temptation. The traveler's staff is shaped like a black snake or ...

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The Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 08:53, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/9545.html