Nathaniel Hawthorn's "Young Goodman Brown"(reprinted in Thomas r. Arp's
Story and Structure, 9th ed.[Fort Worth: Hardcourt,1998] 303-12)has an
ambiguous quality that defines many of Hawthorn's other works. He uses these
loose ended stories to draw the reader in allowing him or her to make his or
her own decisions as to the meaning of the story. In the case of "Young
Goodman Brown" this ambiguity lets the reader identify with Brown by giving
them only the information that Brown gets, and giving them the same doubts
that plague Brown for the rest of his life. Their are two basic conclusions
that the story could have; Brown really met the devil and his whole town is in
Satan's service, or Brown dreamt the whole thing. By doing this Hawthorne
presents a story with dual meanings. Brown both dreamed, and truly
experienced the events and each ending gives the reader a different message.
In the case of reality Hawthorne presents a warning of lies hidden beneath the
surface, while if it was a dream Hawthorne tells the reader to be more
trusting. The two meanings contradict each other, and by doing so appeal to a
wider audience and stimulate thought on both messages.
If the events that transpired were, in fact, reality then Hawthorne is
showing the dangers of society, and the evils it can hide. Puritanical
society prided itself on its holiness and to most eyes it appears that they
truly were a pious people. Yet what if it were not so, what if evil lurked in
the thoughts and deeds of those so called god fearing villagers. Brown finds
this for himself on his sojourn into the forest. Members of the community who
he thought were beyond reproach parade past revealing sins beyond Brown's
comprehension. His old Sunday school teacher greets the devil, as his worship
and even in some strange sense exchanges recipes with him(306). Even the
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