"Young Goodman Brown" is a story composed of symbols that represent a rite of passage for the characters. In this story we find that a form of evil may exist in all humans (based on the experiences of Goodman Brown). Two symbols that help the reader understand the transformation of good to evil are the use of names and the city vs. the woods. These symbols are important to the development of innocence to notion of evil in all human beings.
             The two names in the story: "Young Goodman Brown," and "Faith," represent how innocence can easily transform to evil. Faith is Goodmans wife. When the reader begins to read this story and he/she comes accross these names we don't expect this to be a good vs. evil theme. The use of Faith's name and ge symbol of her pink ribbon show the reader that she is an innocent young girl. Young Goodman Brown also has the reader assume that he is not any type of evil characters. The way the author portrays these two characters by use of their names and then tranforms the entire story into a theme of good vs. evil gives the reader a notion that "evil exists in all human beings," in some way shape or form. We know this because it exists in Young Goodman Browns character.
             The sybolism of the city vs. the woods also transforms the story from inocence to evil. The city is where normal lives are talked of. When Goodman Brown leaves for the woods, the story quickly changes. In the woods the story was difficult to follow. The reader was left puzzled as to if these evil notions were actually realistic. When characters entered the woods, their entire characterization was changed. Even when Faith entered the woods,(when Goodman believed to see her) she wa not seen as the Faith mentioned in the city. The city and the woods wee different worlds in which both Faith and Goodman Brown were seen as a transformation from innocence to evil.
             "Young Goodman Brown," is a story that relied mostly on the symbols portra...