"Young Goodman Brown" Paper
             In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. But it is not only evil that Hawthorne is concerned with. He is also interested with the way evil affects his characters, Goodman Brown in particular. Through Hawthorne's use of structural techniques such as tone, setting and symbolism, he portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how meeting the devil and discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown's new realization is what haunts the rest of his days, and prevents him from living a happy life.
             Throughout much of the story, Hawthorne creates a serious and somber tone. From the start, the audience begins to sense that Brown will go through relentless agony due to his meeting with the devil. Hawthorne's diction in the opening paragraphs is a good indication of this. He uses words such as "melancholy", "evil", "dreary", and "grave" to evoke a certain mood in the reader. Brown's attitude and actions also portray this negative view. He ponders the hypocrisy of the Salem Village as well as that of the Puritans that live there. He examines the possibility that evil and corruption exist in a town that is supposedly characterized by piety and devout faith. Thus, Hawthorne's choice of setting is instrumental in the development of the story.
             Hawthorne's portrayal of the village as good and the forest as bad, adds significance to the fact that Brown begins his journey in the town and proceeds then to the forest. Hawthorne's use of imagery captures the appearance of the forest as well as lending a sense of foreboding towards the impending evil. He says Brown, "Had taken a dreary road, darkened by the gloomiest trees of the forest...It was all as lonely as it could be&...