When people look in the mirror or have a dream often times they are faced with the question: "Is this my true self?" Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" superficially is a story about a man who takes a journey into the woods and sees what he believes is not only the true underlying corruption of the church, but also how many people on the surface, seem genuine but really have inner demons that they themselves are either struggling with or embracing. Nathaniel Hawthorne "was absorbed by the enigmas of evil and of moral responsibility, interwoven with human destiny nature and eternity." (Perkins 575) Hawthorne was also notorious for his "investigation of the problems of moral and social responsibility."(Perkins 576) Symbolism is also a key factor of Hawthorne's, when producing his writings. Evidence of these is portrayed in his story "Young Goodman Brown".
             The story "Young Goodman Brown" is and of itself, a mystery tale of evil. It very much resembles the old movie classics asking the question: "Who done it? Throughout the story Goodman Brown seems to constantly be in a confused state of mind. He found it hard to realize the difference between dream and reality. Were these characters characters he was seeing real? Despite not knowing whether this is real or even what lies ahead, Goodman seems confident that he will not succumb to any evil temptation that he may meet down road on this journey.
             Much like most Puritans of this time, Hawthorne's character, Young Goodman Brown seems to believe that Puritans are without flaw, or that mankind is perfectible. Browns personal view of the Puritan world quickly changes when ironically some of those that he sees at the evil gathering are actually the most devout members of the church. In his writings Hawthorne emphasized taking a close look into the moral and social responsibility of the commu...