Examples Of Allegory In Young Goodman Brown

“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and was published in 1835. It is a prime example of allegory, and its relation to the Bible is immense throughout the story. Young Goodman Brown embarks on a journey into the forest, where he is tempted by encountering multiple evil figures, including the Devil, staff, and other characters in the story. He experiences a confrontation of Faith and forces himself to confront the reality of human corruption and sin. As the story progresses, his steadfast Faith begins to falter, and he becomes vulnerable to temptation. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne uses allegory, symbolism, and characterization to delve deeper into the universal struggle between temptation and sin and the

It draws upon different themes, including sin, temptation, and the battle between good and evil. One of the story’s central ideas is human’s natural temptation toward sin. Sin exists in everyone and is unavoidable. The corruption of human nature is apparent in the different characters Young Goodman Brown encounters when entering the forest. Some of these characters include Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse, and various members of his community. Young Goodman Brown realizes that he has been fooled by his community and struggles with the truth of purity in his religious community. One prominent example of Young Goodman Brown’s fleeting purity and innocence is Faith. “His new marriage to Faith seems to catalyze this Faith allegory….” (Jacobs, 2015). Young Goodman Brown’s Faith in his wife (and vice versa) demonstrates the mutual trust they share between themselves and their religion. Young Goodman Brown continually doubts himself while the voice of the Devil is whispering in his ear. The forest he enters can be related to the Garden of Eden, and throughout the story, Young Goodman Brown is tempted perpetually until he finally relents, taking the staff. Young Goodman Brown’s acceptance of the staff represents Adam’s bite of the apple and his resignation of Faith in his

Young Goodman Brown is thought to have steadfast Faith and, as a Puritan, will do whatever it takes to keep his predetermined destination. However, “who leaves his wife of three months… willfully betrays his commitment to his wife…” (Easterly, 1991). Young Goodman Brown immediately jumps at the opportunity to explore the forest and, upon entering, discovers different members of his community worshipping the Devil. Hawthorne uses these different characters to add a level of shock to Brown’s inner thoughts. Once he revealed that several different characters he thought were innocent, including his own family, he began to doubt himself and his Faith. Young Goodman Brown tries to deny that any of these characters would act this way but cannot find any proof otherwise. He is disgusted at seeing people like Goody Cloyse interact with the town’s children. However, Young Goodman Brown also falls into temptation after being introduced to temptation. Young Goodman Brown accepts the staff just as his counterparts did. Hawthorn uses these characters to interact with Young Goodman Brown and emphasize the struggle between temptation and Faith that Young Goodman Brown faces. The more characters he comes across, the more vulnerable Brown becomes. Each character that comes along warns the readers and Young Goodman Brown about giving in to temptation and outside