Goodman Brown Allegory

Have you ever watched curiosity get the best of someone, or heard the age old saying curiosity killed the cat? In the story Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates this perfectly by showing just what happens when you start to question those around you. Young Goodman Brown represents an allegory by using religious imagery, character names, and struggles between good and evil. For example, the main characters’ names, Young Goodman Brown and Faith, could symbolize the innocence of youth and how temptations are always lurking. These names might foreshadow that the story is probably based on youth and faith. When the story opens, the first paragraph states, “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the

As Brown is walking through the woods, he realizes that it is his wife’s voice Faith. As he agonizingly calls out her name and he earnestly tries to get her to resist temptation and choose the righteous path. There is mention of “Young Goodman Brown seizing Faiths pink ribbons from the air as they were floating away, he then cries out my Faith is gone there is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given" (Hawthorne). This seems to be the downfall of Browns youthful happiness and faith in

Young Goodman Brown’s faith seems to be centered around his wife Faith, as if she is his moral compass. Once Brown believes that his Faith is lost and no longer innocent and oblivious to the wicked ways of people surrounding him, Brown turns bitter towards the townspeople. Ultimately, Brown turns from Faith and in an essence lost his faith, humanity no longer believing in the good of mankind. Once Brown realizes that even the purest of heart can be tempted to stray from their beliefs, he loses faith in himself and everyone around him. Faith is the ultimate personification of faith and it is ultimately lost, Brown dies a miserable