Salem And The Forest In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is a story of two settings: the town of Salem, and the wild woods that surround it. The titular character ventures into the forest for one transformative night, lured by the devil. Though at first, the woods seem to represent evil and impiety to Brown, he is also forced to confront thoughts about the imperfection of his society and community. Thus, the wilderness becomes a ground for reflection and transformation, allowing Young Goodman Brown to venture into his inner thoughts and fears surrounding his religion and community. Hawthorne illustrates the divide between Salem and the forest by emphasizing the wildness and danger of the forest, and the order and safety of the town. Hawthorne also draws

Hawthorne characterizes the woods as dim and mysterious, even saying that the devil’s staff appeared to be a serpent in the “uncertain light” (618). Here, the forest is an embodiment of Goodman Brown’s uncertainty about his errand. He still sees the woods as dangerous and foreboding, not only because it is starkly different from the town setting, but because Brown feels he is betraying his faith and his community by departing from Salem and venturing into the wild. Entering the woods is a literal change of scenery from Salem, but the “uncertainty” and gloom that Hawthorne describes is also a representation of Brown beginning to question and lose faith in his community. When Brown sees the deacon and the minister travel through the woods, he is struck by their presence, asking: “Whither, then, could these holy men be journeying, so deep into the heathen wilderness?” (621). This question emphasizes the association between the wilderness and impiety, and civilization and religion. Additionally, by describing the wilderness as “heathen,” Hawthorne intends to

The voices of the townspeople blend with natural sounds like wind, streams, and animals, and Brown’s perspective of his community begins to unravel. The deep divide between nature and civilization becomes shallower at this stage of his journey. Men united in the darkness of the woods: sinners, saints, and even “the Indian priests,” all come together for the ritual (623). Though the townspeople have some semblance of unity through their shared faith, this oneness is beyond Brown’s frame of reference. In the forest, the native peoples are united with holy men, the sinners and the saints come together, and the wilderness and civilization find common ground. Brown begins to discover that although his town may seem perfect on the surface, even the holiest of men are flawed. The setting of the forest allows him to see his fellow men unburdened by the expectations of society, and in this natural setting, they return to their inner selves instead of relying on conformity, showing that they are not the holy men they pretend to