In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown,” the reader can interpret the events of the story in more than one way. Brown's journey to the woods, where the devil worship took place, can be seen as either a dream or a reality. Many passages in the story make the event seem dream-like. For example, the devil's staff appears to take the shape of a snake, Faith's ribbons magically appear in the middle of the forest, and after shouting at Faith to "resist the evil one" Brown suddenly finds himself transported back into the middle of the forest, as if awakening from a nightmare. At the same time, the events of the night affect Brown for the rest of his life, indicating that it had a severe impact on him and implying that at least he believed it was real. When Goodman Brown first enters the forest after leaving his wife Faith, he meets up with a strange old man who we later on recognize as the devil. At first sight …show more content…
Although in most literature it is seen that most things happen at the right time and the right place in “Young Goodman Brown” there is one scene where the events that take place seem very deliberate. At the beginning of the story Goodman Brown is leaving his wife and one particular thing stands out about her, the pink ribbon she wears on her head. This pink ribbon represents purity and innocence. After the devil shows Goodman Brown how the whole towns people are sinners and hypocrites he begins to question his faith. This is where the scene, that appears to be methodical, occurs. The scene in which Goodman Brown sees the pink ribbon fall from the sky at precisely the same time that Brown calls out for his wife, Faith, hoping she is not lost like the rest of the town. The ribbon falling while him screaming out for Faith can be perceived as him giving up on faith altogether which is why that scene in particular seems to be contrived instead of just being a