Symbolism In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown
Conveying Symbolism Through Theme When analyzing a short story, poem, novel, or any piece of literature, a few key components work together to create the plot of the work. For me specifically, the overall theme of the story usually tops the list. In Young Goodman Brown, author Hawthorne uses many symbols to convey the themes of the story: the weakness of public morality and loss of innocence. Firstly, perhaps the most obvious symbol in the story, is the staff.
A glimpse of evil, witchcraft, and the sudden loss of innocence. It's sunset in colonial Salem. Brown sets off on a voyage towards the forest near his hometown.as he leave, he gives a goodbye kiss to his wife, Faith. Faith begs young Goodman Brown not to leave her alone at night. The setting becomes frightening, and the challenges become more tought.
Hawthorne says, “Something fluttered lightly down through the air and caught on the branch of a tree” Faith’s pink ribbons symbolize purity. In the beginning of the story was Faith had her ribbons she was pure but at the end of the story when Young Goodman Brown saw Faith’s pink ribbon come down from the sky it represents how she succumed to evil and Hawthorne lost both his faith and his wife Faith. The third example of how Hawthorne uses symbolism to show the theme good versus evil in the story “Young Goodman Brown” is when the devil is telling Brown and Faith that they will have a new perspective of life, a life where everyone sins. In the beginning of the story Young Goodman Brown saw his family as godly and he saw Faith as pure but the devil shows him that his views are naive and the devil gives him the capability to see the dark side of everything and everyone.
After reading “Young Goodman Brown,” it becomes apparent to the reader that the author uses symbolism, the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. One will find symbolism being displayed in most Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories. In the short story Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism in various ways. When thinking about the color pink, what comes to mind? Pink has always been associated with girlishness and righteousness.
Characters can contain symbols that more fully embody or express a topic or theme than they do itself. In the story “Young Goodman Brown” the main character Goodman Brown is a good example of symbolism in a character. The character Goodman is designed to serve as an allegory for Adam and Eve and the fall of man. Brown's curiosity and the devil's deceit get the better of him as he is drawn by the stranger with the serpent staff
Hawthorne’s use of symbolism through the setting represents both a seemingly good place and hell. Also, he uses symbolism in his characters that open Goodman Brown’s eyes to the surrounding evil. Furthermore, Brown’s wife reminds him of what he has been taught his whole life and makes him hesitant to pursue the path of doom. Another character, the guide, represents the Devil’s guiding Goodman Brown to Hell. Lastly, the fictional story uses symbolism in the evil assembly in the woods.
In Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown" it can be described as a moral allegory that illustrates the puritan doctrine of inherent depravity as the Brown. He tests his faith by entering the forest primeval by joining the man "of grave and decent attire" for an evening in the wilderness. It is apparent the symbols are of a religious nature. Hawthorne wrote in the time period known as the Romantic Period. Hawthorne's rejection of the Puritan belief system is the primary message of this story.
The reader is left guessing whether the conscious journey of Young Goodman Brown is an allusion or reality? This idea was illustrated at the end of the story when the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, leaves the reader wondering whether Brown had, “only fallen asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of witch-meeting (315).” My observation and evidence helps reveal the pondering thoughts that the reader may have regarding what really occurred when Young Goodman Brown experienced the wicked assembly. He found himself in a tug a war of reality and allusion. After returning from the assembly and finding himself back in the forest, Brown is thought of as, “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not desperate man, did he become
Goodman Brown loses his faith in his humanity when evil prevails itself in many forms, leaving him to speculate the behavior and beliefs of everyone encircles around him. This story also contains similar Biblical characteristics of the sinful nature in man. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to define that wickedness exist in all humanity and nothing is the way it seems. The story begins with Goodman Brown and his wife named Faith bartering a goodbye kiss.
Young Goodman Brown is a short story dealing with a man who comes face to face with the devil, even though it might seem that this is all the story is about, if you look deeper this story is filled with symbolic images. Goodman Brown is married to a young wife ironically named “Faith.” They have only been married three months. This shows that brown lacks a deep attachment to his “Faith.” This is followed by him wanting to embark on a trip away from his wife, “Of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee.”
In the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the symbolic significance of Young Goodman Brown’s wife Faith epitomizes the struggle and complexity that Young Goodman Brown endures with his own religious faith throughout the story. Faith is the idea of unyielding trust or belief in something or someone and in the case of Young Goodman brown, it’s faith in God. Because faith results in facing temptation, it is not uncommon for people to become unfaithful and leave their belief behind or ignore at life’s crossroads. Young Goodman Brown begins the story by journeying away from his wife Faith, “So they parted; and the young man pursued his way,” (para. 6). Not only is Young Goodman Brown leaving behind Faith, the person, but also what she symbolizes—his faith in God.
The Christian faith believes that all mankind are born sinners and only through their faith can seek redemption. “Faith is taking the first even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There comes a time where the faith of every man and woman is put to the test. Most choose to resist the temptation, but some do not.
The Use of Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown In the short story, “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolism and imagery are used in many ways, reading the story once is only scratching the surface. Hawthorne sculpts a story by tying intricate details together to create something that will absorb the reader. Through scenery, Biblical references, and even names and colors, Hawthorne has proven himself as a literary genius.
(“Goodman Brown’s Loss of Faith in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown”). Hawthorne wants to show to the readers that
Symbols in “Young Goodman Brown” “Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 17th century which depicts the human nature and criticizes the ideals of Puritan society by the use of various allegories and symbols. Nathaniel Hawthorne is extremely famous for his obsession with allegories and symbols, that Arlin Turner described him by saying: “In the habit of seeing meanings in everything, he thought in symbols and wrote in symbols” Symbolism for him was not only a way of delivering every connotation, every moral lesson that he wished for the readers to perceive, but also a compatible method to express his sensibilities in his works. Seeing that the whole story is a symbolization of one’s journey through life and loss of innocence, the story is filled to the brim with metaphors and symbols that you can easily make a case that
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