Young Goodman Brown

Literary analyzes of Young Goodman Brown Young goodman brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about a normal man that ventures into the forest to meet an old man who attempts to tempt him into going deeper into the woods to worship the devil. After the old man convinces him that everyone that he loves and respects is going to the devil’s ceremony he gives in. In Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne effectively uses the personality of the Characters along with symbolism to portray the theme that putting one's faith in others leads to weakness. The Characters in Young Goodman Brown are meant to represent society as a whole. They show how sin can tempt any individual whose faith is still developing. D. M. Mckeithan writes in her essay Hawthorne’s

The forest is a symbol for all the evil in the world. The forest is where Goodman Brown goes to be tempted by the old man.The forest is a dark place where people are hidden so they can sin freely with being discovered. Faith’s pink ribbon is a symbol a both purity and the corruption of sin. Levy says in his essay, “The ribbons provide the symbolic continuity between Faith as an idea; of religious fidelity and as a partner in a witches’ sabbath” (382). The color white symbolizes purity and the color red symbolizes sin. The mixing of this colors makes pink resembling how sin corrupts a person’s purity. Goodman In the beginning of the story, Brown views faith as the perfect christian model. Then once she goings to the devil’s communion and indulges in sin, Goodman Brown views her as a sinner. After Goodman brown cried out during the ceremony, he wakes up to dew dripping on his cheek. The dew represents him coming back to God after resisting temptation. In Joan Elizabeth Easterly’s essay “Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown””, he says, “The immediate sprinkling of dew on Goodman Brown’s cheek [after he cries out] suggest that the cold water is also a baptism, a sign of salvation, grace, and renewal” (2). This illustrates that his sin have being forgiven and he is back to his christian lifestyle. The twigs the dew dropped from represents the the two long switches held the “beadle” at

After exposing himself to sin to many times he completely gives into temptation. It is unclear how long he was sinning but he has been doing it long enough to developed a dependence on it. Goodman Brown gives into temptation because he does not have enough confidence in himself. He has based all of his faith on others which gives them control over his actions. When that give into temptation his faith becomes weak and he can no longer resist the old man. This is because he is new in his faith and has trouble understanding morality for himself. Easterly says in his essay, “Not only does Brown fail to display the pity indicative of a sense of moral maturity in regards to the weakness and depravity of others, he likewise shows no regret for his own wickedness, a response that would start him on the path spiritual maturity” (30). When he sees the other villagers sinning he feels more comfortable doing it himself. He feels that as long as he lives a life just good as the others it will make him a good