Young Goodman Brown Faith Analysis

A Test on Faith In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown,” the author uses mystery and suspense to hold the attention of the reader. One of the most obvious questions is if these events are actually real or if they are all a dream. However, whether the events are imaginary or reality, they have the same impact on Brown’s life whether they took place, or were just a twisted nightmare. Hawthorne shows that a strong faith is the greatest asset of a man or woman, and when that faith is compromised, the effects of this can cause one to be filled with doubt and cynicism toward the rest of the world. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory about a man who has lost his faith due to the fact that he has based his faith on the people

When he finds the pink ribbon of his wife in the forest, Goodman Brown’s faith is weakened even further. Again Goodman Brown’s wife is used as a symbol of his own faith: “‘My Faith is gone!’ he cried, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come devil! For to thee is this world given’” (145). Fogle says in his essay that Goodman Brown accepts his wife 's guilt without ever having seen her. Fogle has noted that they are mentioned three times in the opening paragraphs of the story, and he feels that “if Goodman Brown is dreaming the ribbon may be taken as part and parcel of his dream.”(416). At the black mass, Goodman Brown is astonished at the number of people he sees. Some of them are people he once recognized as God-fearing church members and respected members of the town; so he asks himself, “‘But where is Faith’” (146). He now believes there is no good in the world but only evil, and his faith is almost completely