Analysis of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

In the story of Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne gives us a main character that looks for answers to questions surrounding his life and Puritan beliefs. This story is analogous to a classic biblical story, with temptations and revelations by the characters and the Devil. Young Goodman Brown had his public community, his religious beliefs and his wife but appeared to want something more. He wanted answers about his reality. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown is about our main character passing from the youthful innocence of Puritan belief into an adult world of cynicism after he gets his answers. Young Goodman Brown is a classic New England Puritan tale of the perception of good and evil in all people (Baym, 2003)(Paey, 2006).

Puritan beliefs proliferate all though this tale. Young Goodman and Faith are the husband and wife in this story; they represent the Puritan unity of marriage. This is a young couple seemingly devoted to each other. Hawthorne writes in Young Goodman Brown that Goodman believes Faith is, "a blessed angel on earth" (Baym, 2003) and has Goodman remark that "after this one night, I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven" (Baym, 2003) but these loving sentiments are not enough to stop our main character from taking that trip into the forest (Baym, 2003) (Bernardo, 2007).

Descriptive names, colors and objects are used to provide symbolism and infer details about the action and characters. Hawthorne names two of his main characters classic names that represent their nature: Goodman and Faith. There is some droll humor in Hawthorne's choices for these names: the main character, Goodman being a good man and the main character's wife being Faith and appearing to have faith. Faith's ribbon was pink suggests a persona of feminine innocence (Khay, 2007). Goodman was given the last name of Brown, which is a muddy color denoting his ambiguous nature. The sky in the forest was a "black mass of cloud" (Baym, 2003) implying a closing in of ideas and evil rushing in as it obscures Goodman's view of the sky. The fellow - traveler's serpent shaped walking stick acts as a reminder to the reader of the nature of biblical temptations. Its existence and use supports the words used by the Devil (the fellow - traveler) to tempt Goodman into hurrying and leaving his innocence behind. The common iconic religious image of a snake signifies temptation and the loss of innocence in this story and the story of the Garden of Eden (Baym, 2003) (Jacobs, 2006).

Hawthorne uses Puritan torment in this story. Goodman listens to the Devil claiming to have helped Goodman's ancestors persecute Quakers and Indians and then makes our main character feel that all his beliefs in the inherent goodness of his Puritan forefathers and himself are somehow false. Goodman hears laughter in the forest that seems to represent the locals' denunciation of God and an acceptance of the Devil's ways (Khay, 2007). Seeing his beloved Faith in the clearing near the basin shatters his belief in his wife and her purity. Goodman Brown must finally accept that he and the whole community is sinful. Goodman Brown goes into the forest as a lighthearted young man but comes out an older and colder person, a disbeliever in all he sees around him (Baym, 2003) (Bernardo, 2007).

This classic form of a biblical story reveals Goodman Brown's Puritan efforts for understanding the nature of good and evil. Young Goodman Brown has his communal society, religious beliefs and spouse but it was not enough for him. He went searching for answers and found them though the enticements and disclosures from the Devil and others. Goodman changed from an optimist to a pessimist knowing his belief in the nature of people was false. He once believed in a different more youthful and innocent reality, not the reality of people hiding behind their public images. Young Goodman Brown went looking for the nature of good and evil and found his answers (Baym, 2003) (Jacobs, 2006) (Paey, 2006).

Works Cited:

Baym, N. (Ed.). (2003). The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York, New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Bernardo, K. (2007). Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown". Retrieved June 14, 2007, from StoryBites.com Web site: http://www.storybites.com/hawthornebrown.htm

Jacobs, L. A. (2006) The Depths of Allegory in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown (Abstract, Indiana University, 2006). Abstract retrieved June 12, 2007 from http://www.iusb.edu/~journal/2002/jacobs_2/jacobs.html

Khay, B. (2007, January 20). The Supernatural Encounters in the Short Fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from AC Media Company Web site: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/121302/the_supernatural_encounters_in_the.html

Paey, S. (2006, April 8). Symbolism and Human Nature in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown. Retrieved June 12, 2007, from AC Media Company Web site: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/27166/symbolism_and_human_nature_in_nathaniel.html