Imagery And Symbolism In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Throughout short stories, readers’ sometimes overlook what the story is really trying to inform the audience. They are in a hurry and overlook important aspects of imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism. In “Young Goodman Brown”, symbolism is an important aspect and Hawthorne suspenses the reader with Satan and the sinful nature of the world. Mr. Brown is known as the man who is a devoted christian and this characteristic gives a perspective on how the story perpetuates. When there is a desire in faith, there is a desire in temptation, which Goodman Brown succumbs into the tested evil of temptation. The first example is the staff. The man that Mr. Brown meets in the forest is someone who portrays the devil and his staff looks like a serpent.