Symbolic Elements In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown
Young Goodman Brown, a gothic, love story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the story of Young Goodman Brown’s journey through the forest. He is exposed to horrific scenes and has battles with himself and the evil spirits of the forest. Throughout the story, Hawthorne displays many characters who are symbolic and resemble things in a person’s life. There are three aspects that play a key role in this story: Young Goodman Brown and the people of the forest, who represent all people, Faith, who represents the spirit of a person, in this case Young Goodman Brown, and the forest, which represents sin and evil. In this story, Hawthorne wanted to indicate the connection between these three aspects. Hawthorne wants to emphasize that committing sin is a natural thing for all people, and when people commit sin, their spirits are affected as well and it alters the way people
…show more content…
perceive the world around them and the people that surround them.
In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Young Goodman Brown and his newly beloved wife, Faith. Goodman brown explains to his wife that he must embark on a journey through a forest and that he will come back for her. In her attempt to make him stay, he refuses and promises her that he will return in safety and “cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven”. There are a few things that are supposed to catch the reader’s attention. The first thing is that Young Goodman Brown decides to embark on this journey through a forest at nighttime: “Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village”. This already sounds odd because no one goes on a journey at night time. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing forest a is gloomy, scary, uncivilized place where anything is bound to happen. Preventing him from going through the forest is his wife. "‘Dearest heart,’ whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, ‘pr'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night.’” His wife is saying, in a sad voice, for him to stay as if she knew that his journey was not a good idea. In the beginning of the story, throughout the story, and even in the title, the word “Young” is associated with Goodman Brown’s name. Hawthorne uses this word to explain that Goodman Brown is a young fellow, as in he is inexperienced and naive; he doesn't know what he is getting himself into.
The fact that Goodman Brown is not as experienced, raises skepticism as to whether or not he truly knows that a journey through the forest is a wise idea. The forest represents evil or an evil place. The night time represents a person’s “backstage” life; what a person does without anyone seeing. Faith, his wife, represent his spirit . His spirit is telling him not to commit this sin and that he should avoid doing this, but the spirit is not specifically talking to Goodman Brown, but to everyone; all humans, to whom Goodman Brown represents.
Throughout Young Goodman Brown’s journey he had witnessed people of his church congregation, including deacons, priests, and teachers, and seen them plotting evil plans and negotiating with the devil himself.
After feeling lonely in the woods, he decides to pray for guidance. Preventing him from praying were voices of people in his community, both sinners and christians. At that moment, he begins to lose hope that there is a God and surrenders himself to the devil as he says, “Come, devil! for to thee is this world given”. Young Goodman Brown has seen people of the Church, those who teach the word of God, negotiating with the devil. He then thinks that the devil overrules everyone, no matter how religious they are. “There was one voice, of a young woman, uttering lamentations, yet with an uncertain sorrow, and entreating for some favor, which, perhaps, it would grieve her to obtain. And all the unseen multitude, both saints and sinners, seemed to encourage her onward.” This passage shows that even his wife, the one who told him not to go, is now grieving in sorrow and preaching
lamentations.
Hawthorne here wants to express that, no matter what status one holds, whether it would be priest, clergy, homeless, all humans are sinners and partake in evil deeds. As shown, Goodman Brown continued on his journey, his representation of “Faith” or his spirit is now changed from the beginning of the story. Before, his spirit was telling him not to continue into the forest, but now, because Goodman Brown has been exposed to evil sights, his spirit is now corrupted and it grieves. His spirit has transformed his perception of people around him and has transformed to the way he thinks now, to the point where his conscious tells him to surrender himself to the devil; “‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, 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.’” He now has a different perception on life, on what’s good and bad.
At the end of the story, there is a gathering of all the sinners, those both pious and wrongdoers, ready to receive the communion of the evil; "Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream! Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!" Hawthorne wants to show that the devil tries to manipulate the mind of people in thinking that evil is the only thing that prospers in the world, since everyone commits evil, and that’s how the spirit is manipulated and changed.
Hawthorne wants to show how the life of a person can change when they commit to sins; all people sin and all people have impurities in their heart. Hawthorne wants to show how these impurities can alter one’s mindset on everything. At the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown had a very clean spirit and knew that going into the forest was not a good idea. Throughout the story, Goodman Brown’s unwise decision to go to the forest, because he was “Young”, altered his spirit and made it full of impurities and made his thoughts about people and the world very negative. Hawthorne wants to show the dangers of not listening to your spirit and conscious and wants people to understand that decisions must be thoroughly thought out lest people fall.
perceive the world around them and the people that surround them.
In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Young Goodman Brown and his newly beloved wife, Faith. Goodman brown explains to his wife that he must embark on a journey through a forest and that he will come back for her. In her attempt to make him stay, he refuses and promises her that he will return in safety and “cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven”. There are a few things that are supposed to catch the reader’s attention. The first thing is that Young Goodman Brown decides to embark on this journey through a forest at nighttime: “Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village”. This already sounds odd because no one goes on a journey at night time. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing forest a is gloomy, scary, uncivilized place where anything is bound to happen. Preventing him from going through the forest is his wife. "‘Dearest heart,’ whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, ‘pr'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night.’” His wife is saying, in a sad voice, for him to stay as if she knew that his journey was not a good idea. In the beginning of the story, throughout the story, and even in the title, the word “Young” is associated with Goodman Brown’s name. Hawthorne uses this word to explain that Goodman Brown is a young fellow, as in he is inexperienced and naive; he doesn't know what he is getting himself into.
The fact that Goodman Brown is not as experienced, raises skepticism as to whether or not he truly knows that a journey through the forest is a wise idea. The forest represents evil or an evil place. The night time represents a person’s “backstage” life; what a person does without anyone seeing. Faith, his wife, represent his spirit . His spirit is telling him not to commit this sin and that he should avoid doing this, but the spirit is not specifically talking to Goodman Brown, but to everyone; all humans, to whom Goodman Brown represents.
Throughout Young Goodman Brown’s journey he had witnessed people of his church congregation, including deacons, priests, and teachers, and seen them plotting evil plans and negotiating with the devil himself.
After feeling lonely in the woods, he decides to pray for guidance. Preventing him from praying were voices of people in his community, both sinners and christians. At that moment, he begins to lose hope that there is a God and surrenders himself to the devil as he says, “Come, devil! for to thee is this world given”. Young Goodman Brown has seen people of the Church, those who teach the word of God, negotiating with the devil. He then thinks that the devil overrules everyone, no matter how religious they are. “There was one voice, of a young woman, uttering lamentations, yet with an uncertain sorrow, and entreating for some favor, which, perhaps, it would grieve her to obtain. And all the unseen multitude, both saints and sinners, seemed to encourage her onward.” This passage shows that even his wife, the one who told him not to go, is now grieving in sorrow and preaching
lamentations.
Hawthorne here wants to express that, no matter what status one holds, whether it would be priest, clergy, homeless, all humans are sinners and partake in evil deeds. As shown, Goodman Brown continued on his journey, his representation of “Faith” or his spirit is now changed from the beginning of the story. Before, his spirit was telling him not to continue into the forest, but now, because Goodman Brown has been exposed to evil sights, his spirit is now corrupted and it grieves. His spirit has transformed his perception of people around him and has transformed to the way he thinks now, to the point where his conscious tells him to surrender himself to the devil; “‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, 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.’” He now has a different perception on life, on what’s good and bad.
At the end of the story, there is a gathering of all the sinners, those both pious and wrongdoers, ready to receive the communion of the evil; "Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream! Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!" Hawthorne wants to show that the devil tries to manipulate the mind of people in thinking that evil is the only thing that prospers in the world, since everyone commits evil, and that’s how the spirit is manipulated and changed.
Hawthorne wants to show how the life of a person can change when they commit to sins; all people sin and all people have impurities in their heart. Hawthorne wants to show how these impurities can alter one’s mindset on everything. At the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown had a very clean spirit and knew that going into the forest was not a good idea. Throughout the story, Goodman Brown’s unwise decision to go to the forest, because he was “Young”, altered his spirit and made it full of impurities and made his thoughts about people and the world very negative. Hawthorne wants to show the dangers of not listening to your spirit and conscious and wants people to understand that decisions must be thoroughly thought out lest people fall.