Young Goodman Brown Theme Essay
Theme of Young Goodman Brown
The main theme of the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” is the struggle of Goodman Brown’s faith. In this story, Hawthorne tells a story of man named Goodman Brown, who has a dream in which he has to deal with the conflict between good and evil. Throughout this story of Goodman Brown, there are also symbolic elements, such as character names to where the story takes place, that are evident of the Brown’s conflict between good and evil. This story shows that it is a lot easier to go astray from the good in life that live by the good.
The characters are very important to the true theme of this story. Goodman Brown, whose name has a clear meaning, of being a good man, represents a man of good morals and responsibility. His wife, Faith, is not only his wife but also represents Brown’s …show more content…
The story takes place in a forest, which usually symbolizes evil and danger. The forest is a dark place where the strangest and scariest of creatures lurk waiting to attack, Brown entertains this idea as he is walking along when he states, “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree…What if the devil himself should beat at my very elbow!”(328). It is in the forest that Brown meets the man who turns out to be the devil. Their walk into the forest symbolizes Brown getting more involved with evil. The deeper he goes into the forest, the deeper he gets in evil and the further he is becoming separated from the “light” of his faith. In the story, Brown is separated from everyone and as he begins to pray, a cloud comes across and hides the light from the stars (331).It is at this point that Brown thinks he hears voices, one being his wife Faith. He calls out to her but cannot find her, he can only find her ribbon being carried by the wind and he cries out, “My Faith is gone!” (331) From this we see, in the conflict of good and evil, that evil has prevailed and he has lost his
The main theme of the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” is the struggle of Goodman Brown’s faith. In this story, Hawthorne tells a story of man named Goodman Brown, who has a dream in which he has to deal with the conflict between good and evil. Throughout this story of Goodman Brown, there are also symbolic elements, such as character names to where the story takes place, that are evident of the Brown’s conflict between good and evil. This story shows that it is a lot easier to go astray from the good in life that live by the good.
The characters are very important to the true theme of this story. Goodman Brown, whose name has a clear meaning, of being a good man, represents a man of good morals and responsibility. His wife, Faith, is not only his wife but also represents Brown’s …show more content…
The story takes place in a forest, which usually symbolizes evil and danger. The forest is a dark place where the strangest and scariest of creatures lurk waiting to attack, Brown entertains this idea as he is walking along when he states, “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree…What if the devil himself should beat at my very elbow!”(328). It is in the forest that Brown meets the man who turns out to be the devil. Their walk into the forest symbolizes Brown getting more involved with evil. The deeper he goes into the forest, the deeper he gets in evil and the further he is becoming separated from the “light” of his faith. In the story, Brown is separated from everyone and as he begins to pray, a cloud comes across and hides the light from the stars (331).It is at this point that Brown thinks he hears voices, one being his wife Faith. He calls out to her but cannot find her, he can only find her ribbon being carried by the wind and he cries out, “My Faith is gone!” (331) From this we see, in the conflict of good and evil, that evil has prevailed and he has lost his