Symbolism of Goodman Brown
In the story of "Young Goodman Brown" Hawthorne uses distinct symbolism when identifying his characters. The names of his characters are symbolic in their meaning; Hawthorne uses the idea of nature to put forth his point that his stories are symbolic to real life. As he states from the preface to the eighteen fifty one edition of Twice-Told Tales; "Even in what puport to be pictures of actual life, we have allegory, not always warmly dressed in its habilments of flesh and blood as to be taken into the reader's mind without a shiver."The name Faith is used in the story as Goodman Brown's wife has a strong symbolic meaning. As Herman Melville points out when speaking of Hawthorne's tragic vision, "There is a grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder, but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. This to the idea of whether Goodman Brown's decisions about his own faith is true or not maybe, it is Hawthorne questioning his own faith through his character. Goodman Brown is a faithful man, but is unsure of his faith at times. When his wife asks him not to go to the woods
When Goodman Brown says he must go, it shows that this is the ultimate test of his faith. Because Goodman Brown wishes to test his faith, it seems as if his wife, whom symbolizes his faith, is really questioning how faithful Goodman Brown really is. This is symbolic through his marriage of only three months. "What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married?" The dark forest in which Goodman Brown walks through symbolizes evil and terror. "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest." The trees in the forest seem as if they are lingering over him and watching his every movement. "It was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying." The walk into the deepest part of the forest symbolizes the descent into hell like that from Dante's Inferno. This leads to him losing his faith and leaving not only his community, but his wife Faith as well. "My Faith is gone!" His wife's departure is shortly after he truly decides that his faith is gone. The pink ribbon of which Fai
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Approximate Word count = 744
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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