In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown," the author uses exceptional amounts of both allegory and symbolism to give the reader a vivid perception of his story. Goodman's wife, the Forest, and many other examples are used in this story.

The first evidence of these authorial methods in the story is Goodman Brown's wife, Faith. Though Faith is her actual name, there is many times in the story where she is viewed as something based on religion. He says "I will cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven" (68). This is more of a religious statement referring to Faith as an angel. Another example is when the old man asks why he is so late, he replies "Faith kept me back a while" (68). This contains a double meaning. His wife Faith did keep him back, but his religious Faith slowed his progress also. After Goodman Brown realizes that the people of his village have captured his wife, he says, "My Faith is gone. There is no good

The devil, in most tales, takes on the resemblance of someone familiar to the person he is trying to persuade to become evil. In this case, Satan has taken on the likeness of Goodman Brown's father. The only thing that doesn't resemble his father is the black snake-like staff that he is holding. He also "hints" to Goodman Brown that he is the devil by saying "The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wine with me" (69). This means that many people that have been respected have been persuaded to do evil things with him. At one point in the story, Satan even admits to the idea that he is the devil. After touching Goody Cloyse on her neck she cries "The devil!" (70). But instead of correcting her he simply replies "Then the Goody Cloyse knows her old friend?" (70).

As stated earlier, Hawthorne's use of these methods plays an intricate part in the understanding of this story. Since the forest, the old man, and his wife Faith are important in the story, they required more emp

Some common words found in the essay are:
Goodman Brown, Faith Faith, Church Evil, Goody Cloyse, Goodman Brown's, goodman brown, wife faith, Nathaniel Hawthorne's, goodman brown's, allegory symbolism, story goodman, religious faith, goody cloyse, authorial methods,
Approximate Word count = 670
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)