The beginning of the story mentions the Goodman's wife, Faith who has a double meaning to her name. Goodman's name also should not be overlooked because it is a double-edged sword as well. Hawthorne plays with Faith's name in that it symbolizes religious faith. Faith- Goodman's wife- is seen as a pious woman who like Goodman, is deep into her religious beliefs. She is innocent like her religion. To indicate Faith's innocence, Hawthorne gave her pink ribbons to wear. These ribbons are important, because they e

Goodman Brown was devastated by the discovery that the potential for evil resides in everybody. The rest of his life is destroyed because of his inability to face this truth and live with it. The story, which may have been a dream, and not a real life event, planted the seed of doubt in Brown's mind, which consequently cut him off from his fellow man and leaves him alone and depressed. His life ends alone and miserable because he was never able to look at himself and realize that everyone else's faults were his as well. His excessive pride in himself led to his isolation from the community. Brown was buried with "no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom" (passage 70).

Goodman Brown begins to think to himself about his situation and his pride in himself. He "applauds himself greatly, and thinking with how clear a conscience he should meet his minister...And what calm sleep would be his...in the arms of Faith!" (Passage 40). This is ironic because at the end of the story, he can not even look Faith in the eye, let alone sleep next to her. As Goodman Brown is feeling good about his strength in resisting the Devil, he hears the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin. He overhears their conversation about a "goodly young woman to be taken in to communion" (passage 40). He fears that it may be his Faith.

When Goodman Brown hears this, he becomes weak and blacks out. He "begins to doubt whether there really was a Heaven above him" (passage 45). This is a key point when Goodman Brown's faith begins to diminish. Goodman Brown in panic declares "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!" (Passage 45). Again, Brown makes a promise to keep his faith in God. Then "a black mass of cloud" (passage 45) goes between Brown and the sky as if to barricade his prayer from the heavens. Brown then hears voices of his community. Once Goodman Brown begins to doubt whether he actually heard these voices, the sound comes to him again and this time it is followed by "one voice, of a young woman" (passage 45). Goodman believes this is his Faith, and yells out her name only to be mimicked by the echoes of the forest. A pink ribbon flies through the air and Goodman grabs it. Now, Goodman Brown has lost all faith in the world and declares that there is "no good on earth" (passage 50).

Throughout literature, authors continue to use metaphors like darkness, sunsets, colors, paths, and nature to help illustrate their hidden thoughts. This tool is supposed to give the reader the feeling of something evil, or negative commencing. Goodman's errand sends him off into the wild forest during the sunset where he is walking on a narrow dark path that is easy to lose. The forest is a place where there are no rules to life, and a place where nature can turn against civilized humans.

Brown then comes upon the ceremony, which is setup like a distorted Puritan temple. A red light surrounded the worshippers like a mask of evil over the devil worshippers.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2097
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)