Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown
The short story "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the story of a man, Goodman Brown, who comes to find out that the people he surrounds himself with are not perfect. During a journey testing his faith, a traveler, the devil, is able to use Brown's naivete against him. After the devil has his way with Goodman Brown's mind, Brown is never again able to trust even his wife, who is aptly named Faith, let alone anyone else. Brown's view on humanity thereon is one of deceit. The story is heavy in symbolism; and the major symbols of this story are Goodman Brown himself, his wife Faith and her pink ribbons, the traveler he meets, and the journey he takes.Goodman Brown's name plays as a symbol in the story. His name Goodman means Gentleman during that time period, and he is symbolic to mankind(Korb 2; Robinson 3). In spite of his name, there is no proof that Goodman Brown was ever a good person at all(Mathews 2). Throughout his whole journey into the forest, he never makes the argument that he should stop because it is morally wrong. Hawthorne provides many suggestion
s that indicate "Brown has been looking for a way of justifying his participation, rationalizing that everyone else has done likewise"(Matheson 4). Brown most likely only resists during the ceremony because he realizes that his sins will be exposed. Robinson, E. Arthur, "The Vision of Goodman Brown: A Source Liebman, Sheildon W. "The Reader in 'Young Goodman Brown,'" in The Nathaniel Hawthorne Journal (1975):156-69. Reprinted in Short Story Criticism, Literature Resource Center. The Gale Group. 9 July 2000 Young Goodman Brown's wife's name is Faith, and she has pink ribbons in her hair that are used as symbols throughout the story. The name Faith is symbolic of Brown's lost hope(Mathews 2). When the pink ribbon falls from the sky, he cries "My Faith is gone"(Hawthorne 38). Brown talks about how much faith he has, but as James Mathews points out:
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1205
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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