Young Goodman Brown
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne chronicles the disturbing dream of a young Puritan man in Salem. In the dream, Goodman Brown comes face to face with evil and is forced to examine the nature of evil in man. He is disgusted by the evil he encounters, not realizing his own involvement.
The story begins with Goodman Brown leaving his wife, Faith, for an overnight errand. She begs him not to go, but he does so anyway. Faith is the only symbol of hope in the story. She is a symbolic of love, as in the love between man and woman, and also the love, faith and devotion he has in God. In essence, by leaving Faith in the beginning of the story, he is leaving his faith in God and good. Without Faith, Goodman Brown he no faith, he is dependent on her. Goodman Brown is counting on Faith to redeem him after his errand with the devil. When Goodman Brown finally meets with the Devil, he declares that the reason he was late was because "Faith kept me back awhile". This statement has a double meaning because the encounter with his wife prevented him from being on time for his meeting with the devil, but his faith to God also delayed his meeting.
During his meeting with the fellow-traveler, Goodman Brown notices the staff held by the man. The staff is symbolic of the presence of evil in the meeting. The travelers staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the Devil's ceremony, which destroys his faith in his man. His faith is further shaken by the sight of Goody Cloyse in conversation with the Devil. She is the woman who taught him his catechism and was still his moral and spiritual adviser in Salem. Goodman Brown then decides that he will no longer continue on his errand. At this, the Devil tosses Goodman Brown his staff. This exchange is the transference of evil to Goodman Brown. Goodman Brown next encounter completely shatters his faith. When he believes that he had heard the voice of his beloved Faith. He hears the voice of a woman and automatically assumes it is Faith. He yells out her name and a pink ribbon flies through the air and Goodman grabs it. At this moment, Goodman Brown loses all faith in the world. He then allows the staff to lead him again. Because of his complete loss of faith, Goodman Brown had nothing to keep him from evil.
The ceremony just as he was about to be take alliance with the devil, he cries out to Faith to look to heaven and resist. In the next instant he finds himself alone in the forest. Arriving back in Salem the next morning, Goodman Brown is uncertain whether his experience was real or only a dream, but he is nevertheless deeply shaken. His view of his neighbors is distorted by his memories of that night. He lives out his days an embittered and suspicious cynical man, wary of everyone around him, including his wife Faith.
The truth is that Goodman Brown despises these people because he sees that same traits in himself. Like the people in his dream, he questions his own religion. However, he projects his own fears onto those around him. The dream is a manifestation of all of the insecurities he has about himself and the choices he has made in life. However, he is too proud to acknowledge his own faults. His life ends alone and miserable because he was never able to look at himself and realize that what he believed were everyone else's faults were his as well. He is completely isolated from his society.
Already have an account? Log In Now
3058