Analysis of Young Goodman Brown Essay

Young Goodman Brown

In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts a 17th century Puritan attempting to reach justification as Brown's faith required. Upon completing his journey, however, Brown could not confront the terrors of evil in his heart and chose to reject all of society. Puritan justification was a topic Hawthorne was aware of as an internalized journey to hell necessary for a moral man. Having referred to the heart of man as hell, Puritans found themselves in the midst of Satan and his multitude of devils as he established his kingdom in man's heart. This was a dreadful revelation that caused Brown to grow bitter and distrustful, just as it did with 17th Century Puritans. Hawthorne in "Young Goodman Brown is able to develop the conflict of the story through the conflict within the setting, the identification of conflicts, and the resolution to the conflict. The time era is approximately a generation after the time of the witch trials. Puritan communities, secured by their orthodox faith, dealt with the ungodly wilderness around them. Set in Salem during the early witchcraft day of 1692, Young Goodman Brown's experience in the dark, evil forest correlated and would have been recognized by Puritans as a symbol of mistrust of their own corrupt hearts and faculties. The forest, dark and evil, represented the deceit and darkness of man's heart. Just as Brown could not trust the shadows and figures he saw hidden in the forest, he could not trust his own desires. Those desires had to be purged through his journey into the forest, which became a Journey towards Justification. That corrupt heart was torn open after Brown heard Faith's voice and seeing her pink ribbon screamed: "My Faith is gone . . . . There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come Devil; for to thee is this world given." Such a revelation made Brown "a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man." This revelation is often the result of a Puritan confronting his repressed evil. According to the "Journey towards Justification", this confrontation should teach him to let go of his worldly dependence and strive for a life without sin.

Goodman knows what he must do but dreads the deed. Upon entering the forest, he is suspicious of every rock and tree, thinking something evil will jump out at him. When he finally does meet someone on the trail, who appears to be of evil origin, he feels confident that he can refuse any temptations. This evil person makes several advances and Goodman refuses. This made Goodman feel strong until they met his childhood catechism teacher and see her turned. This act deters his confidence to a great degree. He continues down the trail looking for hope in the heavens but hears only howling voices. Goodman eventually reaches his destination and sees the rest of the community there participating in satanic acts. When he sees this it destroys any faith he might of had in the community or himself and he appears to give-up. The following morning he finds himself in the forest and wonders what happened the previous night. Whether the scenes he witnessed were real or his imagination, he believes what he remembers and trusts no one in the village, not even his wife. Goodman lives the rest of his years a miserable and distrusting man. However, when Goodman comes back he thinks he is better than the rest and judges everyone instantly. He then comes to the conclusion that he is the only person that is not a devil worshiper. Just as before with the witch trials, he is judging them as the so-called witches were judged by his ancestors.

The descent of this "Journey towards Justification" was marked by the disappearance of the self. In place of the self, was the awareness of depravity, helplessness and the illusions of sin. This awareness would then assist the moral man to no longer depend upon material things or people, but to put his faith solely upon God. Intending to be a positive outcome of Justification, Brown found the awareness of his depravity and instead of feeling the enlightenment of his vision, he was blinded by the reality of sin and sentenced himself to a life of miserable isolation.

Hawthorne used "Young Goodman Brown" to create an awareness similar to that of the "Journey of Justification" through the conflict within the setting, the identification of the conflicts, and the resolution to the conflict. Hawthorne intended for the reader to become aware of the depravity accompanied by sin. I feel that he intended for the reader to view the reality of sin and the terror of the human hell that was revealed to Brown. However, Hawthorne also intended for his reader to take that awareness and use it to better deal with life. Isolation from society and complete rejection of all who have sinned could only lead to a miserable and desperate end. Hawthorne develops the idea of the relations of Good and Evil in man but withholds his answer. Nor does he permit himself to determine whether the events are real. By doing so, the complete interpretation of "Young Goodman Brown" is left up to the reader, according to his/her own life, mind, forms of Justification, beliefs, fears and of course, hell.