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The story begins at sunset in the late 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, with the young Goodman Brown leaving his home and Faith, his wife of three months, to meet with a mysterious figure deep in the forest. As he and this mysterious figure meet and proceed further into the dark forest, it is broadly hinted that Goodman Brown's traveling companion is, in fact, the Devil, and that the purpose of their journey is to join in an unspecified but obviously unholy ritual. Goodman Brown is wavering and expresses reluctance, yet they continue on.
As their journey continues Brown discovers others also proceeding to the meeting, many of them his townsfolk whom he had considered exemplary Christians, including his minister and deacon and the woman who taught him Bible. He is astonished and disheartened and determines, once again, to turn back. But then he hears his wife's voice and realizes that she is one of the ones who is to be initiated at the meeting. Recognizing that he has lost his Faith (in both senses), he now resolves to carry out his original intention and enthusiastically joins the procession.
At the ceremony, which is carried out at a crude, flame-lit rocky altar in a clearing deep in the forest, the new converts are called to come forth. He and Faith approach the altar and, as they are about to be anointed in blood to seal their alliance with wickedness, he cries out to Faith to look to heaven and resist. In the next instant he finds himself standing alone in the forest, next to the cold, wet rock.
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.
"Young Goodman Brown" is often generalized as an allegory about the discovery of evil, the true nature of humanity. The story is set during the Salem witch trials, during which Hawthorne's great-great grandfather John Hathorne played a role as judge. Hawthorne, for years plagued by guilt from his ancestor's role, vindicates his grandfather by featuring two fictional victims of the witch trials who really were witches and not merely innocent victims of the witch-hunt. It was also this ancestral guilt that inspired Hawthorne to change his family's name, adding a "w" in his early twenties, shortly after graduating from college.
Historicizing is an important technique that Hawthorne likes to employ. Yet again, the dialect in which Hawthorne uses is critical to this technique. Without the Puritan dialect, "Young Goodman Brown" loses much of the historical significance that Hawthorne is trying to get across. Although it is explicitly stated the short story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, the time in which it takes place is not stated. However, by using such Puritanical dialect throughout the piece, the reader can deduce that the setting was sometime during the 17th or 18th century. Furthermore, Hawthorne’s use of dialect truly propels the reader into the world of Goodman Brown and helps them to gain a better insight into the setting.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is known in his writings for his criticism of the teachings of the Puritans. Young Goodman Brown is no different as it seeks to expose his perceived hypocrisy in Puritan doctrine. The plot and textual references in Young Goodman Brown reveal the Puritans as being like "a city upon a hill" as John Winthrop said, a founder of Puritanism, and wanting to be seen that way as good, holy men. However, their doctrine teaches that all men are inherently evil and they strive to cause each person to come to terms with this and realize their sinful nature. This hypocrisy that Hawthorne presents in his story is how he reflects on the hypocritical teachings of the Puritans. They taught that man was inherently evil in nature much in accordance to
Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
In terms of offering an analysis of “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, while there is no definitive answer to the question of whether or not this “really” happened to Goodman Brown, one must assume that this was simply a dream that came from Goodman’s subconscious. He lives in Salem, a location where the fervent witch trials occurred and one must wonder if he is feeling that piousness and witchcraft surround him in equal parts. If these are imaginings from Goodman, we can glean a few details about his character, such as the fact that he is suspicious to begin with as well as curious about others in the community. It also might reveal that he feels everyone is capable of some evil, even if they appear to be the most pious in the community. If one is considering a character analysis of Goodman Brown, it should be noted that in many ways Goodman Brown is a rather flat character. The reader of this story by Nathaniel Hawthorne is not told much about his background (although we do learn a few things about his family history via the old man) and the narrator focuses more on telling the reader what happened to him as opposed to what he was thinking. He can be described as an “everyman” because he, like many people” i s vulnerable to suspicion and self-doubt. He does not posses any typically heroic traits and instead simply reacts to the situation.
There are many instances of symbolism in “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne that function in differing ways. For instance, the symbols of sunset and night, which reflect the two opposing forces of good and evil in the text. This is especially apparent when we consider that the light of late day allows him to see Faith with love whereas when he sees her in darkness, he is suspicious and afraid. The walking stick is another symbol in this story by Nathaniel Hawthorne that demonstrates how nothing is as it seems in the text. At one moment it is a withered and twisted stick while at another it changes into a slithering serpent. It is thus symbolically speaking something that has the potential to harm or to help, much like the religious figures Goodman Brown encounters in the dark. It is also worth noting that the serpent that the stick becomes is representative of the devil and evil. One of the most obvious symbols in “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the concept of Goodman being both literally and metaphorically married to Faith. His faith is what he most treasures and after his experience it is what he is most afraid of losing. It is also worth mentioning that pink ribbon is symbolic of the purity of faith. The fact it floats away on a breeze represents shattered innocence and a loss of purity, a theme that is present in many works by Nathaniel Hawthorne.。