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Disillusionment is a hard thing for anyone to face, and when disillusionment seems to tear down the very foundation we are building our lives on, it can be crushing indeed. Nathaniel Hawthorne could not have been a stranger to this experience; in his story "Young Goodman Brown" he gives us an allegory of the pain and struggle all Christians face when their innocent and youthful faith is challenged by the encounter of what may be considered hypocrisy in themselves and others. Young Goodman Brown's marriage to Faith, the community they live in, and the forest where Goodman Brown faces his greatest challenge, are all symbols that help us understand this painful struggle.
The most important elements in the story are young Goodman Brown himself and his marriage to Faith. Young Goodman Brown represents any young Christian forced to grow up; in fact it is only in the beginning of the story that he is referred to as young Goodman Brown, later he is simply "Goodman Brown". Hawthorne has chosen a very common name for his character, anyone can identify with him. His title too, is significant; Goodman was a title given to husbands indicating that he is married, that is, he has made a personal and public commitment to someone. This someone is none other than Faith, and she becomes a symbol of what her name implies. It is definitely the Christian faith that Hawthorne is referring too, he has Brown meet the Devil, and Brown himself claims to have come from ". a race of honest men and good Christians."(165) Even though his knowledge of the faith is not new, his personal commitment to it is, as
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his new marriage to Faith symbolizes. "…and we but three months married"(164) Faith's pink ribbons further symbolize the youthfulness and innocence of his faith. And at this tender stage of his faith, he has an appointment to keep which will take him away from the community and into the wilderness of the forest. Help with essay on Young Goodman Brown
The community Goodman Brown and his Faith live in represents the acceptable in their world, the façade that is presented. Brown's pastor, good, old deacon Gookin and Goody Cloyse practice their goodness openly here, and Goodman Brown considers them his superiors and holds them in high regard. Brown recognizes Goody Cloyse as "a very pious and exemplary dame"(166) He respects her greatly, it was she who taught him the foundations of the faith, and he still considers her his spiritual advisor. In town she is devoted to teaching the children, even out on the street where she is sure to be seen. She "..stood in the early sunshine, at her own lattice, catechizing a little girl.."(17) Deacon Goodin also holds a position of high regard in the community. To be eligible for that position in the church, a man should be considered beyond reproach. He also makes sure his piousness is known ", and the holy words of his prayer was heard through the open window."(17) In Browns estimation, the person of highest authority would be his minister. Goodman Brown regards himself accountable to his pastor, almost to the point of fear as seen in his comment to his traveling companion" But, were I to go on with thee, how should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister, at Salem village? Oh, his voice would make me tremble, both Sabbath-day and lecture-day."(166) He considers
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his pastor an authority in the faith. He does not hide his faith either, as he walked about the town "he bestowed a blessing, as he passed" (17) on people walking by.
The forest on the other hand, becomes a symbol of the inner parts of mankind and the things that are kept hidden. It is a wild and dark place, and it is here that Goodman Brown has an appointment to meet evil. Brown senses right away that things and people might hide here. " ..the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead;" (165)As soon as he enters it, the gloomy trees "closed immediately behind."(165) He cannot go back. Here he meets the devil himself who was "bearing a considerable resemblance to him (Brown), though perhaps more in expression than features." (165) His fellow-traveler reveals to him that the ancestors Brown is so proud of, were well acquainted with evil. As he travels further in to the forest , he is shown the hidden sides of people in the community. Goody Cloyse knows the devil , and she speaks to him freely. She is also well acquainted with witchcraft. She complains to the devil " my broomstick hath strangely disappeared, stolen, as I suspect, by that unhanged witch, Goody Cory, and that, too, when I was all anointed with the juice of smallage and cinque-foil and wolf's-bane…"(167) Brown is distressed, but still confident he can hold on to faith. After this encounter, however, the decay has begun in his soul. The maple stick he is given for a staff symbolizes this maple tends to rot from the inside out.Later he hears, but does not see, Deacon Gookin and the minister passing through the forest on their way to the meeting with the devil. The deacon seems to prefer evil to righteousness "I had rather miss an ordination dinner than tonight's meeting" (168), and
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the minister seems to be playing some important role in this evil meeting. He is in a hurry and tells the deacon; "Nothing can be done , you know, until I get on the ground" (168) This hits poor Brown hard, but he looks up to the sky and is encouraged once again. He thinks he hears voices of people he knows, both good and bad, but he is not sure. The final straw is when he hears the voice of his dear wife, the one closest to him. When he finds a pink ribbon, her symbol of innocence, he looses all hope. Faith herself has somehow been compromised. He arrives finally to the very altar of evil, where he sees good and evil people mingling together. Brown chooses to believe they are all evil, but still feels "a loathful brotherhood"(171) with them. After a last desperate resistance at his initiation to evil, he finds himself alone, ' "while a hanging twig, that had been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew"(17) Dew is generally associated with a loss of innocence. As he returns to his community, he is a changed man.
Through his symbolism in Goodman Brown's inevitable journey, Hawthorne shows us the pain and confusion that results when we realize that evil lurks under the façade people present. Ultimately, Hawthorn chose for Goodman Brown to fail miserably in his challenge. Instead of realizing that all mankind struggle with evil and developing compassion and a forgiving spirit toward them, he is filled with contempt for all those he perceives as having failed. He seems to feel that he himself conquered the Wicked one that last moment before the altar, never realizing that he is rotting from the inside with hatred and unforgiveness. He stays married to his Faith, but finds no joy or pleasure in her.
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