Yong Goodman Brown: Man's Faith

I n the story “Young Goodman Brown”, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals a inner conflict of a man’s faith in religion and knowledge of mankind’s indiscretions with sin. The story takes place in the 17th century in Salem, Massachusetts towards the end of the puritan era. Hawthorne uses allegories and other symbols to help emphasis the story’s theme. The main character Goodman Brown symbolizes an everyday good man. His wife named Faith symbolizes Goodman Brown’s faith in his religion. Faith is described as wearing a pink ribbon representing innocents and purity. The characters Goody Cloyse, the minister and Deacon Gookin are important symbolically because not only are these people that Goodman Brown looks up to for guidance in his spiritual journey of his Puritan faith but to Goodman Brown they also represent people who he believes to possess complete faith and the inability to be swayed by the devil. . Hawthorne uses some history of the Puritan faith to help the reader to have a better understanding of the story. The Puritans believed that the forest at night was evil and that those who enter must be also be evil. The story begins with Goodman Brown saying goodbye to his Faith (wife). “My love and my Faith, of all night