The Story Told Within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”
American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne was born July 4th, 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Interestingly Hawthorne was originally born with the name Nathaniel Hathorne. A 'w' was added to his last name to disassociate himself with his ancestors that were judges in the seventeenth century Salem witch trials. His grandfather played an important role in the prosecution of a dozen so called witches (NathanielHawthorneBio). With the ancestry in Salem, Hawthorne was known for his dark romanticism. One of Hawthorne’s most common themes to write about is conflicts between good and evil. Beginning his writing career early Hawthorne published most of his writings anonymously (wiki). In 1835, Hawthorne published the short story "Young Goodman Brown." This short story is a great combination of Hawthorne's ancestry as well as his imagination on good and evil.
Young Goodman Brown takes place in the late 17th century; in Salem Massachusetts. The story begins with Goodman Brown about to set off on a trip. His wife Faith tries to get him to put off his journey fearing that something might happen to him. Goodman Brown ensured his wife of his safety and told her to pray for him. After leaving his wife and beginning his journey, Goodman Brown promises himself that after tonight when he finishes his task, he will never leave his wife's side and he will spend the rest of his life together with her. Walking through the dark and mysterious forest, Goodman Brown becomes anxious. A man appears out from the darkness of the forest and seems to be expecting Goodman Brown. The man asks him why he is late. Continuing to walk further into the woods, Goodman Brown informs his now companion that it is getting late and he must return back to his wife. The man ensures Goodman Brown to continue on and while they walk he will convince him why he should go further, however if he is not convincing enough, Goodman Brown could turn and head back. Advancing deeper into the woods with every step, Goodman Brown becomes frustrated with having to complete this task. He tells his companion that he is the first in the family to have to do such an unchristian like task. The companion then tells Goodman Brown that he knows and has met his father and his father’s father, and all too had to complete such a task. He even tells Goodman Brown that his ancestors weren't such faithful Christians and did many unholy deeds.
In denial of his companion’s claims, he is then told that the whole village is filled with wickedness. In agonizing pain, Good Brown proceeds further in the woods. The two men then see a woman in the distance, they approach her and she too is heading to where they are going. Goodman Brown recognizes her, as she taught him catechism. As they continue, Goodman Brown sees more people who he thought were good and faithful Christians. When they finally reach their destination, there is a ceremony around a flame lit altar. To Goodman Browns dismay, he appears at the altar with his wife Faith. About to be covered in blood to steal their alliance with the wickedness, Goodman Brown tells his wife Faith to look into the heavens and resist the evil. In an instant Goodman Brown wakes up on a rock in the forest and heads home to his wife. Unsure what was real or just a dream; Goodman Brown is deeply shaken and is suspicious of everyone around him.
The real history of the setting in Young Goodman Brown; Salem Massachusetts, brings a lot of insight to the story. Salem is the mostly notorious in history for its witch trials in 1692. Citizens of the town encouraged the trails to take palace and prosecute who they believed to be devil worshipers. Having the author Hawthorne actually having a connection to this time, deepens the meaning of the story. Those who were thought to be witches were going against god and worshipping the devil. This is what Goodman Brown is confronted with in the forest. He was forced to see people act out of the social norm and practice something he didn't believe in.
Hawthorne has a way of selecting great word choice to deepen a simple story. He gives characters names that symbolize who they are. Take Young Goodman Brown for an example; referring to him as Young Goodman Brown amplifies his youth and lack of experience. It shows that he is still innocent in the world and isn't yet aware of its true array of colors. The disadvantage of youth can also be the ability to be deceived easily because you are so trust worthy of others; we see that with Young Goodman Brown. Although he is eager to return home, he listens to his companion and travels deeper into the woods. His wife Faith also symbolizes a number of things. In the story she is described as wearing a pink ribbon, the color pink is the product of red and white. Red symbolizes lust and danger, when white stands for purity and innocents. Pink is in between negative and positive but is known as the symbol of pure love (wiki). Faiths name alone says it all, when Young Goodman Brown leaves his wife Faith behind, he also leaves his real Faith with her when he sets out on his journey into the woods. While in the woods his wife Faith appears with him out from nowhere because his faith had came back to him as he tried to overcome the wickedness of the devil.
Hawthorne also uses a number of symbols that help bring imagery to the story. The symbols he uses further explains the plot without giving it all away, making the reader interact with the story. The forest was the main setting for the short story. The significance of the forest represents is the mysterious creatures that can be larking in the dark. According to the symbolism dictionary, the forest is a place for testing and holds secrets of nature that one has to find the true meaning of. In a Freudian perspective, the forest can also symbolize the unconscious filled with mysteries (UMICH). Describing Goodman Brown's path as narrow and dark also shows how he is surrounded by wickedness and could only move forward, further into the devils grasp.
When it comes to Goodman Brown's companion, it isn't stated that he is the devil. However as they walk through the forest different things infer to him as the devil, like his serpent like staff. During Hawthorne's description of Goodman Brown’s companion he stated, "But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as remarkable, was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake . . ." ( line185). In the dictionary of symbols, serpents represent death, destruction and evil. For the Christian religion the serpent was Satan or the devil disguised to trick Adam and Eve to disregard gods command. Hawthorne gives Goodman Brown's companion a staff that he describes in line 387 “might also be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a live serpent” (YoungGoodmanBrown). The staff shows the devils presence in the forest and when his companion offers it to help Goodman Brown to walk, he refuses to take it. The refusal tells us how reluctant Goodman Brown is to succumb into the evil in the world. Along their journey Goodman Brown finds people in the forest that he believed to be good, honest Christians. Goodman Brown became aware that even people like his old Sunday school teacher and his minister has been taken by the wickedness of the devil.
"Young Goodman Brown" is a story of the secret lives we live and the fight we face against temptation. The theme of the story is that everyone has their own secrets and does things that might not be socially acceptable in society behind closed doors. Hawthorne does a good job of supporting this theme with different symbolic interpretations throughout the story. Although some authors make it difficult to uncover the symbols in their stories, Hawthorne makes them easy to find, which makes the story more enjoyable for any type of reader.
Works Cited
"Forest." University of Michigan. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2010. .
"Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography - life, family, childhood, children, name, history, wife, mother, son, book, old, information, born, college, house, time." Encyclopedia of World Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2010. .
"Pink - Symbolism Wiki." Symbolism Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2010. .
"Serpent." University of Michigan. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2010. .
"Young Goodman Brown - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2010.
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