In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” the title character is a man who sets out on a mysterious journey into the woods and unknowingly ends up discovering a truth about himself that he cannot reconcile. At the beginning of the story, a newly-married Goodman Brown bids his young wife, Faith, goodbye and sets out on his journey to meet “a grave and decently attired” elderly man. While at first reluctant to keep on his journey, Goodman Brown allows himself to be persuaded by the elderly man to continue deeper into the forest. Once they reach their destination, Young Goodman Brown is shaken by the discovery that he is at a Black Mass, that most of the townspeople, including his wife are there and that his elderly companion is actually the Devil. Realizing that Faith is about to pledge herself to the Devil, Goodman Brown cries out in dismay. Suddenly, he finds himself standing alone in the forest, unsure if what he “witnessed” was real or a dream. Unable to cope with the discovery from his journey that all men, including himself, have the capacity for evil, Young Goodman Brown changes from a confident, religious and trusting man to one ruled by disillusionment, suspicion and fear.…