Symbolism In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Well-known American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” warns of the dark effects of the Puritan faith on the quality of an individual as well as the dark effects of temptation. Hawthorne’s purpose is to reveal the evil within humans and the flaws of Puritanism. The author adopts a troubled and skeptic tone to express his shame towards his family and the Puritan religion. After Young Goodman Brown’s (YGB’s) voyage into the forest, the elder traveler reveals to Brown that he is very knowledgeable about YGB’s family history. Within this moment, Hawthorne sets the mood for YGB’s skepticism towards the traveler, as Brown does not believe the elder because he is so sure that his family will not “abide [to] such
The names Goody, Goodkin, and Goodman provide irony for the reader since all three of these characters resemble corrupt behaviors contrary to their holy names. Additionally, the title ‘Young’ signifies Brown’s naïve thinking and lack of knowledge to the audience, which alludes to “the nature of the temptations Goodman is subjected to [and his] ambivalence” (Paulits 578) towards his own values. However, Faith provides stability for YGB by embodying a sense of maturity for him. Yet, even though Brown’s Faith warns him not to travel into the dark forest, he loses his religious faith more than any other character by falling victim to temptation. Because of Brown’s religious doubts, he sustains conflict between himself like so many humans do— “In other words, [he] is an artistic presentation of an ambivalence all human hearts and heads may be subject to and that some, probably many, fall prey to” (Paulits 584). YGB’s man vs. himself conflict, ignorance, and natural evil allow him to gain new insight own Puritan flaws, which implies that if one gains awareness of his or her own wickedness, then he or she can accept the wickedness that resides in