Young Goodman Brown Essay
A Goodman’s Plight Innocence, the word itself brings to mind a pure being untouched by the evils of the world. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, Young Goodman Brown, he tells the tale of a young man and his path to realizing that no one in his village is innocent. This comes as a shock to him, but his own innocence is lost when he can no longer view those around him as pure and perfect. Symbolism is used with objects and motifs to demonstrate the overarching themes of the story. According to Hawthorne, what does the use of the pink ribbon and dream say about the loss of innocence? Faith’s pink ribbon is portrayed as one of the main indicators of the nature of innocence. In the beginning of the story Hawthorne writes “he looked back and
…show more content…
Goodman Brown, after Faith loses her ribbon, is seen flying through the woods with the look of a beast (Hawthorne 5). Flying and turning into a beast is not feasible in reality, so this shows another clue that he may have been dreaming. Dreams show that the innocence may not have been real in the first place. He does this after he finds out that Faith has joined the stranger, so it is a form of denying the truth. In this case the loss of innocence results in the behavior that does not seem real. It shows the disbelief leading him to a state of insanity, and how he would have rather not known all of the sins that people have committed. Goodman Brown has a hard time telling whether his time in the forest was a dream or reality near the end of the story (Hawthorne 7-8). Both answers are probable, so it means that either way his innocence would have been lost. Hawthorne uses the dream-like manner of the situation to show the inevitability of the outcome. The dream also represents how Goodman Brown wanted it to be false. He was apprehensive when finding out the real faces of the people in his town, and he wishes it was not true. Dreams are seen as elusive, and it adds a mysterious touch to the story. The illusory nature of the story tells that innocence would be lost no matter how the story ended, and that it is not lost willingly at
Goodman Brown, after Faith loses her ribbon, is seen flying through the woods with the look of a beast (Hawthorne 5). Flying and turning into a beast is not feasible in reality, so this shows another clue that he may have been dreaming. Dreams show that the innocence may not have been real in the first place. He does this after he finds out that Faith has joined the stranger, so it is a form of denying the truth. In this case the loss of innocence results in the behavior that does not seem real. It shows the disbelief leading him to a state of insanity, and how he would have rather not known all of the sins that people have committed. Goodman Brown has a hard time telling whether his time in the forest was a dream or reality near the end of the story (Hawthorne 7-8). Both answers are probable, so it means that either way his innocence would have been lost. Hawthorne uses the dream-like manner of the situation to show the inevitability of the outcome. The dream also represents how Goodman Brown wanted it to be false. He was apprehensive when finding out the real faces of the people in his town, and he wishes it was not true. Dreams are seen as elusive, and it adds a mysterious touch to the story. The illusory nature of the story tells that innocence would be lost no matter how the story ended, and that it is not lost willingly at