Young Goodman Brown

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Young Goodman Brown – From Naivety to Maturity


Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown is story illustrating the moral principle of good versus evil. Hawthorne uses symbolism and irony to relay his feelings towards man’s natural appetite for evil and the battle to avoid it in ones own heart. Following these literary elements takes the reader through a dream allegory filled with religious hypocrisy. Locating and examining the two most prominent symbols throughout the story allows the reader to experience how the attempted conversion of Young Goodman Brown results in a transformation from naivety to maturity.
The first use of symbolism comes in the form of the names of Young Goodman Brown and his wife, Faith. Young in the name literally means that the main character is a young man. Hawthorne textually declares this when he writes’ “…young Goodman Brown…”(pg104). Goodman in the name symbolizes that he is a spiritual and good person. With Brown being such a common last name, it symbolizes that Goodman could be anyone or everyone. The name Faith has a dual symbolic meaning. It literally means religious faith and also represents Goodman Brown’s personal faith and religious convictions. This is apparent when Brown states, “My love and my Faith of all the nights in this year, this one night must I tarry from thee”(pg104). Here, Goodman Brown is referring to leaving his wife and his faith in God. Initially, Faith also represents youth as identified when Goodman Brown, “…put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife”(pg104).
Though not understood until latter, it is this idea of a young good wife that reveals that Goodman’s initial state of naivety. Goodman is asked by his wife to stay home and not go on the journey. He thinks that she does not know about his journey to meet with the devil and thinks, “Methought as she spoke there...