nly the severity of his ancestor’s sins to his, but to acknowledge that his forefathers had secrets as well.The encounter with Goody Cloyse also confirms the desire of Goodman Brown to conceal his meeting with this stranger. While the two men are traveling through the woods, they come upon the older woman, whom Brown knows. Furthermore, she happens to be the lady who taught Brown his catechism. Goodman begins to worry that Cloyse will recognize him with this stranger, so he hides behind the trees.Cloyse symbolizes Brown’s religion and partly his conscience. She is a moral and ethical character whom Goodman believes to walk the “right path” with God. Cloyse is representative of Brown’s past through her instruction of his catechism, and further represents his Puritan beliefs on what is morally and ethically right. The stranger’s actions astonish Brown. He approaches Cloyse and begins a conversation with her. Soon the two are conversing as if they are best of friends. After the two finish their discussion, Brown rejoins the stranger in disbelief. Now his inner conflict is magnified because of the reminder of his catechism versus the friendship he has just witnessed between Goody Cloyse and the stranger. In Brown’s eyes, the woman whom he thought holy and pure, associated regularly with someone who was evil and unclean.Further symbolic items of significance are Faith’s pink ribbons. In three separate instances throughout the story, these ribbons are mentioned: when Goodman Brown leaves on his journey, in the middle of the forest while he is alone, and finally at the end of the story when Faith greets Goodman upon his return. A unique characteristic of these ribbons is their color, pink.Generally, people associate the color white with words such as peace and purity. The color red we associate with things like anger, unrest, and lust. The color pink lies somewhere in-between these...
