e devil, the forest, and a hanging twig and the coldest dew. The pink ribbons worn by Faith symbolized the innocence of Goodman Browns faith. Pink is associated with being sweet, playful, and child like. It is when Goodman Brown sees the ribbons floating down from heaven that he knows he has lost his faith and that innocence has been tainted with evil. The staff symbolizes a type of deception of sin. The devil twice offers his staff to man. Once to Goodman Brown and then to Goody Cloyse. The devil deceives by offering his staff as a source of comfort an object to lean upon when Brown and Cloyse are tired and weary. Sometimes in life it is much easier to lean on the evil and take the path of least resistance rather than stand up for what is right and what we believe in. The forest is a classic symbol used in many stories. The forest is seen as dark, deceiving and a way to get lost. In Young Goodman Brown the deeper Brown gets into the forest the more lost he becomes. He is separated from his faith and all he knows as good. The hanging twig and the coldest dew is one of my favorite symbols used in this story. This whole scene is full of imagery with the cold damp rock and the feeling of hopelessness in the air. The twig with the cold dew on it is what awakens Brown from his dream or vision. This is what makes him face the reality of sin in all human hearts and where he must make the decision to accept it and try to live a life without sin or turn from all society so as not be deceived by anyone. Brown should be crying over this realization but is not and I think the coldest dew sprinkled upon his face stands for the absence of tears and the hardness of his heart. The devil can also be seen as a symbol, upon meeting the devil Goodman Brown says, he is from a family of good men that have never been into the forest on such an errand to meet the devil. The devil states that indeed Browns ancestors were with him during the ...
