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The story begins with Goodman Brown starting out on a journey. Hawthorne does not state what kind of journey or the purpose behind it. By the end of the story I saw it as a journey into Goodman Browns own mind, heart and soul rather than a literal journey. I feel this is the most significant symbolic element in the story because it stood for Goodman Brown becoming aware of the illusions of sin. This journey in the Puritan religion was intended for the person to become aware of the helplessness and the reality of sin and how to no longer depend on material things or people but to put his faith solely upon God. Goodman Brown unfortunately was blinded by the realization of sin and its existence in the human heart and chose to reject all of society and trust no one. The name of Goodman Brown and his wife Faith are clear symbolic elements. Goodman Brown stands for the naïve, immature young man who only sees the good in his fellowman, and has yet to be confronted with evil. Faith, Goodman Brown’s young wife stands for what Goodman Brown believes in. He sees his wife as all that is good and when he realizes that she too has made a pack with the devil he cries “my faith is gone…There is no good on earth.” This makes Brown a stern, sad and distrustful man. I think Hawthorne was saying that when man’s faith is gone he is lost and without purpose. There are many objects in “Young Goodman Brown”, that have dual meaning such as the pink ribbons Faith wore upon her hat, the staff offered to Goodman Brown by the devil, the forest, and a hanging twig and the coldest dew. The pink ribbons worn by Faith symbolized the innocence of Goodman Brown’s 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 Brown’s ancestors were with him during the witch trials and the burning of Indian villages. The devil could stand for the unpleasant, painful truth of the past and the sin than exists in the people of the present as an allegory of evil. I think that Hawthorne was making a statement about the Puritan religion in respect to his family background and their beliefs and his questioning of his heritage. As a Puritan, Young Goodman Brown sought a true conversion experience. Whether or not the meeting in the woods existed is not important. Puritans required their followers to doubt themselves and their community so much that a reality in which they could be good and trustworthy did not exist. It also taught that you could not trust anyone. During the Witch trials of that day men turned on accused wives as Goodman Brown also turned on his wife and lost her as well as his spiritual faith over something that may or may not have existed. Hawthorne uses symbolism to write a story that is left open to the reader’s interpretation. I do think Hawthorne wants the reader to be aware of sin in his/her own heart. I also think he wanted the reader to know that being aware of sin can help one better deal with life and to isolate oneself from society and reject all that have sinned can only lead to a lonely, miserable end. Bibliography: Word Count: 964
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