Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne was at first a boring read. However the

more I read it and began to break it down by sections it was interesting. The short story was

written in 1895 it deals with a man and testing his faith. Ultimately this story displays how

betrayal can affect someone’s state of mind and actions.

The story begins with Goodman Brown and his wife Faith. Faith does not want her

husband to leave for a midnight walk in the woods. Goodman Brown convinces Faith to let him

leave. Little to Faith’s knowledge, her husband has just left to meet with the Devil. Goodman

brown goes to this meeting because he knows his faith strong enough to withstand the Devils

tricks.

Goodman Brown is the protagonist.

The most obvious antagonist is the Devil. The Devil wants Goodman Brown to follow

him deeper into the woods and Brown is against that. The Devil wants Goodman Brown to take

his staff, and he wants no part of that. Brown’s pride is what is keeping him there, after each

time the Devil makes an attempt to convert Brown, he stays in the woods waiting for the next

trick. When he should have left after the first couple of attempts.

There were several conflicts that contributed to the climax of the story. The first conflict

was between Goodman Brown and his wife Faith. Faith did not want Brown to leave. After he

was half way into the woods, he thought that Faith might have been trying to protect him by

keeping him at home. This is exhibited when Faith says “Dearest heart she whispered softly and

rather sadly, when her lips were close to her ear, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in

your