Young Good Man Brown

Young Goodman Brown

In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts a 17th century Puritan

attempting to reach justification as Brown's faith required. Upon completing his

journey, however, Brown could not confront the terrors of evil in his heart and

chose to reject all of society. Puritan justification was a topic Hawthorne was

aware of as an internalized journey to hell necessary for a moral man. Having

referred to the heart of man as hell, Puritans found themselves in the midst of

Satan and his multitude of devils as he established his kingdom in man's heart.

This was a dreadful revelation that caused Brown to grow bitter and distrustful,

just as it did with 17th Century Puritans. Hawthorne in "Young Goodman Brown is

able to develop the conflict of the story through the conflict within the

setting, the identification of conflicts, and the resolution to the conflict.

The time era is approximately a generation after the time of the witch trials.

Puritan communities, secured by their orthodox faith, dealt with the ungodly

wilderness around them. Set in Salem during the early witchcraft day of 1692,

Young Goodman Brown's experience in the dark, evil forest correlated and would

have been recognized by Puritans as a symbol of mistrust of their own corrupt

hearts and faculties. The forest, dark and evil, represented the deceit and

darkness of man's heart. Just as Brown could not trust the shadows and figures

he saw hidden in the forest, he could not trust his own desires. Those desires

had to be purged through his journey into the forest, which became a Journey

towards Justification. That corrupt heart was torn open after Brown heard

Faith's voice and seeing her pink ribbon screamed: "My Faith is gone . . . .

There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come Devil; for to thee is

this world given." Such a revelation made Brown "a stern, a sad, a darkly

meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man." This revelation is often the

result of a Puritan confronting his repressed evil. According to the "Journey

towards Justification", this confrontation should teach him to let go of his

worldly dependence and strive for a life without sin.

Goodman knows what he must do but dreads the deed. Upon entering the forest, he

is suspicious of every rock and tree, thinking something evil will jump out at

him. When he finally does meet someone on the trail, who appears to be of evil

origin, he feels confident that he can refuse any temptations. This evil person

makes several advances and Goodman refuses. This made Goodman feel strong until

they met his childhood catechism teacher and see her turned. This act deters his

confidence to a great degree. He continues down the trail looking for hope in

the heavens but hears only howling voices. Goodman eventually reaches his

destination and sees the rest of the community there participating in satanic

acts. When he sees this it destroys any faith he might of had in the community

or himself and he appears to give-up. The following morning he finds himself in

the forest and wonders what happened the previous night. Whether the scenes he

witnessed