thesis of Young Goodman Brown
...oodman Brown leaves on a journey without Faith, his new wife. In the same way, the Puritans left their faith "at home" and set out on a journey apart from their bride, Jesus Christ. Finally, Goodman Brown's desire to journey without Faith leads to her sacrifice. For example, Goodman complains to the devil saying, "Faith kept me back awhile." In the same way, the Puritans sacrifice their faith and try living self-righteously. But since no one is righteous, their attempt was in vain. Hawthorne incorporates "pink" as a symbol in the story. He uses pink as a symbol four times in the story. In the Bible scarlet represents sin while white signifies purity. Thus, this symbol represents the blend of purity and sin. In addition, Hawthorne mentions "Faith, with pink ribbons" inferring his faith takes on this blend of purity and sin. Finally, Goodman Brown exclaims to Faith, "Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!" This tells us he never completely loses his faith. Goodman Brown, a Puritan New Englander, for reasons that were not made clear made a deal with the Devil in the woods outside Salem. He knows that this is morally wrong, and especially when he leaves his pink-ribboned Faith, this puts him in a quandary. Brown must decide, before he becomes part of the Black Sabbath and engages in devil worship, if his true passion lies in the woods, the land of evil, or if it lies in the innocence and “naive youth” he enjoyed in the village. There are many examples in the text of conflict. Brown laments about the loss of his Faith, a theme which permeates the tale. Also, Brown discusses his self-doubt after incidences such as his discovery of the ‘true nature’ of people such as Goody Cloyse, the governor, and village minister. Brown’s reluctance to take the Devil’s snake-staff illustrate his misgivings about becoming one of the Devil’s chosen. Even the setting of the winding, long, journey through the woods demonstrates indecision and conflict, as Goodman Brown has to spend a prolonged time considering his actions. Young Goodman Brown’s personal conflict over his inner desires - and its greater meaning: conflict between good and evil in the world - is the center of the story. There would be no “Young Goodman Brown” if not for the main character’s personal struggle to decide what he will do. Using the right settings, Hawthorne creates symbolistic environments to make so called heavenly characters turn to evil. In the village of Salem, the villagers look up to Deacon Gookin and Goody Cloyse as highly spiritual people. The village of Salem is symbolistically any town or church, and Deacon Gookin and Goody Cloyse are the "sinless" leaders of the church. Along the path in the woods, Goodman Brown watches the deacon and Goody committing sins and not grieving over their sins. The path in the woods is temptation, and each step taken brings one closer to accepting evil and sin. At the Black ...