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Symbolism in "Young Goodman Brown"
Symbolism in "Young Goodman Brown" The short story "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the story of a man, Goodman Brown, who comes to find out that the people he surrounds himself with are not perfect. During a journey testing his faith, a traveler, the devil, is able to use Brown’s naiveté against him. After the devil has his way with Goodman Brown’s mind, Brown is never again able to trust even his wife, who is aptly named Faith, let alone anyone else. Brown’s view on humanity thereon is one of deceit. The story is heavy in symbolism; and the major symbols of this story are Goodman Brown himself, his wife Faith and her pink ribbons, the traveler he meets, and the journey he takes. Goodman Brown’s name plays as a symbol in the story. His name Goodman means Gentleman during that time period, and he is symbolic to mankind(Korb 2; Robinson 3). In spite of his name, there is no proof that Goodman Brown was ever a good person at all(Mathews 2).
Approximate Word count = 905
Approximate Pages = 3.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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