nathaniel hawthorne young goodman brown summary

Faith’s pink ribbon is the center aim of an important, emotional scene at the end of the story. Throughout the story, Hawthorne makes many references to this, including referring to her as “Faith with the pink ribbons” (Hawthorne 1). Faith as her name suggests is regarded by Goodman Brown to be a physical demonstration of his faith with Brown referring to her as “My love and my Faith” (Hawthorne 1).įaith also represents symbolism with her pink ribbon. Unlike the dark setting, Young Goodman’s Wife, Faith, makes the idea that Goodman Brown has a perfect life, in terms of being the good wife, but to Goodman Brown, Faith is much more than this. This symbolizes man’s failure to escape the Devil’s grip on him, the moment he has permitted his sins to dominate him to a certain point. Even with the undeniable evil in the woods, Goodman Brown continues advancing into the darkness with the Devil being his lead. The depressing setting reveals the bad position Young Goodman Brown is about to find himself in. The story mainly takes place in the woods which is described as a mystic dreadful place when Young Goodman Brown walks down a “dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees in the forest” (Hawthorne 2). Give us your paper requirements, choose a writer and we’ll deliver the highest-quality essay! Order nowĪnother example of symbolism is the setting. Hawthorne clarifies this when Young Goodman Browns says to himself “after this one night, I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven” (Hawthorne 1). Nonetheless, Young Goodman Brown does not know what is before him on his journey into the woods which he sees as chance to linger around as a onetime thing. This is additionally demonstrated by his eagerness to leave his wife to set out on his journey.

This symbolizes that Young Goodman Brown is one who does not have a serious connection to faith. At the start of the story, Young Goodman Brown and his wife Faith have only been together for three months. Seemingly, this is what the story is about, however, evaluating the story would reveal that it has many symbolic examples.

Young Goodman Brown is a short story written in 1835 about an encounter between a man and the Devil. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” he uses symbolism effectively throughout the story. While reading a story, symbols may not become clear until the very end, even until the climax is over, and the falling action is covered. It is up to the reader to interpret the meaning of the symbols and their significance to the story. There can be multiple symbols in a story or just one.

Symbols serve as ideas that an author can use into his story that has meaning. Symbolism in literature is the practice of using an object or word to represent a distinct and deeper meaning of a story.

Nathaniel hawthorne young goodman brown summary