***Analysis of "Young Goodman Brown"

In class on Tuesday we analysised the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story "Young Goodman Brown."  The story is set in the Puritan time period and in Salem Village.  The story is a romantic piece and focuses on the evil of nature and the supernatural.  "Young Goodman Brown" revolves around Goodman Brown's meeting with the devil in the forest and his realization of the evil around him.

There are many different symbols in the short story that should be anaylized.  First is the staff.  The staff is shaped like a serpent which comes from the biblical symbol of the snake as an evil figure.  The the bible, the serpent tempts Eve in the garden of Eden which in turns causes her to bite into the forbidden fruit.  The devil tells Goodman Brown to take the staff and tempts him just as the serpent tempted Eve.  The staff helps clear up the fact that the old man in the forest has an evil agenda, and is in fact the devil.

Another symbol is Faith's pink ribbons.  These ribbons represent innocence and purity.  The color itself is a symbol of innocence and the ribbons are supposed to represent a innocence and youth.  Hawthorne mentions the ribbons in the beginning of the story many times to make sure the reader ties them with Faith and lets the reader know Faith is meant to be nd innocent and pure character.  The ribbons are also present in the forest when Goodman Brown is thinking about the goodness of the people around him and if he can trust them.  When Faith reappears after the forest gathering, she is wearing the ribbons.  This in turn makes Goodman Brown quesion even more about the goodness and purity of the people in his village.

Also the forest is another symbol.  In the romantic period nature was considered evil and dark.  If a character wondered into the forest at night, the reader should be expecting something awful and evil to e happening.  When Goodman Brown wonders into the forest at night, the reader should atomatically assume something evil and dark is about to take place.  The forest also represents sin and the forest holds all of the sin in the story.  For one the devil lurks in the forest and Goodman Brown meets him there.  Also the meeting was held in the forest. 

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