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Introduction
The short story Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a metaphorical narration created to express the process of taking vital decisions in life. The author uses such literary elements as setting and symbolism to convey the essential ideas related to the themes of faith, hope, sense of living, and despair. The storys primary theme is that the people are sinful by their nature, and the first step to being forgiven is to accept the terrible truth about the surrounding world. By showing Young Goodman Brown, the author claims that the inability to accept the imperfections of others is the feature of the desperate people who cannot love and live fulfilling lives.
Setting, Theme, and Symbolism
Even though the story begins with the peaceful description of the married couple, the author already shows that the narration is not as cheerful as it may seem. Hawthorne implements the device of allocating the setting to warn the reader about the potential danger expected to the main character during his journey. Salem is a city known for its devilish events related to witches (Lawson 2). The setting choice can be considered as the Chekhovs gun guiding the reader to understand the implicit ideas better. The setting is also vital in defining whether the events experienced by Young Goodman Brown are actual or not. Based on the chosen location, it is rational to state that these events are the mysterious apparitions resulting from the main characters moral sufferings. Young Goodman Brown tries to understand his place in life through the prism of faith. The gloomy atmosphere in the forest is also vital in the storys setting. It shows that the darkness and doubts in hearts are revealed when people doubt faith which is supposed to be the guiding power.
The central theme described by the author is the sinfulness of the Puritans, who only pretend to be innocent. The main character realizes that people he previously trusted as being innocent are sinful and hypocritical (Hawthorne 6). This idea touches upon the second theme described by Hawthorne lost faith (Klevay 1). At the end of the story, Young Goodman Brown falls into despair because he is disappointed in the peoples innocence. However, he was sinful himself from the very beginning of the story. The character says, Faith kept me back a while when seeing the first person in the forest (Hawthorne 9). The word choice shows that he relocates the responsibility for his actions to the woman.
Moreover, by doing so, he betrays his wife and his faith. The author uses the symbolism in names to show that Goodmans faith is not in his heart and soul but in his wife. The image of the devil also symbolizes the temptation to accuse others of being sinful. The author shows that the last hope of the character vanishes, and he is left with nothing to believe in: My Faith is gone (Hawthorne 7). Thus, the character was sinful from the very start doubting the existence of innocence, love, and faith. The selfish nature of Goodman prevents him from accepting the delusions about the people surrounding him. Instead of seeking hope and trying to help lost people, Brown decides to succumb to despair.
Conclusion
Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the metaphorical character who selfishly desires to be innocent and pure while rejecting his Faith (both belief and wife). The literary elements of the story help the author to convey the vital ideas of the whole narration related to innocence, faith, and religion. Goodman Brown is selfish person centred only on his hope. The reason why the despair captured the character is that he never indeed had faith. He tried to find peace in the innocence and perfection of others, hiding his own sinful nature. Lost personalities seeking salvation in others should be ready to accept the imperfections and love people for the way they are. Creating this character, Hawthorne highlights that human delusions can hurt their lives resulting in sinful actions such as judging and accusing others.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. Mosses from an Old Manse, 1835.
Klevay, Robert. His Dying Hour Was Gloom : Crises Of Faith In Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown . Critical Insights: Crisis of Faith, edited by Robert C. Evans, Salem, 2013.
Lawson, Benjamin S. Young Goodman Brown. Masterplots, Fourth Edition, edited by Laurence W. Mazzeno, Salem, 2010. Salem Online, online.salempress.com.
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