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The use of symbols by Nathaniel Hawthorne in Young Goodman Brown highlights his disapproval of the Puritan religion and the hypocrisy of its adherents. This paper examines how Hawthorne uses symbolism in the narrative and how much he criticizes the Puritan church for its hypocrisy and perversion of faith. Hawthorne uses a variety of symbols throughout the narrative, from the names of persons to actual items, to expose the hypocrisy of the Puritan faith. For instance, the protagonists name, Goodman Brown, symbolically alludes to the Puritan community (Mambrol). Hawthorne refers to Brown as a goodly young man who came forth at sunset into the street of Salem village about the Salem witch trials (Xibo 397). The author uses this metaphor to imply that while the Puritan group looks morally upright and upstanding on the outside, their hypocrisy is revealed when they succumb to their vices.
Another symbolism employed by Hawthorne is the journey through the woods. The woods reflect the darkness within a persons soul and the unexplored area they represent. The trek into the woods represents Browns descent into immorality and his realization that the Puritan communitys decency is simply a facade. Moreover, the character of Faith, Browns wife, demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Puritan community. The Puritan faith itself is symbolized by the word faith. She is referred to as aptly named and sports a pink ribbon in her hair to represent her innocence and purity (Hawthorne 5). Her pink ribbon depicts her corruption, and her change stands in for the depravity of the Puritan religion (Xibo 398). In addition, characters like the elderly man, who stands in for the devil, show how Hawthorne criticized the Puritan religions hypocrisy. The elderly guy represents evil the darkness that permeates human souls, and his presence in the woods symbolizes the darkness that permeates the Puritan town.
In conclusion, symbolism in Young Goodman Brown is used as a potent instrument to criticize the hypocrisy of the Puritan religion and the degradation of Faith. The journey into the woods represents Browns descent into sin, while Faiths transformation represents the corruption of the Puritan faith. The older man in the woods symbolizes the Puritans propensity to sin, as he represents the evil that lives in human souls. Therefore, the Puritan religion is a front for the evil in every human spirit and is the source of the neighborhoods hypocrisy.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. Owl Eyes, Web.
Mambrol, Nasrullah. Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown. Literary Theory and Criticism, Web.
Xibo, Tian. Symbolism in Young Good Man Brown. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 1, 2021, pp. 397401. Web.
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