Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown

            Young Goodman Brown is a short story written by Hawthorne in 1854. It is one of the most considerable literature written. The storyline is based on the cultural activities taking place in Salem. Salem is a small town where its primary residents are puritans. The book takes place during a time when witch trials are supreme in the spring and autumn. The authors used a third person style thoroughly describes how the lives and people in Salem are affected and influenced by the witch rituals. The witch ritual cause distrust and change the Faith of Puritans.

Plot summary

One evening in the town Salem, a God-fearing Puritan residence, Goodman, a resident kisses his wife Faith, who is wearing a pink ribbon cap, goodbye and leaves for the forest. Faith is the newlywed of three months to Goodman. Goodman leaves for the woods where he is supposed to come back in the morning. There is witch Sabbath supposed to take place through the night in the woods. A witch Sabbath is a ritual that takes place in the forest of Salem where residents and neighbouring communities of Salem are induced into an evil brotherhood. Goodman curiosity to understand what happens in the witch Sabbath makes him leave his newly wedded wife. Thus, it is also likely that Goodman’s desire to visit the forest is from evil forces tempting and attracting him to the ritual.

In the forest, Goodman is scared that there are Indian Powwows behind every thick tree or the devil himself. Mysteriously, looking forward Salem sees a decent man seated on the base on an old tree and who joins him and they travel on. The decent man is carrying a staff which resembles a snake which makes him appear like a devil figure. Goodman has a conversation with the devil figure, but time to time, Goodman expresses a desire to return home, but he keeps going forward. Along the way, Goodman hears the voice of respectable men and women of the church going to the witch sabbath. However, he hides behind the tree and watches them.

At the meeting site, Goodman suffers a terrible shock. First, his parents and his ministry Deacon present him as their convert. Also, another convert is brought forward; however, for her, she is covered so that her identity is not known. The figure asks the two converts to show themselves to each other and confirm their decision to reveal their wickedness. Goodman turns to see the other convert only to realize its Faith. Goodman requests Faith to look up to heaven and resist the devil, only to find himself alone in the forest like he just woke up from a dream.

Themes & Symbols

First, Goodman’s wife Faith symbolizes Brown spiritual Faith. In the forest, Brown’s thought of Faith, realizing that he left her to see the witch Sabbath disturbs him. Brown is afraid that he will break Faith’s little dear heart if she thinks that Brown is going to the witch Sabbath. Brown sees Faith as a blessed angel on earth, so he affirms after tonight’s errand, he will have to cling on her, and he must follow her to heaven (Paragraph, 7). However, when he sees Faith at the witch Sabbath, he cries he is danger of not only losing his wife Faith but also his spiritual Faith (paragraph, 50). Faith is a symbol that characterizes Goodman’s strong Faith in heaven and spiritual God.

Goodman’s journey in the forest symbolizes the garden of Aden. In the Story, Goodman represents a man who is faced with temptation. Goodman is curious to visit the forest of sin, to satisfy his curiosity of understanding and seeing what happens in the woods and probably participate.  The figure that meets Goodman in the forest appears to represent the devil due to the staff he is holding. The staff is serpent-like representing the devil. Thus, we have Adam facing the serpent in the Garden of Aden. It was the Adams curiosity of understanding the tree of knowledge that he encounters the devil. Likewise, Goodman is enticed by the forest and activities taking place in it. Similar to Adam, Goodman suffers significantly from his curiosity and innocence.

Themes

In the Story, various theme arise. First, the idea of mistrust and doubts is evident. The puritans are a Godly community that strict observe moral rules on Christian and observe the commandments and teachings on the Bible. At first, Salem town was called Naumkeag which is later renamed to Salem after the Hebrew word Shalom, which in full is Jerusalem. His community members are religious people whom he trusts and has spiritual conversation and worship. However, Goodman’s experience in the witch Sabbath causes him to lose mistrust and have doubts about the Faith of his community members. He eventually dies as an unhappy man because even on his tomb his community member did not script down a hopeful message since, by the time of his death, most of the community members had been converted to the evil brotherhood (Paragraph, 72).

Additionally, the Story helps us to realize even the upright member of society can also be infected by evil. Goodman understands that even the respected members of the community are a victim of the forces of darkness. In the forest, Goodman’s hears the voices of the minister of the church and deacon on their way to witch Sabbath. In the ceremony, you find that it is still the deacon Gookin and the minister of the church who is dragging him forward to be a convert. Besides on their way to the ceremony, they come across Goody Cloyse. Goody Cloyse identifies herself as a witch and identifies the figure as the devil. Good Cloyse was Goodman’s spiritual advisor in his youth. Goodman is not only astonished by Cloyse role as a witch but also when she brings Faith in as her convert in Sabbath. Goodman’s realizes that the influence of the devil has overcome his town.

The Story also shows that one person’s vice can be another person’s virtue. Goodman realizes that there is no good on earth and sin is just but a name (paragraph, 65). The observation shows that depending on a person, a wrong act can be right or a right action can be improper. For him, the evil brotherhood seems to be the wrong choice of religion, but to other members of the community, they find it to be an excellent adventure to undertake during the night. At the end of the Story, it seems that Goodman is the only black sheep of the community by still adhering to Christians’ teachings.

Salem is a small Christian town in Massachusetts colony. The Story was taking place in the seventeenth century when witch Sabbath trials were supreme. Most of the residents of Salem are brought in the Sabbath. The converts have to confirm their loyalty and be baptized into the evil brotherhood. Many of the Christian community members are converted, which cause mistrust and doubts on Goodman. He is in suspicions of his deacons and ministers spiritual Faith because during the day he will find the elders and the minister preaching to the masses but yet they are witches. Evil has influenced the people of Salem, and theocracy is long lost.