Young Goodman Brown Setting: Exploring Ambiguity and Symbolism

Introduction

In the discussion of Arthur Nathaniel Hawthorne, a controversial issue is whether conflicts between the everyday battles and forces of good and evil are portrayed in the story ‘Young Goodman Brown.’ “The short story was composed in 1835. Hawthorne’s work typically reflects his New England Puritan heritage. The story represents what they are going through, which is a demonstration throughout the characters dealing with struggles of good and evil. This is not to say that sin is a part of human nature and that no man is perfect beyond any means.

I agree with the story itself, but this is not to say that there is a one-to-one equivalence between the surface meaning and a higher meaning.

The Pink Ribbon and Symbolism

The pink ribbon can be an image symbol of ambiguity. Red compares to sex, while white points out purity. On the other hand, since pink is a mixture of red and white, it leads us to think that there can be suspicion in this story. Other symbols from this short story are the names of people. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story ‘Young Goodman Brown’ is the story of a Puritan who go-head his bride deep into the forest. Proceeding, he willfully misleads his vow to his wife, the truism code of his humanity, and the culture of his religion. The reality about this night in the forest switched Goodman Brown’s life, transitioning the relationship with his wife, disconnecting from his neighbors, and dismantling his strength to praise God. Whether the dream or reality of a wild night is the turning point of Brown’s existence. Puritan people name their kids after things that are influential, such as Faith, Purity, and chastity. Throughout the story, there are frequent names used, like Goodman Brown and Faith. “The peculiar spiritual persuasion of Puritanism,” he points out, “provides Young Goodman Brown with the same mindset that New England Calvinism has forced on the American mind: an overwhelming sense of destiny.” (185-5).

The Forest as a Symbolic Space

Perhaps the uncertainty, like Goodman Brown’s experience in the forest, was either real or just a dream. Reasoning about what appears in the forest in existence or imagination of Goodman Brown being the thought of experience. To feel it is a dream, Goodman Brown sees the top of the trees burning and rocks flaming, abruptly finding himself alone. If the reality was real, could this be the story of the universality of sin? Then, the people in life are religious and good public, but at night, they will bedevil followers. Considering Nathaniel Hawthorne never says whether it was a dream or real experience that Goodman Brown had in the forest, the use of ambiguous phrases by the writer leads to thinking that Goodman Brown participated in an evil meeting. Hawthorne deliberately formed the story to have different interpretations: first, Goodman Brown had dreamed in the forest, and second, he experienced an evil meeting with the devil.

Looking at the work through these frames opens up the thematic possibilities of the piece. Hawthorne could be offering criticism from all ends. As a trope in traditional narrative, the forest implies a personal journey that results in an internal change of the protagonist. Brown enters a journey in the forest, meeting his desire, basically electing suppression. Hawthorne’s forest, however, also serves the function of space within the unconscious or self. The story Goodman Brown is aimed at conveying the importance of belief in one’s self. Whether or not what happened in the forest was real or a nightmare, it revealed to Brown that sin can be everywhere and that all sin gets hidden, making it impossible to ever figure out who is a sinner. Brown lives and dies deceitfully and confined by his confusion.

Conclusion

It can be stated that the story of Young Goodman Brown is appealing from a literary point of view. As such, he is equally round and a dreary character. Brown is transformed by his experience regardless of the same being, either real or a dream – an uncompromising, miserable, darkly pensive, skeptical man that he becomes at the end. However, Hawthorne overtly declared his work to be a function of his faith. The story developed into a clear basis of understanding and added further intensity to it. His reading does not negate the author’s intent; rather, it enhances our understanding of how that intent might manifest beyond the lives of the characters themselves. Hawthorne causes readers to speculate upon the truthful character of human nature, not blocking out believing in kindness and light while resisting the dark side of mankind.
Where there is good, there is always bad, but God can see anyone through any obstacle in life. Faith led her husband back to her, knowing there was something wrong from the beginning. Goodman Brown and Faith seem to be profits of God, and the devil comes in trying to sway them away by calling Brown into the woods. Brown knew what he was seeing was indeed not real, but it felt real. The devil will use any form against you to break you down. Brown almost fell into brush stroke techniques of the devil using shot framing methods of his family.

References

1. “Nathaniel Hawthorne: Collected Novels and Stories” edited by James McIntosh and edited by Millicent Bell 

2. “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tales: A Norton Critical Edition” edited by Michael J. Colacurcio

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