Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne is famous for utilize allegory and symbolism in his writings, and this technique is obvious in his short story, Young Goodman brown. One study symbol of the story is combine, Browns wife. Faith symbolizes Browns strong faith as he struggles between good and evil. In fact, with this very obvious representation, it can be interpreted that Faith is not a character nevertheless a mere physical representation of Browns own trust in God and belief in the goodness of mankind.Her name is no hazard either as the author appropriately named her to show how the main protagonists morality regresses as the story progresses. The pink ribbon in Faiths cap highlights this symbolism as it signifies the chequer of Browns faith at that time. Pink is a combination of white (a sign purity) and red-faced (a symbol of sin and corruption), which means that he is caught between good and evil and his faith is starting to waver. Faith, his wife, is Browns stronghold as he tries hard to resist evil around him. It is Faith who causes him to be hesitant on his journey in the first place.However, Browns confidence in his wife is seen as a mere representation of a deeper reality Brown is not actually get strength from his wife however, rather, he is trying to convince himself that his faith in God is strong and he can resist evil. He knows that he is a sinner too, but he wants to uphold some(prenominal) goodness is left in him. His own faith, and not his wife, keeps him strong. He stands valiantly on his own disposition, but the truth that everyone, including him and his wife, is a sinner gives him a sense of hopelessness, which eventually weakens his faith.His wifes joining the freak symbolizes the complete destruction of his faith. He is losing the battle, but he gives a buy the farm effort to save himself from the take of evil. Here again, Browns vehement urging to his wife to resist evil is actually his last effort to convince himself that his faith in Go d is intact. He is doing it not for the sake of his wife but for himself. However, it is too late his faith finally dissolves and he gives in to the dark side.