Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown - Essay Example

Young Goodman Brown is a satire on Puritanism and what Hawthorne perceives to be its hypocrisies. Hawthorne employs an abundance of symbolisms all throughout the narrative to create an atmosphere of evil deeply lurking behind the faces of the characters in the story behind their benevolent façade. The story revolves around a young man named Goodman Brown and one particular night in his life which would forever change his life and his perception of the people and the world around him. That one night is the night when Goodman Brown is to finally determine whether he would finally succumb to the temptation of becoming a part of a witches’ coven in Salem.

As he walks through the forest to the predetermined meeting place where he would take his official vow to the group, he sees a lot of things which makes him vacillate with his decision. He sees the people he often sees in the church, people who are known for their piety, wisdom and kindness, people who serve in the high positions of the government. He sees his old catechism teacher and spiritual counselor, the Salem’s minister, Deacon Gookin, other pious people and even his young wife, Faith in the company of the devil.

This last revelation is the last straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. Brown decides to embrace evil having lost the wife he wants to be good for. In the rite held at the unholy altar, as Satan is about to put the mark of baptism on his and his wife’s heads, Brown makes his last stand and cries out in protest and urges his wife to resist the devil. He suddenly finds himself alone and back in the middle of the forest. Goodman Brown lives the rest of his life a miserable man, still wondering whether what he went through was real or merely a dream.

Nevertheless, he remains suspicious of all the people around him and even of his wife and lives his life in isolation from the people in his