Discuss ‘Young Goodman Brown’ as an Allegorical Story.

"Young Goodman Brown" as an Allegorical Story

 
An allegory is a work of fiction in which the symbols, characters, and events come to represent some aspect of its culture. In American literature, allegories have often been used for instructive purposes around Christian themes.  The story has a figurative meaning beneath the literal one: a story with two meanings.  In American literature, the best example of an allegory is “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story centers on the loss of innocence.

 

The story takes place in Salem during the witch crisis and religious disagreements.  The allegory includes Christianity, Satan, and the devil. From the names of the characters to the pink ribbons in Faith’s hair, this is a religious allegory.  The story centers on the journey of Goodman Brown into the woods to meet Satan.  He is an innocent, yet he has made this appointment with the devil for some reason.

The trip itself and the scenes that Goodman Brown encounters are vague and uncertain. Brown leaves his wife to go a meeting with the devil who awaits him.  Brown is late and blames it on his “Faith.”[Faith his wife or faith in his religion]

This list of symbols and elements add to the allegorical interpretation of the story:

The snakelike staff-The devil offers his staff.  Eventually, this symbol becomes the medical profession symbol.

Faith Brown- The references to her by Brown indicate that Brown’s strength comes from his wife.  

Faith’s voice- Brown realizes that Faith is in the middle of the witch’s coven.  He speaks: “My Faith is gone!”

Faith’s pink ribbons-These indicate her innocence and purity.  When Brown sees them in the wind in the woods, Faith is struggling with her own “faith.”   

The basin of water- The basin of water is reddened by the light in the forest or is it blood to be used in the ceremony of witchery. 
  

The list of public figures- Those under the spell of the devil includes Brown’s own family, his teacher, the minister and most of the prominent people in Salem. These were people that Brown thought were righteous in their lives.

The black cloud-When Brown looks to the heavens to ask God to intercede for him, a black cloud prevents him from being able to look to the skies.

Hawthorne uses colors to represent various qualities of man: the pink of innocence; the black of evil; the red of the witches’ coven, and gray for those who are caught under the suspicious of evil.

When Brown returns to town, the reader nor Brown is not sure if the previous night’s events were dreams or actual events. He [Brown] spied the hand of Faith, with the pink ribbons, gazing anxiously forth, and bursting into such joy at sight of him that she almost kissed her husband before the whole village. But Goodman Brown looked sternly and sadly into her face, and passed on without a greeting.

Brown turns his back on everything that he had valued and loved the day before.  He changes forever and hardens his heart against everyone.  He looks for corruption behind every bush.  Young Goodman Brown never recognizes that it his soul that has become immoral and blind to God.

 

You Can also Read:

• What Ideas Have You Formed About the Character of Goodman brown from the Story "Young Goodman Brown"

• Do You Think That Young Goodman Brown is a Tragic Character

• What does the Forest Represent In Story "Young Goodman Brown"

• How Young Goodman Brown Was Taken Into The Communion of Evil?