The use of symbols by Nathaniel Hawthorne in “Young Goodman Brown” highlights his disapproval of the Puritan religion and the hypocrisy of its adherents. This paper examines how Hawthorne uses symbolism in the narrative and how much he criticizes the Puritan church for its hypocrisy and perversion of faith. Hawthorne uses a variety of symbols throughout the narrative, from the names of persons to actual items, to expose the hypocrisy of the Puritan faith. For instance, the protagonist’s name, “Goodman Brown,” symbolically alludes to the Puritan community (Mambrol). Hawthorne refers to Brown as “a goodly young man” who “came forth at sunset into the street of Salem village” about the Salem witch trials (Xibo 397). The author uses this metaphor to imply that while the Puritan group looks morally upright and upstanding on the outside, their hypocrisy is revealed when they succumb to their vices.
Another symbolism employed by Hawthorne is the journey through the woods. The woods reflect the darkness within a person’s soul and the unexplored area they represent. The trek into the woods represents Brown’s descent into immorality and his realization that the Puritan community’s decency is simply a facade. Moreover, the character of Faith, Brown’s wife, demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Puritan community. The Puritan faith itself is symbolized by the word “faith.” She is referred to as “aptly named” and sports a “pink ribbon” in her hair to represent her innocence and purity (Hawthorne 5). Her pink ribbon depicts her corruption, and her change stands in for the depravity of the Puritan religion (Xibo 398). In addition, characters like the elderly man, who stands in for the devil, show how Hawthorne criticized the Puritan religion’s hypocrisy. The elderly guy represents evil – the darkness that permeates human souls, and his presence in the woods symbolizes the darkness that permeates the Puritan town.
In conclusion, symbolism in “Young Goodman Brown” is used as a potent instrument to criticize the hypocrisy of the Puritan religion and the degradation of Faith. The journey into the woods represents Brown’s descent into sin, while Faith’s transformation represents the corruption of the Puritan faith. The older man in the woods symbolizes the Puritans’ propensity to sin, as he represents the evil that lives in human souls. Therefore, the Puritan religion is a front for the evil in every human spirit and is the source of the neighborhood’s hypocrisy.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Owl Eyes, Web.
Mambrol, Nasrullah. “Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown.” Literary Theory and Criticism, Web.
Xibo, Tian. “Symbolism in Young Good Man Brown.” International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 1, 2021, pp. 397–401. Web.