The names: (are symbolic and representative of their personalities) Young Goodman Brown - Brown’s youth and good nature are symbolized by his name. Brown’s youth suggests that he is an uncorrupted, innocent young man, naive and new at life. H “he represents the young person’s introduction into human ways. It is important that his innocence should derive from his youth. Also, Goodman (used formerly as a courtesy title before the surname of a man not of noble birth) represents you and me, the everyman, the ordinary man of that time who is vulnerable to suspicion and self-doubt. At the end he feels everyone is capable of some evil, even if they appear to be the most pious in the community. Faith - suggests that Brown’s wife embodies the goodness that is found in a young wife. She symbolizes Brown's spiritual faith. When he sees her in the forest at the witches' sabbath, he realizes he is in danger of losing not only his wife but also his spiritual faith. She will represent Brown's religious conviction throughout the tale, his childlike spirituality at the beginning of the story. Pink ribbons - represents her purity. The color pink is associated with innocence and happiness, and ribbons themselves are a modest, innocent decoration. So it symbolizes the purity and innocence involved with her. It also represents naivety. Hawthorne uses pink color as a symbol four times in the story. In addition, in the Bible scarlet represents sin while white signifies purity, “White” stands for innocence and purity, while “red” stands for taint and stain. Thus, this symbol represents the blend of purity and sin. In addition, Hawthorne mentions "Faith, with pink ribbons" inferring his faith takes on this blend of purity and sin. "But something fluttered lightly down through the air, and caught on the branch of a tree. The young man seized it, and beheld a pink ribbon." (189). This symbolizes Brown's loss of his Faith, referring to both his wife and his faith in mankind, as she hovers over toward the devil's gathering. Faith & Goodman - Brown’s marriage to Faith symbolizes that he clings to a faith in good in the world. It can mean his simple and unquestioned attachment to abstract Faith. “What, my close to his ear (264). As the story opens. talking about Faith. pretty wife. but allegorically. after one stupefied moment. Again Brown is talking about his wife. 'There is no good on earth. it should be noted. Here. "Faith! Faith! Look up to Heaven. His connection to "Faith" is also young and still being established. and we but three months married?” Brown is poised somewhere between superficial attachment to Faith and deep thoughts about what he will encounter in the forest. He does not yet completely cling to faith. she asks Goodman Brown not to go into the forest on his mysterious errand. and resist the Wicked One!" (192). does not attempt to dissuade her husband out of his intentions through reason but through affection. Evil . Hawthorne uses the name of Brown’s wife as a symbol for Brown’s personal faith in goodness. the author is showing us that he has lost his faith in man because he gives up the world to the devil. . the forest. a follower of God.Christianity historically has been a religion of obedience and piety much more than one of reason or logic. we could symbolically view Goodman Brown as a believer. Within the context of the story. albeit a young one. as much as the framers of the Age of Reason would like to argue otherwise. who attempts to persuade Goodman Brown by reasoning as we go (265). in the story. Brown is. While Faith represents the known establishments surrounding Brown. we find Faith characterized by childlike confidence and purity." represents the ever complicated unknowns of human nature and the subconscious. Faith vs. It could be interpreted literally as well as figuratively. but the implication is that his good heart and faith in the more spiritually beneficial is what kept him off the path of destruction for a short while longer. which can be seen from his thoughts about leaving on this "journey". contrasted with the man with the snakelike staff (Hawthorne 266)."(185). Come.sweet. Faith. . his wife. and sin is but a name. described as "an unseen multitude" filled with "innumerable trunks and thick boughs overhead. It is when Brown hears Faith's voice being swept along in the crowd that he finally surrenders to the darkness "Faith kept me back awhile. dost thou doubt me already. away from his wife Faith for the evening." (189). Goodman Brown is first described as young and newly married. devil! for to thee is this world given. At this point in the story. with her lips . His wife's name is Faith. “My Faith is gone!' cried he. . The figurative interpretation would include Brown making one last attempt to save his inner faith and look for something blessed to cling to. a detail that bears significance to the theme. Brown’s conscious is keeping him from embracing the evil ways of his companion. from conscious. he instead learned that everyone is a sinner. and virtuous. It seems that the forest stands for Brown’s own mind. is the journey away from home and the community. hidden. shortly after the journey begins. Everything is uncertain. to walk. He was supposed to learn that everyone is human. one feels safe. to take a chance with one more errand onto the wilder shores of experience (Martin 92). By walking in the light."Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith. It is easier by far to follow the accepted path of faith. and thus should be treated with compassion. clean. Clearly Brown is uneasy about venturing upon this temptation. symbolizing the unconscious. that the exploration of this inner forest may be a sin. to which he will have to return. at night. By walking into the forest (which is a symbol for that which is dark and mysterious) with a man who literally clings to the serpent (an allegorical image for the Devil or evil incarnate) . representing man's irrational drive to leave faith. near-impenetrable world of our unconscious. and. Leavis notes that The journey each must take alone. in the Light. by following precisely the tenets of Christian life and by avoiding all situations where morality does not cleave itself into clear areas of black and white. and thus forever after he treats them with contempt. everyday social life. as the Church itself often terms it. The journey into an uncharted and dangerous realm. Forest . in which a secret spot is deeply buried. That the forest is haunted and filled with ambiguity implies that Brown’s mind is haunted. one also misses out on the depth. that is. the richness. or is forced to realize. as he says. and security temporarily behind. but it is unquestionably an easier path. home. its subconscious fears (Leavis 36). that a fuller experience of life might offer. the meeting with a guide who knows this forbidden and mysterious territory well. and go after her?" (407). Author Q. Goodman Brown may feel. But because Goodman was unprepared to accept with tolerance and grace the visions he would receive there. What goes on in Brown’s mind is just like what happens in the forest. he has been changed for the worse. Furthermore. and puzzled and lost. indeterminate allegory. the forest may equate with temptation and sin. in dread. to the wilderness where the hidden self satisfies. for whatever reason. a kind of trauma. but only to those whose minds are open vessels to receive it.Since ancient times the near-impenetrable forest in which we get lost has symbolized the dark. Goodman Brown's journey into the forest is best defined as a kind of general. Goodman Brown's is not. By doing this.D. Enlightenment can impart great wisdom. . Staff . His perspective has now changed and he sees all things as evil. he remarks.. He exclaims. It is thus symbolically speaking something that has the potential to harm or to help. Throughout the story. treacherous person and one that should not be trusted. which is prominent in many different cultures. The devil’s staff. This rejection symbolizes Brown's reluctance to succumb to the evil in the world. which when substituted with a description his beliefs in the known establishment in terms of religion and politics shows his progression towards realizing the unknown. he has a new and quite opposite outlook on the people and scenes around him and his reactions to this are all based on his new assumption that all is evil. side of human nature. Brown is eventually convinced of mankind’s evil nature at the turning point where he cries. when I thought she was going to Heaven! Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith.Goodman is leaving behind his Faith and asking for the truth about who (or what) is good or evil. At one moment it is a withered and twisted stick while at another it changes into a slithering serpent. The staff can be seen as preying on Brown. The devil offers Brown his staff but Brown rejects. Goodman Brown takes him up on the offer and. "You will think better of this.which has a snake-like appearance. by-and-by" (Norton 580). is ultimately condemned for his ." his wife. or some sort of evil. draws from the biblical symbol of the serpent as an evil demon. evil. "My Faith is gone. As he first enters the forest and is late to meet his traveling companion. When the devil tells Goodman Brown to use the staff to travel faster. This symbol shows the reader the evil that is involved with the devil character because the serpent is an archetype of the devil. "Faith kept me back awhile" (Norton 577). After an encounter of finding out that what he had thought to be a "pious and exemplary dame" was really practicing witchcraft. suggests that the character of Brown's companion is a sly. His firm beliefs in the establishment seem to have kept him back from taking a risk and venturing off on his own. their evil nature is seen.Come devil! for to thee this world is given" (Norton 581). and go after her?" This experience was just not enough to make him change his beliefs although the aquaintance predicts. which is encircled by a carved serpent. This idea that "depending upon one another's hearts" each person sees life as either all virtuous or all bad is what the figure is referring to here (Norton 584). "What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil. Upon his return to Salem village at the end of the story. He has been deceived by a highly programmed society to believe that humans are virtuous but he comes to realize that when their cover is blown. he is first exposed to the hidden evil nature. like Eve. Brown refers to "Faith. Themes: The most obvious allegorical interpretation of "Young Goodman Brown" involves the loss of innocence. . Hawthorne had a personal connection with the trials. which leads her into that temptation. Goodman Brown’s decision to come into the forest is motivated by curiosity. Salem . Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the story to show the evil that is in the town of Salem during this period in history. Besides representing Eve’s temptation. famous for its witch trials in 1692 (dramatized brilliantly by Arthur Miller in The Crucible).weakness by losing his innocence. to assume that the "good people" of Salem would have communed with the devil (symbolically speaking).Salem remains the most notorious colonial town in American History. At the core of the Salem Witch Trials was the hypocrisy of the town's more prominent citizens and the stupidity and pride of the town's clergy in encouraging the trials to take place. This discovery is a trial of one's faith. being a descendent of one of Salem's prominent judges who sentenced several "witches" to death. During this time many innocent people were burned alive because they were accused of being witches. The symbolism throughout the story suggests that it takes place during the time known as the "Salem Witch Trials". It would not be a stretch. therefore. as was Eve’s decision to eat the forbidden fruit. the serpent represents her curiosity. a trial that Brown ostensibly fails. Brown is stunned when he discovers that even the righteous among him have given in to temptation at some point.