Young Goodman Brown :: Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

In the story raw Good human chocolate-brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a dream to illustrate a young mans way out of innocence, understanding of religion and his community. Through this dream, the main character Young Goodman realizes that the people that he surrounds himself with are not who he believes them to be. The story of Young Goodman Brown focuses on the unconscious mind. The characters in this short-story are able to illustrate the struggle of Young Goodmans superego, ego, and id. Representing the superego is Young Goodmans wife Faith. Her name becomes a multi-layered metaphor. Hawthorne writes, And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her caps while she called to Goodman Brown (Kelly, 190). This narration suggests that Browns wifes name is symbolic. Faith is condensed to represent innocence, the prude religion and Browns consciousness. Since, young girls are often equated with pin k. The pink ribbons in her bull serve to symbolize her innocence. When Brown meets the man in the woods he says, Faith kept me back awhile (Kelly, 191). In this case Faith represents the Puritan religion.The next character is Young Goodman Brown himself. His name also becomes a multilayered metaphor. Being known as young represents Goodman Browns innocence and virtue. He is also condensed to represent his own consciousness. But, by leaving his wife, Faith, Young Goodman Brown is giving into the unconscious. He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood deviation to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind (Kelly, 191). Taking this path that closes behind him represents Young Goodmans decent into the unconscious and his loss of innocence. On this journey he soon meets a man who is a condensation of several different factors. The man represents the devil, as well as Brown unconscious mind. The next character is the man who Brown meets up with in the woods. This man is described as, one who knew the world, and who would not have felt abashed at the governors dinner table or in King Williams court (Kelly, 191). This man can be seen as the devil. He possesses features that illustrate him as the devil. For example his manner of walking staff is described as having the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and curve itself like a living serpent (Kelly, 191-192).