Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"

“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story that deals with religion both explicitly and implicitly. In the story Goodman Brown takes part in a ritual that changes his life. Many who read the short story feel that Hawthorne implies a meaning about religion. In “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorne makes a philosophical statement when he reveals to his protagonist Goodman Brown, the true nature of humanity.

The allusion to the story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man supports the interpretation that Hawthorne believes mankind is inherently wicked. The story of Goodman Brown has many conspicuous references to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. For example, the old man who meets Brown has a staff that is carved like a snake and at some points even looks like it is moving like a snake. This supports the interpretation that the old man is the Devil and his staff is the snake from the story of Adam and Eve who can be seen as an extension of the Devil, just as the staff is an extension of the old man. The old man then begins to convince Brown to continue on to some unmentioned task which is presumably evil. This mirrors the way that the snake convinced Eve to try the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. When Brown succumbs to evil by joining the ritual in the forest, his eyes are opened to the true nature of the world, just as the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened to the nature of sin once they had tasted the apple. Finally, Goodman Brown returns to his village, and lives forever as an outside, similar to how Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden after their initial sin.

The character of goody Cloyse reveals Hawthorne’s intentions as to whether mankind is wicked or evil. Cloyse, who Goodman Brown claims is a pious old lady who “taught him catechism”, is seen wandering about the forest for no apparent reason and then begins conversing with the old man, who we know is most likely a devil figure. This part does not further the plot and seems to only function to expose the wickedness of a character that was previously perceived to be a good Puritan. This comes before we discover that, in fact, all of the settlers are present at the forest ritual including deacon Cooker and the Reverend. This supports that all the settlers, even all of mankind are sinners and when Goodman Brown realizes this he becomes changed forever, and he lives his life as an outcast.

Hawthorne’s view of humanity as portrayed in “Young Goodman Brown” supports that of Thomas Hobbes, that humankind is naturally evil, unless ruled over by a superior power, such as government or religion. Salem, the location of “Young Goodman Brown” is a traditionally Puritan area and Hawthorne himself was a Puritan. The Puritan movement called for more personal purity and religious devotion, and is generally considered to be a very strict religion with a low tolerance for sin. For Hawthorne to write a story such as this, that suggests that humankind is naturally evil would be very dangerous in his traditional Puritan community, which is most likely why Hawthorne chose to make the story take place in a dream like environment.