Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"†Young Goodman Brown† is an allegorical piece that cautions against the potential of human evil. Hawthorne believed the most evil thing a person could do was deliberately harden his heart, to disregard others’ emotions entirely and therefore their humanity. In the story, young goodman Brown commits this unpardonable sin. He through on many separate occasions decided to continue a wicked journey, when it did not end exactly the way he wanted, he ended his relationship with Faith. Hawthorne uses symbols to demonstrate and hopefully prevent people from turning into young goodman Brown. Hawthorne chronicles Brown’s departure, his journey through the woods, and his arrival at the ceremony. The story begins â€Å"Young goodman Brown came forth, at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife.† (Hawthorne 605). Brown has already begun the journey that will lead to his demise in this very first line. The act of crossing the threshold is just the beginning. Although leaving faith is not technically a sin, it is definitely not a step in the right direction. As Brown is leaving, Faith calls out to him. She asks him to wait until the morning. She pleads, â€Å"†¦put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she’s afeared of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!† (Hawthorne 605). Brown replies that this â€Å"journey† can only be done this night. In fact, the repititon of, â€Å"of all nights in the yea r,† may well refer to it being All Hallow’s Eve, although never explicitly stated. (Hawthorne 606).... ...among them that partook of the devil’s communion albeit somewhat hypocritical. Although Brown had a multitude of chances to cling to faith, he disregarded each one until it was too late. His clumsiness, and sheer lack of responsibility to preserve his faith, ultimately cost him his life. Hawthorne proved that human unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding proves to be their downfall. For Brown this is especially true. His curiosity is what started him on his journey that fateful night. He is also unable to discern the validity of the night itself. Was it all a dream? Neither does he know that Faith remained pure or was corrupted. And if she were corrupted, could she now things about goodman Brown that he did not know himself. His confusion forces him to isolate himself emotionally and harden his heart, which is, after all, the worst sin of them all.