"Young Goodman Brown"
By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
From what is able to be analyzed, there was a load of symbolism encapsulated in this story, and most of it contributes to one central idea; the sin of humans and how it is incorporated into our nature to give into evil. Examples of such symbolism are things such as the sunset, which could represent the sinful nature of humans arising in the nighttime hours, examples are up to you to imagine. Conversely, the sunrise could be a symbol for the light of repentance or abstinence from sinning, or even be deeper in its symbolism and extend to a more spiritual aspect, the washing of sins by the blood of Jesus, which sheds light on those who repent and start, in a sense, a new day. Goodman Brown's paranoia could represent his conscience, I drew this conclusion from the statement that "he glanced fearfully behind him as he added,'What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!'" indicating his knowledge of the presence of his sinful nature, and that the evil one is always prowling in the darkness, seeking to devour those who sin. The man seated at the foot of an old tree directly alludes to the Bible, in the story where Satan is lurking under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, bringing nothing but the promise of death and sin, the first sin.This old man's staff is a serpent, pretty obvious right? Faith could even be used as a symbol, because "'Faith kept me back a while.'" is a direct statement from Goodman, and could serve as a spiritual reference of how our faith in God and the faith to do right withholds us from sinning, if we choose to let it, but when we use free will to choose to do wrong, we override our conscience. Goodman Brown's family is identified as puritans, which is just blatantly symbol of how the church of England sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. The Deacon and minister could represent people who are sinners, like anyone else, and that they are also susceptible to sin and wrongdoing as much as anyone else, and that even thought they are who they are, they are still able to succumb to human nature; evil. Blood is mentioned in a paragraph where it could be identified with the blood of Jesus. Goodman and Faith are on the verge of wickedness. The blood could represent how close their salvation from sin is, even on the verge of wickedness. The wind that comes while Goodman is in the forest could be symbolic of a shift, a change, either in his way of thinking or of a realization or epiphany.
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