Running Head: YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Young Goodman Brown: Questions and Answers
(Student Name)
English Composition II
(College Name)
(Date)
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YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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Young Goodman Brown: Questions and Answers
The story of Goodman Brown uses symbolism to catch the reader’s attention and draw
inferences towards deeper meanings of apparent subject matter. Through this story, Nathaniel
Hawthorne delves into the dark side of puritanical society. He uses symbolism to explore topics
such as religion and the nature of humanity. Using symbolism, Hawthorne invites the reader to
draw his own interpretation of the story whilst also making strong suggestions of Hawthorne’s
own views on the subject matter. The following addresses the assigned questions as it relates to
symbolism and meaning in Young Goodman Brown.
Narrator
The narrator in Young Goodman Brown is a limited third person, narrator. This type of
narrations gives several advantages to the writer. The third person limited narrator allows the
author to tell the story from one character’s point of view. This point of view can give the story
more complexity and may give more depth to a single character since the reader will have insight
into all of this character’s thoughts and motivations. Here, in Young Goodman Brown, the third
person point of view gives Hawthorne an advantage because he is able to tell the story entirely
from Goodman Brown’s point of view. Since the story is one of Brown undergoing a sort of
personal psychic transformation, this point of view intensifies the story and gives deep insight
into the main character.
The Night of the Journey
When Goodman Brown tells Faith that “of all nights in the year” he must leave, he is
referring to leaving Faith whom he has always accompanied since marriage, until this point of
the story. Goodman always has Faith by his side. Faith’s name symbolizes the faith that
Goodman holds in God and humanity. This is an important night because Goodman is leaving