The Allegorical Nature of “Young Goodman Brown”
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: The Allegorical Nature of “Young Goodman Brown”
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
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Nathaniel Hawthorne is a man of a long American history. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts to the Hathorne
family, who date back to the original Puritans of America. In fact, Hawthorne added the 'W' to his last name to
differentiate himself from John Hathorne, a prominent judge in the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne is a well known
American Gothic author of the Romantic period, some of his commonly known works are: “The Scarlet Letter,”
“The House of Seven Gables,” and “Young Goodman Brown”(Meltzer). The Romantic period was a period when the
population at large focused on: the supernatural, an impulse to reform, the celebration of life, nature, and the
idealization of woman(The Romantic Period) Hawthorne's short story “Young Goodman Brown” can be classified
as a moral allegory, because it is a story that has two levels of meaning: literal and symbolic. The allegorical nature
of “Young Goodman Brown” is evident throughout the story due to Hawthorne's use of imagery and symbolism to
ultimately ridicule the true weakness in American religion. The important symbols of the story are: the different
characters themselves, the setting of the story being in Salem, and Brown's journey through the forest.
The most prominent use of imagery and symbolism is in the way Hawthorne conveys his characters. Hawthorne
begins his story with a religious allegory by introducing Young Goodman Brown's wife, who was “aptly named”
Faith(Hawthorne 329). Hawthorne vividly describes Faith as having pink ribbons in her hair, and as a believer of
God, to paint an image of innocence. In the beginning scene of the story, when Young Goodman Brown says
goodbye to Faith, she parted ways with the final words of “then God bless you, and may you find all well, when
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