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Young Goodman Brown

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in November 2025

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Visko said:

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" It was an allegorical work suggesting a reasonable range of themes. The boldest one was this: if you take certain paths, there is no turning back. The characterization was 10/10. The story begins with the departure of Goodman from his Faith (his wife It was an allegorical work suggesting a reasonable range of themes. The boldest one was this: if you take certain paths, there is no turning back. The characterization was 10/10. The story begins with the departure of Goodman from his Faith (his wife) and ends with him losing both his literal faith and his wife, Faith. The path he takes is described as “a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest…”. This path is the path of the damnation of his soul and inner self. I think the setting makes everything very clear.
At one point in the story, Goodman says to himself, “What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!”—and this raised a question in my mind: what if you yourself are becoming the devil, and what if the devil is within you, but you don’t know it yet? And the next moment, here he is, standing next to a companion that one might say is the devil himself. But since, after the incident, he doesn’t understand whether it was all a dream or reality, we can infer that the companion might be himself—his own dark side. He is having an encounter with the devil inside him. And it’s not spontaneous, because that figure is clearly waiting for him, saying, “You’re late.”
As they go on, Goodman sees all his role models—people he once considered saints, people he admired—completely drenched in corruption. That companion reveals their true selves to him, and Goodman is shocked to the bone. He says he has nothing to do with governors or politics, but he is a godly man. How can he believe that ministers, priests, priestesses, and other religious people are on this same wicked path? When the higher powers of a society become acquainted with wickedness, that society rots at its core. And when Goodman is visibly shaken, his companion laughs at his naivety.
As Goodman continues, the once narrow path becomes wider and wider. He begins to doubt everything. He sees the pink ribbon from Faith’s cap fluttering and even doubts her. He doubts Heaven. He doubts God. And at the end of the journey—after seeing every sort of satanic scene—he doubts himself, his own eyes, and his own beliefs.
“My Faith is gone. There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! For to thee is the world given,” says Goodman.
“Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race,” says another unforgettable voice in the story.
The allegories were presented perfectly. Young Goodman Brown represents every “good” person—good mainly when they are “young.” As people grow up, they lose the goodness in their hearts bit by bit.
Faith and her pink ribbons are powerful symbols. She begs him to stay. She even warns him. But he doesn’t listen (typical of men). The pink ribbons probably represent innocence and youth gradually being lost on the journey.
The snake-shaped staff held by his companion was also interesting. Snakes in many cultures and religions symbolize evil. In Christianity and Islam, a serpent deceives Eve into sin. In Roman and Greek creation myths, a serpent appears in the cosmic egg story. There, the snake is not entirely evil but is still the seducer and the initiator—just like the man with the snake-shaped staff, who is the beginning of Goodman’s downfall.
Overall, it was a powerful story. I’ve read it trice, and I highly recommend it. ...more "

Nov 21, 2025 03:56PM · see review