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Innocence And Sin In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

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Sarah McKinsey 11/1/15
Young Goodman Brown Goodman Brown displays both innocence and sin as he battles between believing in the overall goodness of the people in his town and life, and believing that the devil is responsible for taking over the people around him and their minds. Throughout the story it is shown that the people Goodman Brown loved may not be as innocent as he originally thought, he is shown that people can easily be corrupted and that his sense of right and wrong might not always be correct. He faces many conflicts in this tale and often chooses between good and evil, not always picking the same side. Through the use of symbolism, Nathaniel Hawthorne develops …show more content…
Throughout the duration of the story it is unclear whether or not the events are actually happening or if it is a dream made up by Goodman Brown, but it still affects him in a way that sticks with him for the rest of his life. There are many symbols that can be seen throughout the storyline that contribute to this fight between good and evil, one of them being the devil’s staff. The staff is made to look like a serpent which draws from the biblical symbol of the snake as a demon. The devil offers Goodman Brown his staff, which he first refuses showing that he can be strong and pure, but soon after takes the staff and is quickly brought through the forest, showing his path towards evil and his quick change of mind for goodness to wickedness. Another symbol that is shown is Faith’s pink ribbons that she puts in her cap. The color of the ribbons shows innocence, and they are spoken about multiple times in the beginning, enforcing the idea to the reader that Faith is innocent and youthful.

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