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Good and Evil in Young Goodman Brown

In: English and Literature

Submitted By allister17
Words 1528
Pages 7
Well-known Romanticist and Transcendentalist author Nathanial Hawthorne delves into an uncomfortable but very real thought of aspect of the clash between good and evil in his uncharacteristically dark short story, Young Goodman Brown. Hawthorne does this mainly through symbolism. There is an abundance of symbols throughout the tale. These range from hair ribbons to colors and names. Regardless of specifics, these symbols allow a plentiful amount of space for personal interpretation, but one conclusion that no reader can miss is the fact that Goodman Brown is fighting desperately between two opposing forces. Through the use of symbols throughout the short story, Hawthorne allows for the assumption that there is a constant battle between good and evil that is on occasions incomprehensible to distinguish between.
Some readers might find it plausible that the use of names and colors have no influence on the story and are completely by coincidence. However, to say that it was random assignment of the chosen names and colors – Goodman Brown, Faith, black and pink – is to not give full credit to Hawthorne’s talent and intentions. These devices have a tremendous impact on the story as a whole. If the names were not what they were, then the story could be taken in a whole opposite direction. It would all be based on personal interpretation. Because Hawthorne chose the names and colors that he did, readers are able to distinguish the theme that he is trying to convey, that is of, as previously stated, the battle between good and evil. Readers may not comprehend at first the evil within Goodman Brown’s companion in the forest until the staff is brought up. “But the only thing about the older man that could be fixed upon as remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake..” (1034) Snakes and the color black have always been referenced when dealing

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