Young Goodman Brown

Response: Young Goodman Brown portrays the thoughts of Puritan New England. The Puritans thought that the devil and evil were found in the forest. In the story, Young Goodman Brown meets the devil in the forest and proceeds onto an evil ritual in the forest with others from the town. The people do not show their true selves or sins in the daylight or in town. They do all their evil-doings in the night and forest. The story also focuses on evil versus good. Young Goodman Brown goes to the forest to participate in a wicked ritual. He doesn't want to though. He remembers his faith and doesn't want to participate in it. He keeps on changing his mind on whether he wants to go to the ceremony or not. When he sees all of the devote Christians and then his wife Faith also going to the ceremony, he loses his faith and comes to the conclusion that no one is who he thinks they are. They are all evil and sinners. He can never look at them the same anymore. He had faith that all people were good especially the people who were his religious advisers and when he discovers that they aren't he becomes distraught. He becomes a cynical man who is never able to trust others again. I think that his wife Faith also portrays all that Young Goodman Brown views as good. His wife Faith I believe was portrayed as an innocent good girl who was naive because of the pink ribbons she wore and how she said that she was afraid to be home alone. Once he sees her at the ceremony, he believes that know one is truly good and there is no good in the world because even his wife who was such a good person couldn't resist the evil side and was turned to it. The world is ruled by the devil and he has control even over people who others believe are very religious.
Abstract: Young Goodman Brown is about the evil in all people, and the side that they portray to the world and the side that they keep hidden. It is about how many people are not who you think they are.


Young Goodman Brown leaves Salem one night and goes into the forest with an old man. He walks with the man in the forest for awhile, but then he says how he wants to go back. Along their way through the forest, Young Goodman Brown and his companion come upon people on the road whom Young Goodman Brown thought were devote Christians. All these people are going to an evil ritual. Goodman's companion, the Devil, then disappears. Goodman sits down for awhile but then he hears voices. He hears his wife, Faith's voice. Brown then becomes mad. He loses both his wife Faith and his faith in Christianity. He decides then to go to the meeting and follow through with his original intentions. He then goes to the evil ritual. All the new converts are called forth. He and Faith then come up. They are about to go the evil side when Young Goodman Brown told her to resist the evil. All of sudden he is in the forest by himself. The next morning he comes back to the town. He was unsure if what he experienced was real or if it was a dream. Even though he does not know if it was a dream or not, he can still not look at the people whom he thought were devoted Christians the same because he thinks they are sinners and have gone to the dark side. He continues living his life being bitter and gloomy trusting no one not even his wife.