Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne is an author that specializes in writing stories with creative symbolism as well as allegory. Hawthorne does not fail to achieve this in his short story, “Young Goodman Brown.” Throughout the short story, Hawthorne utilizes certain elements through symbolism and allegory to depict to the reader the basis of the plot, losing one’s righteousness and crossing over to a world of darkness. The protagonist of the story, Goodman Brown, is a “young” (237) puritan that goes on a journey to discover his self. Hawthorne conveys to the reader Goodman Brown’s journey and how evil is the nature of mankind through the use of symbolism in diction, symbolism of the forest, archetypes used, and allegorical elements throughout the story.
From the title of the story, “Young Goodman Brown,” it is inferred that the protagonist is obviously a “young” (237) man named, Goodman Brown, but with close observation through symbolism, the title, in fact holds more we...