Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown

In Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short allegory, Young Goodman Brown, a constant struggle between good and evil took place within the mind and conscious of Goodman Brown. Hawthorne often explores the dark side of the mind and human nature in his writings and his rebelliousness against the puritan religion of his ancestors is obvious here. As the devil says, “Evil is the nature of mankind.” Evil as well as goodness was expressed in various forms of symbolism. Once each deeper meaning was pieced together one could suggest that cold hard religion could in many ways lead a person to the dark side.
The symbolism begins with young Goodman Brown’s name itself. The name encompasses all men or any man because it is similar to the modern John Doe. The fact that it could be anyone makes the message of story more powerful, because it can apply to us all. The title of the story includes the adjective young, which means in an early stage of life. This would suggest that Goodman Brown was som...