WTF? English Prof Explains the Meaning in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Story “Young Goodman Brown” Analysis 

"Young Goodman Brown" was one of the more difficult stories for me to truly understand. There is a lot of symbolism used in this short story. For instance the "pink ribbon" mentioned in the story I believe symbolizes innocence and his wife and the forest represents temptation and sin. The story revolves around the internal struggle between good and evil. The devil is allowing Brown to see that people are not always as good as they appear to be. What I found interesting was how the devil never forced Brown to do anything. Brown chose to go on further into the forest with the devil. It's the struggle of the true evil of man kind.

I feel like the actual questions surrounding the story further stresses that idea of good vs evil, but also I'm incredibly interested in how it all ties back into temptation and faith. Asking if any of this actually happened by the end, sort of defaulting to the "was it a dream?" idea, tests our faith in the story.

From start to finish, Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" may seem like a difficult read to grasp at first. There is so much happening, and I feel that the part in which Brown is walking in the woods with The Devil is a very crucial part that must not be ignored. Every time The Devil is mentioned anywhere, he is always known to have some sort of intuitive knowledge about humans and when Brown is walking with The Devil in the woods, Hawthorne points out, "And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad as the younger, and as simple in manner too, he had an indescribable air of one who knew the world." I also like the themes that were mentioned in this lecture such as "Ambiguity of human experience", "Do we ultimately judge others by our own actions?", "We are all susceptible to evil and sin", "The pervasiveness of secrecy and evil", "Is everyone just performing what they want you to see?", and "The consequence of doubt and belief". Hawthorne presents a wonderful short story involving religion, piousness, and its moral dilemmas. While there may be many ways to interpret this story, understanding that we are all evil, sinful, and easily tempted may be what Hawthorne is getting at. Lastly, I myself do need to reread this classic short story as well as watch the films since I want to fully understand this story and think about it more profoundly. Thank you once again Professor Kosters!

Thank you for another great lecture! Your detailed analysis has provided valuable insights into this complex story. I particularly appreciate your explanation of the allegorical elements. You explained very well the narrative and how characters like Faith and Goodman Brown represent these deeper concepts.

This was one of my favorite reads this semester. This is a great story of good verses evil as it's a test on faith. I really feel that as human beings we will always be tempted to certain actions. Just because a person goes to church doesn't mean that they can't fall for temptation. There's reasons why Eve ate the apple. A persons faith will be tested throughout their life and that's exactly what happened to Brown. Great lecture Professor

Such a moving story. Thank you for sharing it. :)

This lecture was very insightful and provided a good topic for an argumentative essay as it highlights the contradiction between good and evil. The examples regarding faith and moral conflicts demonstrate a clear image of how people are stuck between doing right or giving into temptations that surround us on a daily. The temptations that challenge Brown portray how some people are unable to resist urges and give into the evil whereas others fight to preserve the good.

"Young Goodman Brown" particularly challenges the idea of good vs. evil and the notions of faith using many symbolizations. Most importantly, I believe that the forest itself is a stage or a basis for what occurs when moral conflicts come up in one's life, especially during dark/difficult times. We go through a journey of descions on what to do in order to have a good life, this is basically what Goodman Brown is doing. Goodman Brown himself adventures through the forest, fighting for good vs. evil. The devil symbolizes temptation and sin, his wife's pink bow being innocence, and even his name, Goodman. Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays moral dilemmas throughout the story, but I wonder how this would be different if it took place in another time or place. In my opinion, I don't think it would differ that much because moral issues, good vs. evil, and personal challenges with faith are something that will always occur. I believe this is why "Young Goodman Brown" is such a powerful and meaningful story; time will not change the story's overall meaning. Additionally, this story allows the reader to interpret it rather than being told by the author what the themes should be. This overall allows for a great story with tremendous amounts of meaning hidden within.

You are brilliant. I love your delivery and encouragement to think for ourselves and to apply the concepts to our own lives. I am inspired by your work. God bless you. I thank you.

Another great story that emphasizes the importance of questioning your faith and its implications. There is much to be said in terms of the progression of this story and its comparison to life events, an exaggerated plot that emphasizes the real fear had when asking such questions.

I believe this story is on both good and evil. Good is staying with his wife whose name is faith, like the faith in goodness, in a God even. And his name is also Goodman Brown. By walking into the night and abandoning her, choosing to do this dark deed, he is casting away both his name and faith symbolically. In a sense, he’s choosing the side of evil.

Thank you for the explanation professor. I had first interpreted the man that Brown met to be another version of Brown. His good vs evil. This seems to be Brown's battle within himself. Between his good and bad. Brown refers to Faith in the story it seems that he is referring to both his wife and his actual faith. We as humans learn discipline and the differences between good and evil. Our faith holds us accountable to theses actions and the lessons we learn and fix through our mistakes. By Brown continuing to make choices that favored his journey with the devil it sent him further and further away from faith, his beliefs, and Faith, his wife. As we take this walk through life we sometimes venture out and lose track of the journey we are taking, It is our responsibility to seek the good and our faith to get us back on track, because as we get lost we venture further away from the good things in life and dive deeper into the bad and evil.

Another great lecture! "Young Goodman Brown" showed us how the idea of good vs evil can be challenging. I believe the forest is the evil challenging Goodman Brown to leave his faith behind. I think this story is very powerful to a lot of readers. It shows how our decisions can affect what we believe in and how much the devil symbolizes temptation not just in this text, but in reality as well.

I read this story before in my American Literature class, and it catalyzed my interest in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing and the way he portrayed America. From my memory, I recall that this story was written during a time where many Puritan settlers were struggling with their religious beliefs. I think that Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays those ideals in this story. He makes clear references to religious themes like the serpent and the dual meaning of Faith, representing its idea in the religious form and in the personification of his wife. I think this story also calls to attention the ways in which not everyone is as they seem. For example, Young Goodman Brown goes into the forest and he sees his fellow townsfolk in a negative light, which often counters the demeanor they present during the day. This creates an emphasis that not all people can be solely good or bad, but a mixture of both. I also think this idea is represented towards the end when he still attends Church, but he doesn’t feel that same spiritual belief he had before. He still attends, but his emotions are not in tune with the event. Therefore, although this story can be analyzed as a transformation, I think it can also go to show the ways in which people hide behind “perfect” images of who they should be and hide their true beliefs and feelings because it will create a negative image of themselves to those around them. Therefore, people often want to project their good nature to those around them, and suppress the more negative aspects.

Thank you for the lecture, Professor Kosters! The text of "Young Goodman Brown" really shows its depth to the readers as not only does it convey the notion of good vs evil, but also the grey areas within that notion that questions one's morals and actions. In the story, Brown was met with a lot of situations where he was tempted by the Devil. However he believes he sees the "good" people in his community committing evil acts, therefore questioning their morale and intentions. Therefore, the story reflects the temptations and decisions that people are met with everyday, and sometimes succumbing to said temptations in a battle between faith and spirituality.

Young Goodman Brown is such a good story, because it portrays the evil vs. good . Brown is challenging the faith of God and the devil and this will show Brown that his faith has to be strong to the right side that will help him in his life. Thank you Dr.Kosters for providing a great story! Great lecture !

Wow, this was an incredible analysis, thank you for sharing!!

I think that Goodman Brown’s sentiments after his experience in the woods can also be interpreted as how the salvation of humanity can feel hopeless. Although I think there is a balance in all life, not necessarily meaning bad is acceptable but perhaps our view on what it means to be bad isn’t what we think. Has Brown just lost the last bit of his own innocence and she’s the duality in people now?

At first I thought this was a wake up call for Goodman Brown, but after realizing that after this "meeting with the devil " he is left traumatized and paranoid I captured it was not. I think that Goodman Brown was not such a good person, I am assuming he committed many sinful acts for him to have had to experience this. I interpreted the "dream" as a warning , if he continues down a dark path full of sinful acts this is the way his afterlife will be.

I definitely believe that this stories theme focused heavily on good and evil and maybe even religion. In this story the devil like figure that Brown meets in the woods can be seen as temptation of evil which I think in our day to day life that can be seen every day. I believe that every day our morals are constantly tested. In this story Brown chose to continue down that path of evil although faith in the literal sense his wife kept him back should have been a sign that maybe what he was about to do was not good. I like how the the type of story is allegory as I enjoyed understanding that there was a deeper meaning behind certain names like the wife's name "Faith" meaning Browns faith in good. Along with "Goodman" can be seen as Browns nickname for being. a good moral person. Thank you for the clear understanding on this story.

I'm struggling with the differences between allegory and symbolism. In the lecture it is stated that while "symbols" can potentially mean more than one thing depending on one's interpretation of the text, it is also stated that "allegories" always have exactly one and only one fixed meaning, because they are "intended to share a specific message." Intended by whom? The author? Does that not give the author more power over me, if I have to let my own interpretation and meaning fall to the wayside in favor of what is intended? The statements by the lecture trip me up, especially after just reviewing "The Death of the Author" before this.

Fantastic explanation

I love stories like "Young Goodman Brown" simply because I love stories where the protagonist encounters the Devil or some other unholy entity. What sets Goodman appart from lets say, Dr. Faustus, is that he not person who succumbs to the temptations of the Devil. Where Faustus had his downfall the moment he sold his soul, Goodman Brown resists and even though he lives the rest of his life as a suspicous cynic. His wife Faith and his faith in God pull through and he breaks free from the devils curse. This sets him appart from the usual trope of protagonists falling for the schemes of the devil due to their hubris because Goodman Brown was a virtious man of stronger conviction. I also enjoy the on the nose implications of some of the names in the story, such as it taking place in Salem, a name infamously assoicated with witchcraft and devilry or his wife being named Faith.

This story in particular is rather fascinating to me as Nathaniel Hawthorne does an excellent job of implementing symbolism to portray their comparison between 'good and evil.' Hawthorne uses the forest mentioned in the story to be compared to as evil or the walking devil that Goodman Brown is forced to come to terms with. I believe the story in itself is important for readers such as myself because it's relatable in every sense of the word. On a daily basis we are faced with temptations being dangled in front of us just as Goodman Brown was and it is up to us to decide how we want to handle them.

Thank you for explaining this story, it helped me understand the story a little better. I can see how good and evil is conveyed in this story. It is interesting to me how Browns faith is tested throughout his journey with the devil. It could be that he was dreaming all a long? We know of Goodman Brown being a good man, but what about the bad side of himself that he may have discovered? It could be why he chose to willingly continue following the devil.

Hawthorne anticipates the writings of Poe & Bierce with his, "Was it a dream?" narrative trope, but ultimately Young Goodman Brown is a re-telling of Shakespeare's Othello. The Moor's fatal flaw is his association with Iago, whereas Brown's is his association with the literal Devil. Both men are lured and ultimately ruined by sinister fictions created by their adversaries. Hawthorne was strongly influenced by Washington Irving's popular tale, The Devil & Tom Walker, as much as Young Goodman Brown was obvious inspiration for Ira Levin's, Rosemary's Baby.

I believe this story heavily focuses on the nature of human evil. I think one way you can read this story is by seeing the forest as a persons mind when they are making a bad decision or something similar and the satanic-like ceremony could be the person "making a deal" with the devil (or devil equivalent). I think this story also heavily focuses on human morality. Goodman Brown obviously believes the people in his town, even his wife, are of good nature, which explains his shock when he sees people like Deacon Gookin and Goody Cloyse, the minister and catechism teacher, out in the forest. His faith in these people change once he wakes up, which reminds me of how some people can't change the way they see others when they find out they have done something bad or out of their nature, and it questions whether or not people tend to act a certain way as a performance or if everyone will make decisions that are generally against their morals. I also questioned if this was a punishment or consequence of Goodman Brown for thinking highly of others or being too naive to realize that those people in his life/town aren't 100% good.

"Young Goodman Brown" was a difficult read, because I had a hard time to o decipher "old English". I kept thinking to myself "how am I going to get through this reading!?". That being said, before watching the lecture, I assumed that Goodman Brown was going to end up cheating on his wife Faith. Due to the fact that she begs him not to leave. As a matter of a fact what was his purpose of leaving? Was it for work? Or what exactly was it, I was a little confused. Now to answer one of your questions professor, I think humans are capable of doing good & evil. To which leads to the argument of "nature vs nurture" on why people do the things they do. Not that its an excuse, just so everyone knows. Do I relate to Goodman Brown? Yes. In the sense of losing his "faith". I lost my faith when I was a little girl, I personally won't say what lead to it but as I grew the constant thought "what's the next bad thing?" took a toll. In other words it's hard to see the "good" when nothing great comes out of some situations.

I think this story is very complex, it can symbolize a lot of meanings for people whether they are religious or not. One big thing that I interpret is that everyone has stuff they are hiding or can not be seen by the naked eye so in a religous sense it is about people sinning but they are normal looking on the exterior until you truly delve deeper. Sometimes however though religion may not be applicable to all so from that non perspective, people trust easily until they come across those who ruin that for them and in the end second guess others intentions. Trust is a tricky thing and in the story it seems to be that it plays a crucial role.

I believe Young Goodman Brown is an example of how the sins of ones own can be projected onto others even when you are trying to do good. I think most people are performing how they think they should be because the world would be a very ugly place if we were all blunt 100% of the time, however this is how we are taught to be so it is more natural and doesn't feel like a performance. I think this story is a good reminder of how anyone can be lured into evil. Evil ranging from minuscule to heinous.

Could it in part be an expression of Hawthorne's own unconscious feelings about the extreme suppression of non-whites by the white ruling culture that was happening in the 1830's?

I believe the story is more about an internal struggle between good and evil. I believe he is trying to rationalize a decision to stray from his wife and he is struggling with the temptation. It's his morals that he is questioning, and he is comparing himself with others that present themselves with good morals. To justify this one time that he will act immoral. He is also looking back at has lineage to justify his immoral decision. In the end he realizes that his choice to stray is the end of his pure relationship with Faith. It is also the end of who he has worked to become. The thought that he could even consider doing this changes him.

You are much to be commended on addressing the aspects of the story which are unresolved so thoroughly. My own take is, that Hawthorne was condemning Puritanism as a belief. His own forebears were indeed responsible for hanging innocent people accused of witchcraft (Judge Hathorn in particular) and the descendent rejected the censoriousness and narrow-mindedness of his ancestors. It is Puritanism which sets people into a black-and-white struggle, wherein the Divine Being is unforgiving and judgemental to the exclusion of merciful and forgiving. As the Devil's sermon correctly demonstrates, we are all of us short of the perfection we would like. To the Puritans, this meant that we are all evil. Thus, a believing Puritan, like Goodman Brown, had to live and die a gloomy, suspicious, bitter person.

I see the forest as a metaphor for the darkness compelling Goodman Brown to give up on his convictions. Brown seems to be testing his faith to determine if he can use this to entice evil. Our religion directs our behavior and encourages us to avoid evil and unethical decisions. I believe that Brown was put to the test in the forest, where he had to determine the depth of his faith in a world where it is so easy to give in to negative impulses and the temptation to disappear into a black hole.

I think Brown is delusional. I think this is all his conscience.