The theme of “Young Goodman Brown” is the fragility of human spirituality.
Nathaniel Hawthorne frames his short story as an allegory, and the names of the two main characters, Goodman and Faith, immediately reinforce the religious undertone. Hawthorne uses seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts as the setting for many of his works, which allows him to critique the Puritans and specifically their teaching of predestination.
After young Goodman Brown encounters the devil and the seemingly dark religious event in the woods, his religious beliefs are clearly shaken. The woods are described as dark and unfamiliar, which ultimately confuses Goodman, as he cannot determine if the events in the woods are reality or a dream state.
This mirrors the relationship between the pious and their beliefs, as deeply religious people must submit to a profound lack of understanding. In the woods, Goodman witnesses the ostensibly religious townsfolk participating in a blasphemous ceremony. This one night...
(The entire section contains 6 answers and 957 words.)
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