Symbolism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goodman Br

Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚      Edmund Fuller and B. Jo Kinnick in â€Å"Stories Derived from New England Living† state: â€Å"Hawthorne’s unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature† (31). It is the purpose of this essay to explore the main symbolism contained within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.†    Stanley T. Williams in â€Å"Hawthorne’s Puritan Mind† states that the author was forever â€Å"perfecting his delicate craft of the symbol, of allegory, of the few themes and oft repeated character-types which were to haunt forever the minds of those who know New England† (42). Let us begin with the opening lines of the story: â€Å"YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village. . .† What is Goodman Brown symbolic of? 1.   According to Levy, he â€Å"is Everyman.   The bargain he has struck with Satan is the universal one . . . . Initially, he is a naive and immature young man who fails to understand the gravity of the step he has taken . . . [which is] succeeded by a presumably adult determination to resist his own evil impulses† (117).   2.   Fogle writes that he is â€Å"a naive young man who accepts both society in general and his fellow men as individuals at their own valuation, [who] is in one terrible night confronted with the vision of human evil . . . † (15). 3. Q. D. Leavis in â€Å"Hawthorne as Poet† states that â€Å"the relevant point is that Young Goodman Brown is Everyman in seventeenth century New England† (35). And what is Salem village symbolic of?   It was â€Å"th e center of the witchcraft delusion, in the witching times of 1692, and it shows the populace of Salem Village, those chief in authority, as well as obscur... ... Norman:   U of Oklahoma P, 1952.    Franklin, Benjamin V.   â€Å"Goodman Brown and the Puritan Catechism.†Ã‚   ESQ   40   (1994):   67-88.    Fuller, Edmund and B. Jo Kinnick in â€Å"Stories Derived from New England Living.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Hale, John K.   â€Å"The Serpentine Staff in ‘Young Goodman Brown.’†Ã‚   Nathaniel   Hawthorne Review   19   (Fall 1993):   17-18.    James, Henry. Hawthorne. http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/nhhj1.html    Leavis, Q. D. â€Å"Hawthorne as Poet.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Levy, Leo B.   â€Å"The Problem of Faith in ‘Young Goodman Brown.’† Modern Critcial   Views:   Nathaniel Hawthorne.   Ed. Harold Bloom.   New York:   Chelsea House, 1986.   115-126.