Bernal 1 Stephanie Bernal Professor Rose English 1302 15 November

Bernal 1 Stephanie Bernal Professor Rose English 1302 15 November 2009 The Surrender of Faith “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a man whose spiritual faith is lost after he dreams that he makes a covenant with the devil. At the beginning of the story he leaves his home and his wife to meet with the devil at sunset. The devil awaits Goodman’s arrival in the forest to accompany him on a journey. Young Goodman Brown originally agreed to take communion with the devil but decides against it. Brown stays in the forest after the devil leaves him, and he sees several members of his church and village on their way to the secular meeting in the forest. He then hears his wife, Faith, in the distancerealizes his wife, Faith, is at the meeting and is drawn by anger to the meeting place; he finds her there along with criminals, children, and clergymen. He is seemingly possessed and is summoned by his peers to be baptized by the evil character. Suddenly, he wakes up in a quiet, lonely forest. and cannotUnable to distinguish in his delirium whether the events that had taken place were reality or a dream,. Although it was all a dream, Young Goodman Brown loses his faith and is overcome by skepticism and distrust. He has a long life but dies a miserable old man. Hawthorne suggests that people with strong beliefs or morals can be will be tested so critically that the lose faith in life and humanity, but they shouldn’t allow those tests to compromise their faith in life and humanity. . Young Goodman is a loyal, committed, and faithful man at the beginning of the story;

Bernal 2 however, by the end of the story he becomes the exact opposite. Through indirect characterization, he is portrayed as a good man that truly cares for his family and reputation. As he contemplates his irreligious decision, it becomes obvious that he thinks of his elders with respect and honor. His regard for them is clear when he says to the devilargues, “my father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians” (Hawthorne 327). Brown is a round character because several sides of his personality, as well as his emotions, are shown. Because he undergoes a fundamental and psychological change, he is also a dynamic characterHe undergoes a fundamental and psychological change, which shows Hawthorne’s use of dynamic characterization. The major change takes place when Goodman Brown hears Faith scream in the distance and becomes possessed with anger. With suspicions of what was taking place in the forest and concern for his wife, Young Goodman had forsaken his Christianity. After he wakes up, he struggles with confusion about the events that took place in the nightmare. For the remainder of his life, he is ““…a stern, a sad, darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man…” (334). Young Goodman Brown’s conflict seems to be Person vs. Society throughout most of the story, but the surprise ending exposes the real conflict: Person vs. Self. During the exposition, Brown is struggling internally about the agreement he made with the devil. Using his better judgment, he decides to go further on his journey with the evil character. Brown realizes, after a short while, that his wife and his covenant with God are too important to turn his back on themthem, and he decides not to go any further on his journey with the evil character. He is inspired to stick to his decision after he catches a glimpse of the beautiful evening sky and says, “with heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil” (330). After his internal conflict is resolved, an external conflict begins when he sees several members of his

Bernal 3 church heading to the meeting. He first sees the devil speaking to his former catechism teacher about witchcraft. Then, he hears the minister and deacon of his congregation discussing how important the meeting will be. Even though he is briefly discouraged, he is inspired to stick to his decision after he catches a glimpse of the beautiful evening sky and says, “with heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil” (330). However, his motivation doesn’t last long after he hears his wife’s scream from deep in the forest. Young Goodman goes to the meeting place, where his ancestors and peers beckon him to draw nearer to the altar-like formation. He is joined by his wife “and there they stood…hesitating on the verge of wickedness in this dark world” (333). As he and Faith are marked with what appears to be blood, he urges her not to follow through with the communion. The conflict reverts back to Person vs. Self as Brown awakes from his dream. He does not know whether the dream was just that or reality. Regardless, he allowed the thoughts that plagued him that night to become his reality, and he is overwhelmed with contempt for his peers and religion. He could not disregard memories of the nightmare in which he “stepped forth… and approached the congregation, with whom he felt a loathful brotherhood by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart” (332). Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a collaboration of dynamic characterization, and foreshadowing, and suspense plot to create a suspenseful, surprisingsurprising and dark plot to this story. Young Goodman Brown began as a moral young man who dreamt that he and his wife made a life-altering decision to participate in a secular communion with the devil. Although it was a dream, he takes it as an evil omen and cannot seem to shake himself from the cynical haze that has become his life. After the different examples I have taken from the story, it is clear that the themethe theme is clear: is the opposition of doubt and faith. Hawthorne shows how good and evil will always exist,even someone of great character and morals can be stripped of

Bernal 4 their faith, because the presence of evil is just as apparent as that of good. but no one should allow their faith in themselves and society to be stripped away.