Literature

Young Goodman Brown : A Self-Portrait

Nathaniel Hawthorne was undeniably interested in the roles of his ancestors in the Salem Witch Trials . Much of his literature combines the elements of Puritan thought with the deeper , often evil desires of the human psyche . Young Goodman Brown 's nighttime journey in the story of the same name is an allegorical re-visitation to the madness of the Salem witch trials . Through this story , Young Goodman Brown and his journey become universal symbols for all mankind

Hawthorne juxtaposed 19th Century religious thought with 16th Century Puritan

thought in several of his works , including Young Goodman Brown , whose title character represents , as his name implies , every man . The religious thought of both the centuries in question operated on fear , which ultimately leads several individuals , under the guise of overcoming or even conquering their fears , into the world of evil . To Hawthorne , Salem was the 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 obscure young citizens like Brown enticed by fiendish shapes into the frightful solitude of superstitious fear (Abel 133 . Brown , like all others of his village , is conflicted between accepting this fear and conquering it Unfortunately , for most , this battle has unhappy consequences . Brown as a representative for all people , is generally napve and accepting and thus ill-equipped to handle the terrifying night in the forest (Fogle 15 . After all , it is in the best interest of the Puritan religious leaders to keep people constrained under fear rather than behave after the realization that all people sin

Several symbols equate Brown 's journey to the journey of every individual who struggles with the conflict between religion and self The first is the forest , as a symbol for the dark and evil place where people are tempted to go . Brown , himself , is drawn into the forest , an archetype for evil and the unknown , for the reason presented above , as an attempt to overcome the fear brought on by religious dogma . It is in the forest that he is exposed to his utmost fears and where he realizes the shortcoming of humanity . This realization begins with the temptation of man by the devil . This devil seeks to lure the still reluctant goodman to a witch-meeting . In the process he progressively undermines the young man 's faith in the institutions and the men whom he has heretofore revered (Fogle 17 . In doing this , Brown loses his ability to operate in the society of man and lives as a sadly disillusioned , miserable creature . According to Levy , he is Everyman The bargain he has struck with Satan is the universal one (117 Thus , most people can relate to this type of demonic bargaining which has become a universal theme in literature

Anther symbol which connects Brown to any human being is his stringent belief in another human being or institution - this time Faith , which represents both . She is described as wearing a...