Young Goodman Brown Essay Essay, Research Paper

What is blind Faith? Faith is accepting what you are taught or told without

trying to prove or disprove it, rather than discovering it through experience.

Atheism suggests that those who believe in God have blind faith-and they do. It

has not been proven that God exists; similarly, it has not been proven that

humans are kind, honest, and good by nature. Young Goodman Brown is a character

in "Young Goodman Brown," who leaves his known world in Salem village

and travels an unknown road in a dark forest in the middle of the night, a

common motif in literature better known as the Hero’s journey, and is faced

withobstacles. He must decide if he will carry his journey out till the end, or

turn back and not learn the truth about himself and other humans. The story

"Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne traces Young Goodman

Brown’s experiences, physical and psychological, paralleling the Hero’s Journey

and showing how he discovers that humans are truly evil by nature; therefore,

altering his views of other humans and life itself. In the beginning of the

story, Goodman Brown is faced with a decision to stay home with his wife another

night or to take off on his journey. This parallels his psychological decision

to leave behind all that he knew to be true up until that point and discover the

truth no matter how harsh it may be. The call, from the Hero’s journey, is when

Goodman Brown decides to go out alone to discover himself. Faith, his wife, is

urging him to stay with her instead of leaving that night. She almost convinces

Brown to stay, but his desire to discover himself overpowers his desire to stay

with Faith. The struggle going on inside of Goodman Brown’s head is really

between remaining innocent and having blind faith in the nature of man or

embarking on the journey to discover his true self, no matter what that may be.

The threshold, or jumping off point for Brown, is when he has made his final

decision to ignore his wife’s pleas and take his journey. It is ironic when

Faith finally lets him go and says, "Then God bless you! ?and may you

find all well when you come back" (pg. 87). He is only gone one night and

nothing substantial changes in Salem village while he is gone, but since he is

so dramatically changed emotionally during his excursion, he remains sad and

distrustful for the rest of his life, due to knowing the truth about human

nature. Young Goodman Brown must leave behind his known world, Salem village,

and enter an unknown world, the forest, to face challenges he must be capable of

overcoming. Allegorically, he embarks on a psychological and spiritual odyssey.

Entering an unknown territory is scary and puts a person at a much higher

physical and emotional risk. "There may be a devlish Indian behind every

tree" shows how insecure Young Goodman Brown is in the forest because he is

exposing himself to danger, which in this case, is evil itself (pg. 88). He must

stay strong and overcome his weaknesses to get past his biggest fears and

continue his Hero’s journey. Goodman Brown is tempted to turn around and go

home, but he sticks it out, and continues onward. Goodman Brown remarks,

"What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" just before

noticing a man, similar in appearance to himself, sitting under a tree (pg. 88).

This man speaks as if he was expecting Brown although Brown is a little shocked

to see him. He represents the previously unrecognized evil nature of Young

Goodman Brown, possibly the devil himself. Although Goodman Brown is reluctant

to continue, this man convinces him to go just a little further. Goodman Brown

tries to explain why he wishes to turn back by saying, "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?" (pg. 89). The man replies that

he has walked this road with all Brown’s ancestors before, and therefore,

convinces Brown to continue the path. Also, the man must explain that even

people who appear dignified and honorable such as the minister, have taken the

path. Young Goodman Brown comes across Goody Cloyce who taught him his catechism

in youth, as well as the minister and Deacon Gookin who were his spiritual and

moral advisors. Seeing them on the same path was more assuring, but at the same

time made him begin to doubt mankind. The abyss in "Young Goodman

Brown" is when he sees his wife, Faith. Goodman Brown hears Faith’s voice,

and it appears that "?both saints and sinners seemed to encourage her

onward." (Pg. 94) The call of Goodman Brown’s voice is desperately crying

out to his Faith. The cloud of voices sweeps away and Goodman Brown is left in

solitude. Now, he realizes that the one person who he truly loves and believes

to be pure and good has an evil nature, too. Brown cries "There is no good

on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil, for thee is this world given"

(pg. 94) He willingly charges forward down the path from that point on. Once he

is with the congregation and is brought forth before everyone, along with Faith,

he tries again to save Faith’s soul by telling her to look to the heavens, but

does not know if she does or not. He is then baptized with a red liquid by the

hand of evil. Although Young Goodman Brown felt a "?loathful brotherhood

by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart" he could not ever

return to a state of blind faith upon returning home (pg. 97). Goodman Brown has

been enlightened and now understands that human nature is evil. He has

discovered what he was looking for and can return back to his known world, Salem

village. The gift of truth has been bestowed upon him. Young Goodman Brown

returns to his home the next morning as a new man. Throughout the rest of his

life, Goodman Brown does not see the people he once thought he knew the true

nature of the same as he used to. Hawthorne states, "A stern, a sad, a

darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the

night of that fearful dream" (pg. 100). Even Young Goodman Brown’s

"?dying hour was gloom" (pg. 100). His life was changed so

drastically during that one night that he could never forget it. Through the

Hero’s journey, Hawthorne shows the development of Young Goodman Brown as he

discovers his true nature as evil. He comes to terms with the reality that

humans are evil creatures, no matter how honorable or innocent they may seem.

Transformations, both physical and psychological, took place during Goodman

Brown’s expedition, but were these changes necessarily good ones? Which is

better: to have grace and innocence, but be happy with life, or to know the

truth although it may hurt to know it? There is a clich? used to explain a good

point of view that says, "what you don’t know can’t hurt you." Young

Goodman Brown would have led a happier life if he remained innocent, but at

least he received something good from his journey, knowledge and truth.