Allegorical Young Goodman Brown An allegory is a narrative in which the characters and objects personify deeper meanings than what the reader can see on the surface. The allegorical meaning is the writers real purpose in writing the narrative so that a lesson can be found when reading below the surface. Young Goodman Brown, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a perfect example of an allegorical story and is filled with many symbolic elements.The story begins with Goodman Brown starting out on a journey. Hawthorne does not state what kind of journey or the purpose behind it. By the end of the story I saw it as a journey into Goodman Browns own mind, heart and soul rather than a literal journey. I feel this is the most significant symbolic element in the story because it stood for Goodman Brown becoming aware of the illusions of sin. This journey in the Puritan religion was intended for the person to become aware of the helplessness and the reality of sin and how to no longer depend on material things or people but to put his faith solely upon God. Goodman Brown unfortunately was blinded by the realization of sin and its existence in the human heart and chose to reject all of society and trust no one.The name of Goodman Brown and his wife Faith are clear symbolic elements. Goodman Brown stands for the nave, immature young man who only sees the good in his fellowman, and has yet to be confronted with evil. Faith, Goodman Browns young wife stands for what Goodman Brown believes in. He sees his wife as all that is good and when he realizes that she too has made a pack with the devil he cries my faith is goneThere is no good on earth. This makes Brown a stern, sad and distrustful man. I think Hawthorne was saying that when mans faith is gone he is lost and without purpose.There are many objects in Young Goodman Brown, that have dual meaning such as the pink ribbons Faith wore upon her hat, the staff offered to Goodman Brown by th...
