Faith in "Young Goodman Brown"

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a literary reading of Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, to show that Hawthorne is really discussing Goodman Brown's faith in God and in people. The paper demonstrates how Hawthorne uses the stories of the witch trials to parallel Goodman Brown's thinking, or the lack thereof.

From the Paper:

"According to the passage of "My Faith is gone!" in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, the witch trials would have never happened if the village people put their faith in God and in people instead of believing their imaginations (1269). This key passage relates to the entire story; Hawthorne illustrates logical reasoning by Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, and the dream Goodman Brown has. Faith's name means belief God or in people, and the dream stands for people's imaginations. Because Goodman Brown leaves his Faith and gives up his faith easily, he is quickly persuaded that his dream is real. With his dream being real, he believes that the people he used to trust to be Christians are now devil worshipers and witches. At the end Goodman Brown becomes the man he never wanted to be - a man who denied God and thus letting the devil have his soul."

More papers on Faith in "Young Goodman Brown":

• Analytical Essay # 61668 : "Character Faith in "Young Goodman Brown"
• Analytical Essay # 73780 : "Symbolism in "Young Goodman Brown"
• Book Review # 100302 : "Doubt and Impurity in "Young Goodman Brown"

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