Allegory is a noun which means a symbolic representation or the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence. In the story “Young Goodman Brown”, there are certain items in the story that have symbolization. For example, the pink ribbon, which belongs to Faith, symbolizes the faith of Goodman Brown. According to the story at paragraph 1, “…letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap…,” the ribbon represents his faith is fragile because when the wind blows it, it is easily swayed. Pink also represents innocence and delicacy.
Another symbolization is the traveler’s staff. His staff has the appearance of a twisted living serpent. Serpents are usually shown as dark and evil reptiles. Since the staff is owned by the traveler, it shows that the traveler is the devil. In the story, the traveler is also called the devil, Goody Cloyse exclaimed, “The devil!” when she sees the traveler.
The forest and town also represents evil vs. good. In the story, the ceremony of converting Faith, Goody Cloyse, the minister, and Deacon Gookin to evil took place in the forest. The forest symbolizes dark and fear. As for the town, it represents the good because in the town, Brown sees Deacon Gookin at his domestic worship, the minister taking a walk along the graveyard, Good Cloyse catechising a little girl, and Faith waiting for him in excitement. These are the actions of pureness.
The symbolism allows me to have a deeper understanding of the story. Faith’s pink ribbon helps me understand that at the end, Brown will be stuck between good and evil since the ribbon is weak just like him. Brown wouldn’t be able to decide whether he should still believe the people that he once saw as good, including his dear wife.
In the story, I think Goodman Brown should be responsible for his actions. He didn’t listen to his wife when she asked him not to go on his journey because she is worry that something will happen. If he didn’t go, he would not have experience the whole ceremony which caused him to doubt his wife and everyone else, believing they had turned evil.
I happen to agree with your assessment of the symbols portrayed throughout the story “Young Goodman Brown” and that they are in fact allegories. The use of this word reminded me of the story by the Greek philosopher Plato called “The Allegory of The Cave.” In this piece the allegories are shadows used as physical representations or symbolic idea shown to people who have no other preconception but to believe that it is real therefore they do in fact take them to be the truth. Just like as a reader, reading this story you see these representations and can acutely make an assumption about what they mean because we have no perceived conceptions about anything else but what we read. You touched on the key symbolic ideas portrayed throughout the story but there are others one is him seeing the body of his dead father calling to him. This symbolizes at least to me that if he goes down this road that his faith with be the same like that of his father which is death. Also there was the figure of the ghostly woman he saw supposedly his mother trying to warn him to not go forward as if to stop him from making a horrible decision.
well, i have to agree with both of you but i don’t think its a “horrible decision” for him to find out. I think that for him to be curious of whats going on might have helped him see the truth of what everyone including his wife truly are. I think it can both ways, meaning that it would’ve been a dream or not. It could have been a warning maybe from his sixth- sense or a “godly” message to have him awaken from his ignorance towards his wife and the “church-loving” townspeople. I think this was more on teaching him that even though something or someone might look “nice” , “pure” or “innocent” doesn’t mean that it’s always true. Looks always are always deceiving, like his wife who seemed “scared” of sleeping of the dark, and being “innocent” in general. He had gotten a glimpse to know the truth and doubts people real intentions.
This is not just an allegory but also a morality. This story shows that curiosity can change someone’s truth being and even personality. In the beginning, Goodman Brown chose not to follow the travelers to the forest because he know that something will happen if he does. But at the end he took the staff and join the travelers to the forest because he heard his wife Faith’s voice. He follows her to find out why Faith is with the devil, she shouldn’t be with them because of her purity and he tries to bring her back but he lost her track. At here, he thought he had lost Faith and that’s also a simile of losing his own truth being. “Faith!” shouted Goodman Brown, in a voice of agony and desperation; and the echoes of the forest mocked him, crying — “Faith! Faith” as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness.” (paragraph 48) Since he lost Faith, he is lost as well and the forest is a symbolism for lost. Also at at paragraph 50, he started to believe that no one should be trust because they all become evil by the sin. “My Faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. “There is no good on earth; and the sin is but a name. Come, devil! for the thee is this world given” Then toward the end, his personality and attitude change from good to bad.
This is not just an allegory but also a morality. This story shows that curiosity can change someone’s truth being and even personality. In the beginning, Goodman Brown chose not to follow the travelers to the forest because he know that something will happen if he does. But at the end he took the staff and join the travelers to the forest because he heard his wife Faith’s voice. He follows her to find out why Faith is with the devil, she shouldn’t be with them because of her purity and he tries to bring her back but he lost her track. At here, he thought he had lost Faith and that’s also a simile of losing his own truth being. “Faith!” shouted Goodman Brown, in a voice of agony and desperation; and the echoes of the forest mocked him, crying — “Faith! Faith” as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness.” (paragraph 48) Since he lost Faith, he is lost as well and the forest is a symbolism for lost. Also at at paragraph 50, he started to believe that no one should be trust because they all become evil by the sin. “My Faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. “There is no good on earth; and the sin is but a name. Come, devil! for the thee is this world given” Then toward the end, his personality and attitude change from good to bad.
I agree with you Crystal. Throughout the reading, I felt a strong message of morality and a specific focus on “the right and wrong” being presented to the reader. When his wife asked him not to go on the Journey of all nights, Goodman Brown replied”Of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee.” Although its written with fine poetry, the author is choosing for the characters to carry on in a negative way. As Crystal said, at first Goodman Brown was set on avoiding the travelers but later made a rash decision to jump onto the path. The symbolism behind the cane and the the evil forest (path) is another get detail added by the author to portray the mood of morality.