Ogawa 1 Ryan Ogawa Professor Neta Hoff English 111 24 February 2016 Short Story Analysis of “Young Goodman Brown” After reading the short story, “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I noticed that the concept of faith was used throughout the reading. In the story, the protagonist Young Goodman Brown has a short conversation with his wife Faith, before he goes into the dark forest. In the dark forest, he meets with a character that resembles both Brown and the Devil. On his journey with the Devil, Goodman Brown comes across a fellow villager, Goody Cloyse, to whom he is surprised to see is going to attend the Devil’s gathering. Later, he discovers a witches’ Sabbath where the minister, the deacon, and even his wife are in attendance. Goodman Brown calls out to his wife and the scene dissolves. He turns back and returns to the village. The next morning, the speaker questions whether the previous night was a dream or a reality for Goodman Brown. However, Brown is forever changed by the incident and suspicious of others. Ultimately, he ends up dying a hopeless man, having lost all of his faith in his wife, the villagers, and even God. In the short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the recurring motif of faith helps to inform our understanding of the story and its characters.
