StevensLeanne StevensPerezEnglish 130216 Feb 2012“Young Goodman Brown” Literary AnalysisThe short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is aninteresting piece of work within the puritan society. In the story, Goodman Brown leaveshis wife to set out on a journey with the devil. Along the way, he is hesitant about thesituation being sinful. He ends up seeing the religious people of his community at asatanic meeting and has second thoughts about their individual characters. The questionof it all being a dream arises, and Goodman Brown dies an unhappy man due to theexperience.In “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne presents the theme of guiltthrough imagery, characterization, and setting.The images of Faith’s pink ribbon falling from the sky and the figures of peoplein Goodman’s town contribute to the theme of guilt. When Goodman Brown’s wife Faithis first presented in the story, the pink ribbons in her hair represent innocence. Later inthe story Hawthorne provides the image of something falling from a dark cloud in thesky, and says “[Goodman Brown] seized it and beheld a pink ribbon”. (Hawthorne 441).This image, therefore, creates the idea of the innocence of Faith’s ribbon no longerpresent. The demolishment of the innocent aspect within the story shows the theme ofguilt Hawthorne places in the text when the day afterFaith’s ribbons still remain in herhair. Furthermore, it is evident that this image portrays the theme of guilt in the story. Inaddition,Hawthorne describes Goody Cloyse as a“female figure on the path” when1
