Young Goodman Brown

The passage from Young Goodman Brown is a description of a man’s journey into the

depth of the forest. It is in the forest that the character believes he will be able to see his

community members. In his quest to cure his curiosity, the narrator illustrates how Brown he

moves into the forest amidst mixed decisions. The character described in the passage at one

time felt it was time to back off, but because of zeal, he found the urge of forging ahead.

Questioning his faith and the existence of heaven, he still believed that he would make it to

his final decision (Hawthorne, 2012). At one time, he encouraged himself saying that

irrespective of what may come on his way, he would stand against evil. His attributions and

actions throughout the forest is an illustration of faith and perseverance. The author through

this context illustrates hypocrisy through the fear of the wilderness.

As he enters the forest, it is described that Brown could feel the clattering of hoofs

and strange voices in the air. According to him, this was so because the forest had never

experienced any form of solitary Christian prayer or gathering of a church. It was a place

probably for the sinners and the dead. Hypocrisy is evident when it is stated that he was

wondering whether the holy men were journeying into the wilderness. From the illustrations,

the author shows hypocrisy in society, especially through the clergy. Brown is kept

wondering where the holy men were journeying to owing to the fact that according to him,

there is nothing holy in the forest and particularly in the wilderness where a church had never

been established not have people prayed together in solidarity. Apart from him, any human in

the forest was an evil spirit that worked against the will of God.
 At one point in the wilderness, Brown was exhausted, and while holding on a tree for

support, he was ready to sink down or even faint. In his imaginations, the forest was not a

good place, and anything could happen including sinking the ground (Hawthorne, 2012). The

theme of fear especially in the wilderness as portrayed in the passage is the foundation of the

faith exhibited by Brown throughout the passage. The victim voices his fear for the

wilderness from the time he steps into the forest. Brown seemed not to foresee any good from

the forest. Unlike with holiness, the forest was full of bad omen, and for a moment, he

doubted if there was heaven above him. He thought it would not be possible to move any

detection and was to sink. The stars brightening the blue arch were the illustration of the

hopes and the triumph that might come his way. Looking at the sky, he made it clear that he

will stand firm against the evil which was embraced by the holy men journeying deep into the

wilderness.

The phrase that he will stand firm against the devil as long as the heaven is above him

and he got his faith shows that the wilderness where he was had evil. Brown is considered a

righteous man who stand against any evil. It is said that a cloud of stirred above him when he

lifted his hands and hid all the brightening stars. Despite all this, he could only see the sky

directly overhead. The author in this context illustrates to the readers how the evil forces tried

to blind Brown while in the wilderness. The shadowing of the bright stars by the cloud

depicts how the hypocrite holy men in the passage were not true to their gospel when they

lived. The holy men parade themselves as servants of God but in reality, they are not, and

anybody who tries to seek the true God like brown will face their wrath.
 Brown could hear the voices of the people he had met on the communion table.

Additionally, he could hear the voices of the ungodly and the pious. The narration in this

context illustrates a phenomenon where the godly servants are associating themselves with

ungodly people in an evil tormented environment. As attributed in the societal teachings, the

clergy and those who meet at the communion table are the holy people but as depicted in the

passage, they are working in togetherness with the ungodly people to oppress Brown’s

endeavors. There were the very familiar voices that he could tell were from Salem village that

he had never associated with darkness (Hawthorne, 2012). He had for a long time considered

them holy and righteous, but there they were in an evil community of saints and sinners.

To sum up, the passage is an illustration of how the devil can bring together all people

regardless of the past reputation, race, religious beliefs or social standing at the dark mass.

Gathered together, both the saints and the sinners are ushered to the communion of their race

suggesting that the people used religion as a medium of segregating their society.
 References

Hawthorne, N. (2012). Young Goodman Brown. Simon and Schuster.