Journal 12- Young Goodman Brown

Journal #12 - “Young Goodman Brown”

1. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory (symbolic narrative).  What do the following represent?

            Young Goodman Brown – represents innocence and trying to be good. His name shows that he is just a regular man.

            Faith – The wife of Goodman brow, symbolizes

           

            The Elderly Traveler/Fellow-Traveler – Symbolizes the devil

           

Goody Cloyse – Symbolizes hypocrisy

The Ceremony – Symbolizes religious rituals that celebrate salvation or cleansing, except the opposite.

The Pink Ribbon – Symbolizes the innocence of faith. When he sees the pink ribbon fall he loses his faith in life.

Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – The journey changed Goodman Brown and stripped him of his innocence. In the woods at night Goodman Brown realizes that the people of the town can also be like the people at the ceremony.

                       

2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”: 

Theme                       Message of Theme                 Element Used to Establish  

Loss of Innocence	Goodman Brown was inevitably corruptible.	Goodman Brown’s loss of faith after his dream, if the dream was real then Goodman Brown was corrupted by the devil. If it was fake than the dream revealed Goodman Brown's dark side, and that he was able to corrupt himself.
Fear of wild	Goodman Brown becomes comfortable in the wilderness only after being corrupted	The moment Goodman brown enters the woods he feels uneasy.
Faith based on community.	Faith based on public opinion is often weak, based solely on what one perceives the rest of the community believes.	When Goodman Brown sees all of his town at the ceremony he decides it might be ok to go.

In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.

``There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,''

“At the word, Goodman Brown stepped forth from the shadow of the trees and approached the Congregation”

“Be it so if you will; but, alas! it was a dream of evil omen for young Goodman Brown. A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream.”