Symbolism of Setting and Character Descriptions in Young Goodman Brown
Emily Bartlett
Ms. Santi
1B PDP American Literature
7 December 2011
Young Goodman Brown
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathanial Hawthorne utilizes the forest’s setting and character’s descriptions to show the symbolic meaning of each. The forest, each character and their actions all have specific meanings that are critical to the interpretation of the story.
The story of Young Goodman Brown takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, and the forest surrounding the town. Salem became famous for its witch tr1ials and the evil lurking within its forests. Forests are best known for being places of evil, “Satan’s playground”, for “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,” (Hawthorne 1). Night itself is considered to be the time when evil lurks about. The night and the forest represent the unknown, and the darkness lurking within every person. The story of Young Goodman Brown commonly describes the path Brown takes, winding its way through the forest, in and out of trees. “He had taken a dreary road; darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind… he passed a crook of the road.” (Hawthorne 1). Crooks in the road and narrow winding paths symbolize both good and bad choices. The two routes long and complex, but some may show the way out, while others drag many people farther into the forest, deeper into the grip of Satan. The evils of uncertainty easily temp people when they are unsure of the world around them. “At one extremity of an open space, hemmed in by the dark wall of the forest, arose a rock, bearing some rude resemblance either to an altar or a pulpit, and surrounded by four blazing pines, their tops aflame, their stems untouched, like candles at an evening meeting.” (Hawthorne 5). The dark wall that surrounds the edge of the clearing represents the location of the clearing in the depths of the forest, still in the realms of evil. For example, Hansel and
Ms. Santi
1B PDP American Literature
7 December 2011
Young Goodman Brown
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathanial Hawthorne utilizes the forest’s setting and character’s descriptions to show the symbolic meaning of each. The forest, each character and their actions all have specific meanings that are critical to the interpretation of the story.
The story of Young Goodman Brown takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, and the forest surrounding the town. Salem became famous for its witch tr1ials and the evil lurking within its forests. Forests are best known for being places of evil, “Satan’s playground”, for “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,” (Hawthorne 1). Night itself is considered to be the time when evil lurks about. The night and the forest represent the unknown, and the darkness lurking within every person. The story of Young Goodman Brown commonly describes the path Brown takes, winding its way through the forest, in and out of trees. “He had taken a dreary road; darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind… he passed a crook of the road.” (Hawthorne 1). Crooks in the road and narrow winding paths symbolize both good and bad choices. The two routes long and complex, but some may show the way out, while others drag many people farther into the forest, deeper into the grip of Satan. The evils of uncertainty easily temp people when they are unsure of the world around them. “At one extremity of an open space, hemmed in by the dark wall of the forest, arose a rock, bearing some rude resemblance either to an altar or a pulpit, and surrounded by four blazing pines, their tops aflame, their stems untouched, like candles at an evening meeting.” (Hawthorne 5). The dark wall that surrounds the edge of the clearing represents the location of the clearing in the depths of the forest, still in the realms of evil. For example, Hansel and