�1
Samantha Hayward
201455961
ENGL 1080
Prof. John Hoskins
October 9th, 2014
" The Transformation of Young Goodman Brown
" Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story of a man who undergoes a
transformation that changes his outlook on his beliefs, personal relationships and his childhood
innocence. This is a man who goes against his own beliefs only to discover that everything he
has known, is in fact a lie. It is never revealed if what Goodman Brown experienced that night
was real, or if it was all his imagination, but through this experience he starts to question the
people of his town, his wife, and even his own faith. With loss of his innocence, Goodman
Brown becomes a changed man, never fully trusting anyone again. At the start of the story the
author has developed a setting with characters and a community that symbolizes Goodman
Brown's religion, life and innocence. Although, after his journey the reader is lead to believe that
Goodman Brown has discovered the truth about evil in the world around him. Though
completely oblivious to it before, he is now able to see that evil lurks behind all the trusting faces
of his home.
Venturing into the woods that night was a choice made by Goodman Brown out of his
own curiosity. He knew that his quest had an evil purpose and although he hated to leave his
wife, he knew he had to go, even wanted to. He parts his wife with a kiss and tells her to say her
�2
prayers before he leaves her for the night, and when he returns he will "cling to her skirts and
follow her to heaven" (190). This shows a shortcoming in Brown's religious faith. He has
already began to change his beliefs...