Journal 12

Young Goodman Brown – He represents the young and innocent that people have before they are tempted with evil. He also represents Adam, in Adam and Eve, because he is tempted by the devil.

Faith – She represents faith in humanity and young Goodman Brown’s faith. She also wears this pink ribbon that represents that good she has. Faith also represents Eve, in Adam Eve, because she is Young Goodman Brown’s wife.

The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – He represents the devil because he was trying to tempt Young Goodman to turn away from God. He had a cane with a snake on it witch also represented the devil.

Goody Cloyse – She represents someone that was supposed to have faith because she was a catechist teacher, but then is turning away from God.

The Ceremony – A religious ceremony, like Baptism and communion. It represents that is going to sin or is sinning. The ceremony also represents that beginning of Young Goodman Brown losing his faith and his innocent.

The Pink Ribbon – This ribbon represents Young Goodman Brown’s faith. His wife faith would have this in her hair, but towards the end he saw it falling to the ground. That represents he lost his faith and his innocent.

Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – This represents a change of life, state of innocence to a state of knowledge. It also represents how everyone does have a little of evil in them, and is waiting for it to come upon them.

The theme of this story is sin. The story is saying how everyone is going to be tempted and most of them will lose their faith. The message of the theme is that humanity is intentionally evil. It is saying how now everyone is perfect and will make mistakes. The use to get the theme established is by the conflict and plot. Young Goodman’s Brown journey is how they get the theme established because his journey was about losing his faith to God from sin.

``My Faith is gone!'' cried he, after one stupefied moment. ``There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given.'

``There,'' resumed the sable form, ``are all whom ye have reverenced from youth. Ye deemed them holier than yourselves, and shrank from your own sin, contrasting it with their lives of righteousness and prayerful aspirations heavenward

Far more than this. It shall be yours to penetrate, in every bosom, the deep mystery of sin, the fountain of all wicked arts, and which inexhaustibly supplies more evil impulses than human power -- than my power at its utmost -- can make manifest in deeds. And now, my children, look upon each other.'