What does the forest represent in Young Goodman Brown?

What does the forest represent in Young Goodman Brown?

The man who meets brown in the forest appears to represent the devil. Goodman Brown is enticed by an entire forest. Like Adam, he suffers a great fall from innocence. Likewise, the dark forest is associated with danger, obscurity, confusion, and unknown or with evil, sin, and death as primordial symbol.

Why does Young Goodman Brown first venture into the woods?

Why does goodman Brown first venture into the woods? He promised someone he would meet him there. When goodman Brown returns to town, everything about his perception of the religious elders of Salem has changed.

How does Young Goodman Brown change during the story?

Goodman Brown is a trusting, naive man in the beginning if the story but witnesses a witch ceremony that changes his personality drastically. Seeing his family and his neighbors taking part in the sinful act changes his outlook on life and his outlook on their personalities as well.

What is the moral lesson of Young Goodman Brown?

The moral of the story Young Goodman Brown is that one should recognize the sinister impulses in oneself rather than to find faults in others.

What is the literal journey that Goodman Brown makes what is the symbolic journey?

Symbolically, Goodman Brown’s journey represents a person’s maturation and disillusionment, as he learns that everyone sins and has a dark side. Goodman Brown could represent any person. He is a generic character who sets out on a journey that he apparently must complete.

Why is Goodman Brown concerned by the presence of Deacon Gookin in the forest?

The Fear of the Wilderness From the moment he steps into the forest, Goodman Brown voices his fear of the wilderness, seeing the forest as a place where no good is possible. He himself is ashamed to be seen walking in the forest and hides when Goody Cloyse, the minister, and Deacon Gookin pass.

Is Goody Cloyse a witch?

Goody Cloyse A citizen of Salem Village who reveals herself to be a witch. Goody Cloyse was the name of an actual woman who was tried and convicted of witchcraft during the historical Salem Witch Trials of 1692; Hawthorne borrows her name for this character.

What is the lesson in Young Goodman Brown?

Lesson Summary ‘Young Goodman Brown’ is a short story that packs a heavy symbolic punch. As he journeys into the wilderness of human evil, Young Goodman Brown learns that people are not always what they seem. Returning to Salem Village, he must live with his new knowledge that religion and society mask darker impulses.