The Theme of "Young Goodman Brown" What is theme? Theme is what the
author is saying about the subject of the story. In "Young Goodman
Brown" the subject of the story is hypocrisy. In "Young Goodman
Brown", Hawthorne writes in detail how hypocrisy can change a person for
the worse. In the opening pages of the story you can see how hypocrisy is
already starting to change Goodman Brown for the worse. As he starts out on his
errand that he has to run, Goodman Brown decides to walk as Hawthorne puts it
"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." (141). The forest is an important symbol in this story. The forest
symbolizes evil and it symbolizes evil because of the darkness of the forest. As
Goodman Brown and his companion continue their journey through the dark forest
Goodman Brown starts to realize this "errand" that he is running is no
ordinary one. Goodman Brown knows that he is doing something scorned down on by
Puritan beliefs as he says the following: "My father ever went into the
woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been have been a
race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs. And shall
I be the first of the name of Brown that has ever took this path and kept."
(141). So basically what he is saying in that quote is that he knows what he is
doing is wrong, but he doesn't care. Goodman Brown is hard to convince that his
family and the Puritans in general are not as righteous and pure as he thinks
they are. The companion tries endlessly to convince Goodman Brown that his own
family is not as "pure" as it seems. The traveler tells Goodman some
stories of his own family doing dirty things such as setting fire to an Indian
Village and lashing a Quaker woman. However Goodman does still not believe any
of what the traveler is saying. Continuing on the path Brown and his companion
stumble upon Deacon Gookin and his Goody Cloyse and Goodman is astonished by
this because he would have never thought that the good wife would be so far in
the forest that late at night. By seeing the good wife in the forest at that
time of night makes Goodman not want to go on. While sitting on a stump, Goodman
yells out "Friend, my mind is made up. Not another step wills I budge on
this errand. What if a wretched old woman choose to go to the devil when I
thought she was going to Heaven! Is that any reason why I should quit my dear
Faith and go after her?" (143) Basically he is quitting what the errand
because he senses that what the companion has told him is to eat at him. In
other words the hypocrisy is starting to enter his soul and he is trying to keep
it from doing that by stopping the journey. Another example of what Hawthorne is
saying about hypocrisy in the story is the part where Goodman hears what the
Deacon says as he passes by in the carriage. Goodman is astonished by the words
he hears coming from the carriage. Also Brown is amazed that the Deacon would
have traveled that far into the dark and dreary forest. As Hawthorne puts it
"Young Goodman Brown caught hold of a tree, for support, being ready to
sink to the ground, faint and over-burthened with the heavy sickness of his
heart. He looked up to the sky doubting whether there really was a Heaven above
him." (144) Basically Goodman cannot believe what he just heard from the
leaders of the Religion of the puritans; he is amazed that impurity lies within
the most religious people of the Puritans. It makes him believe what the
companion told him about pureness. Seeing all of this makes him say that if no
one else wants to stand true to the beliefs of the puritans, not even the Deacon
himself, then he was going to be the one who does. Moreover witnessing all of
that Goodman finally understands that purity is no longer what all mankind
strives for. As Brown stands their he looks up to see what was once a blue sky
has suddenly turned gray. This Gray sky symbolizes the impurity or hypocrisy
that has taken over the earth. Goodman also hears sounds from the cloud, which
also represent deceit and wickedness. Goodman is really bothered by this and he
says, "My Faith is gone there is no good on earth, and sin is but a name.
Come Devil! for to thee the world given." (145). All Goodman is saying is
that the devil can come and take over the world because it is full of sin and
wickedness. In the same way as the others who have given into hypocrisy Goodman
himself now gives into the hypocrisy. Hawthorne writes, "In truth all
through the haunted forest there could be nothing more frightening than the
figure of Goodman Brown." This is Hawthorn's cunning way of saying that
Goodman he turned for the worse Brown has now at this point done a complete 360
of his usual pure ways and runs around the forest making obscene gestures and
terrible remarks. Hypocrisy has swamped Goodman's soul to the point where he has
a dream that these couples gets converted from Christians to Devil Worshipers
and are encouraged to not to look to God but look to the Devil for Guidance and
follow the ways of the devil. Hawthorne writes a line to show my point,
"Faith! Faith! look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!" So in
other words don't look to god is what Hawthorne is saying. In conclusion
"Young Goodman Brown" is a story about hypocrisy and how it came
corrupt the purest of peoples minds if they choose to let it in. This story also
shows that even though puritans all may act "pure" on the outside,
they aren't really as pure as everybody makes them out to be.