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Along with the setting, Hawthorne’s use of symbolism contributes to the portrayal of the theme of loss of innocence. (1) This is evident as the character’s names are used to symbolize innocence: The name Young Goodman Brown is symbolic of innocence, as “young” refers to his youth, and “goodman” refers to his good nature. He is also newly-wed, which adds to his youthful character. As Brown is used to portray someone of a good nature, he also shows corruptibility. This can be seen as he initially believed that everyone around him was good, however, by the end of the story, not only is he corrupt, but he also believes that everyone around him is corrupt as well. “By the sympathy of your human hearts, for sin, ye shall scent out all the places – whether in church, bed-chamber, street, field, or forest – where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood spot.”
Towards the end of the story, the devil promises Young Goodman Brown a future filled with sinning – a completely different view of life from what he had been living. Initially, Goodman Brown thought of his family as pure and good. However, when he returned to the village, he trusted no one, and as the devil’s speech suggested, Goodman Brown saw the evil in everyone. (SparkNotes) Similarly, like Young Goodman Brown, his wife, Faith is used to symbolize purity, as well as her husband’s faith. (litcharts) Initially, the protagonist’s wife is someone good and pure, as her “pretty head” and “pink ribbons” help to emphasize the youth and innocence of her character. Faith remained a symbol of her husband’s religious faith throughout the story. This is seen when Goodman Brown first meets up with the devil and explains being late because “Faith kept me back a while,” which refers to his wife Faith begging him not to leave, and figuratively to his religious faith, which could have stopped him from meeting up with the devil, but didn’t. (litcharts) This can be seen again when Young Goodman Brown realizes that Faith has converted to satanism, and he is corrupted: “ ‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth, and sin is but a name.’ ” Losing his wife, meant the literal loss of his spiritual faith. Hawthorne symbolizing the character’s name shows the reader how even the innocent can become corrupt.
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