In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown", the author uses symbolism throughout his writing. Symbolism is a figure of speech used when the author wants to set a certain mood or emotion in his literature. It is the use of objects, a character's name, one or more words to serve as something different, such as a concept, in literature. Symbolism is always an important part of Hawthorne's work, found in the names of his characters, objects, settings and many other parts of his writing to keep you interested and hold your attention as you read, leaving the big concepts hidden behind the symbols . to keep you guessing, a mystery. The forest was one of the greatest symbols used in the story, "Young Goodman Brown", leaving Brown to question his faith and beliefs and even the people around him that he once trusted. The forest is described as "black mass", the word black is used because Puritanism is often reflected in Hawthorne's work. The Puritans moved into New England and created a strong presence. Hawthorne grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, and his grandfather was a judge in the Salem witch trials. Puritanism was a very important part of his background, which is often questioned in his works; many of which are set in a Puritan environment. Most of the stories were about good versus evil in man. In “Young Goodman Brown” Brown sees the most valued and respected members of his religious community associating with the devil. He is shocked to see the people he trusted most, Faith and his Sunday school teacher, at an evil gathering. This leads him to still question everyone's faith after the fact. In "Young Goodman Brown", Hawthorne criticizes Puritan beliefs, suggesting that they are more evil than godly. His works show that he has faith, but it is not always as strong and is easily challenged by the actions of others and his surroundings