Young Goodman Brown Loses Faith in the WoodsIn the story "Young Goodman Brown", written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author introduces evil images to tempt and delude young Goodman Brown as he made his way through the woods. Goodman Brown, at the end of his journey, understands that there is an evil side to human nature and believes that man is condemned by "original sin". The main character, Goodman Brown, is presented as a polite man happily married to Faith. Initially, terms like "sunset" and "pink ribbons" symbolize light and a positive environment in the village of Salem, where the story takes place. Then, as Goodman Brown travels through the woods, changes in the environment cause him to change the way he sees the world and the people around him. From the moment he decides to go into the woods at night, this peaceful panorama presented in his hometown changes. Evil images such as “devil, thick and lonely branches” add a dark and negative side to the story. He had taken a sad road, obscured by all the darkest trees of the forest, which scarcely stood aside to let the narrow path creep in and close. immediately behind (p. 62). This example reflects the change in Goodman Brown's environment after leaving the positive world of the village. He felt like he was walking through an invisible multitude because he couldn't know if there was anyone hiding among the trees. This situation leads him to wonder, “What if the devil himself was right next to me” (p. 62). Goodman Brown, who was unaware of the existence of an evil side of the world, is introduced to it through natural objects in the woods, which provided a warning sign of evil to come.S...... middle of paper ... ream" (p. 70). Now the natural world and even his wife and his fellow Puritans reveal to him a concept of evil. This causes him to lose faith in his religion and in his own people. "My faith is disappearance! ... There is no god on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil; for to you is this world given" (p. 67). Every time the minister spoke of the sacred truths of religion, with the Bible in his hand: "...then Goodman Brown turned pale, fearing the roof would collapse on the blasphemous gray and upon his hearers" (p.70). His new attitude toward life in the village is a measure of his acceptance of the idea that man is condemned by "original sin." Work cited Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown, "in Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience, ed. Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Peter Richardson, 7th ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998), p.62.