Young Goodman Brown

"Young Goodman Brown" is a story composed of symbols that represent a rite of passage for the characters. In this story we find that a form of evil may exist in all humans (based on the experiences of Goodman Brown). Two symbols that help the reader understand the transformation of good to evil are the use of names and the city vs. the woods. These symbols are important to the development of innocence to notion …

…the woods wee different worlds in which both Faith and Goodman Brown were seen as a transformation from innocence to evil. "Young Goodman Brown," is a story that relied mostly on the symbols portrayed. The use of names and the city vs. the woods helps to transform the story for each character from innocence to a view of evil. Without these symbols the notion of good vs. evil would not have existed for the reader.