Young Goodman Brown

The Main Character’s Personal Struggle Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” takes place during the end of the 17th century in Salem, Massachusetts. The main characters are Goodman Brown, his wife Faith, and the stranger who accompanies Goodman Brown in the forest. The story’s protagonist embarks on a metaphorical errand in which he plans to confront the evil within himself. Unprepared to accept sin as part of his human nature, Goodman Brown rejects …

…conflicts over his inner desires-and its greater meaning: conflicts between good and evil in the world-is the center of the story. Therefore, there would be no “Young Goodman Brown” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne if it was not for the main character’s personal struggle to decide what he will do. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience. Seventh Shorter Eds. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford, 1999. 67-77.