young goodman brown

“Young Goodman Brown” Paper In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. But it is not only evil that Hawthorne is concerned with. He is also interested with the way evil affects his characters, Goodman Brown in particular. Through Hawthorne’s use of structural techniques such as tone, setting and symbolism, he portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. …

…earlier, Hawthorne’s goal is to show the discovery of evil can lead one to utter desperation and cynicism. Brown is the medium through which he is able to achieve this goal. He is successful in teaching his audience a moral lesson; which is that in denying the idea that good exists and is capable of overpowering evil, Brown has committed the worst sin of all. Bereft of spiritual faith, “his dying hour was gloom” (179).