What Does The Forest Symbolize In Young Goodman Brown

In the short story “Young Goodman Brown”, Nathanial Hawthorne uses symbols such as the forest, serpent staff, Faith, and her pink ribbons in order to support the meaning of his story. The forest that Goodman Brown travels through on his errand can be seen as life and its dangers. The staff resembles a serpent that can be seen as a symbol of an evil being or demon. Faith can symbolize Goodman Brown’s religious faith. And lastly, Faith’s pink ribbons can display Faith as a symbol of purity and innocence. These symbols help to convey the author’s meaning that not everything is pure and that life has its hidden evils. The forest seems to take up a majority of the setting that Goodman Brown experiences along the course of the story. It is a place that he fears yet must travel while on his journey. As soon as he enters the forest, he states that, “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree.” This shows his fear since Indians at this time period were a dangerous people that would attack the colonist. He then states that, “What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow” (Hawthorne 9). This shows the forest as a place of fear and discomfort that Goodman Brown must travel on his …show more content…
The forest symbolizes life that holds mystery and evil that Goodman Brown has to travel down on his journey. The staff which symbolizes the biblical perspective of the demonic serpent and his power of deception. Faith symbolizes his religious views and how his views are lost once Faith falls into the devil’s hands. And lastly, her pink ribbons symbolize Faith’s innocence and purity and how it was lost as she fell into the devil’s clutches. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of symbolism helps show the readers that not everything is as it may seem; that evil exists in the most unlikely