Symbols In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Authors integrate symbols into their works to encourage the reader to think deeper and find alternate meanings for an object or action. Symbols possess multiple meanings because of their many different ways of interpretation. The symbols can assist in the creation of the plot, building of a character, or the establishment of a central theme. In the short story, "Young Goodman Brown," author Nathaniel Hawthorne employs Faith's pink ribbons to embody the illusion of innocence, demonstrate the loss of purity, and reveal the resulting distrust that stems from unanticipated betrayal. Hawthorne utilizes the idea of the misconception of innocence brought about by the pink ribbons to demonstrate the difference between appearance and reality. People usually associate the color pink with innocence, and Hawthorne incorporates this symbolic color to characterize Faith as a sweet, innocent wife. In the beginning, Hawthorne creates a character with these aspects but as the story continues, …show more content…
Faith betrays her husband by attending the satanic ritual, ensuing in an unspoken mistrust between the two. Although Faith does not know it, Goodman Brown has lost all faith in her, which Hawthorne reveals by saying, “he spied the head of Faith, with the pink ribbons, gazing anxiously forth and bursting into such joy at sight of him," showing that she thinks nothing has changed but he knows Faith has become an altered woman (628). The repetition of the pink ribbons serves as a reminder to him of Faith’s previous morals and her transformation from good to evil. The ribbons not only act as a reminder of Faith’s alteration but also the entire community’s change due to the fact that most of the town took part in the ritual, even those who held major roles in the church and therefore not wholesome like they seemed. Hawthorne employs the pink ribbons to reveal the distrust between Faith and Goodman