"Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts the journey of a young man going into the woods and losing his faith in humanity. Hawthorne uses the communion stories of Goodman Brown and Faith to show that the loss of innocence is eminent, a loss illustrated by the symbolism found in the woods. The woods are, in their simplest state, a force of evil; there, a menacing traveler bearing the temperament of Satan lurks and reputed members of society are portrayed as deceitful and depraved. However, the woods are not simply the vehicle for unquestionable and unambiguous sin. Although the woods are not inherently evil, their path always leads straight to sin and corruption. The antlers therefore represent the often seductive primal drives and desires of humanity to which each person must ultimately fall prey; the path, the staff, and the pink ribbons serve as symbols in the story to manifest how desire operates within a rigid religious worldview. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The path Goodman Brown walks represents his conscience or moral compass. The path is the only thing that separates him from the woods or his desires, even if it proves unreliable. Hawthorne describes: “He had taken a dreary road, obscured by all the darkest trees of the forest, which scarcely parted to let the narrow path pass, and closed immediately behind it. » Hawthorne describes the path as overgrown with trees and barely visible to the wanderer; apart from the woods, the path would be clear. Likewise, Goodman Brown's morality is only clouded once he is confronted with his human desires. Later, the path dissipates completely, leaving Goodman Brown with no idea of ​​what is right and wrong. After Goodman Brown lost his faith and succumbed to his fate in the woods, Hawthorne describes: "The road grew wilder and wilder, more and more dreary, and more and more vaguely marked, and finally disappeared, leaving him in the heart of the dark desert, still on his way forward. with the instinct that guides mortal man towards evil. Once Goodman Brown is deep enough in his desires, he is no longer bound by the inhibitions that the path represents. The path that was once his only sense of security finally fails him, just as it failed those who came before him, and he remains prey to human nature. The symbolism of the path also has religious implications; Hawthorne intentionally uses the word "narrow" to describe the path Goodman Brown followed. The path, more specifically, represents the morals and rules established by the Church's narrow worldview. By describing Goodman Brown's journey as "as solitary as possible," Hawthorne alludes to the isolation that the Church instills in its members. Goodman Brown feels alone, just as pious members of the Church believe they are alone in their battle with temptation because the Church condemns and represses the concept of sinful desire rather than recognizing it as a human experience. The religious connotation adds more weight to the previous evocation of the disappearance of the path. Goodman Brown relies on religion to save him, but ultimately, even piety is not strong enough to escape human nature. There is also religious imagery and symbolism in the Menacing Traveler's Staff which "[bears] the likeness of a great black serpent, so curiously wrought that one could almost see it writhing and writhing like a living snake" . THE,. 2015.