Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” follows a man’s realization of evil in the most pious of people known to him, which was heavily influenced by Hawthorne’s family history and the infamy of the New England region. Having a great-great grandfather who served as a judge for the Salem Witch Trials, Hawthorne was obviously inspired to write on a similar topic including themes surrounding the ideas of Mankind’s innate evil and the inability to avoid sin. These ideas are directly expressed through Goodman Brown who discovered the evil in his peers and gave into sin himself, becoming a cynical and hypocritical man. Therefore, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” reflects the idea that humans are innately evil and that hypocrisy of morality is inevitable, which was influenced by his family’s dark involvement with the Salem Witch Trials.

John Hathorne, Nathaniel’s great-great grandfather, was one of the judges to oversee the Salem Witch Trails, and condemned many innocent people to death. At this time, John’s father, William Hathorne, was also a magistrate in Salem. William had “operated a system of spies or informers who reported to him individuals who neglected their church and civil duties” and “prosecuted these cases vigorously” (Madsen). In one notorious case William imprisoned a peaceful family for harboring Quakers and suggested selling the family’s children into slavery as payment (Madsen). However, William was unable to commit this evil act because of the overwhelming response from the town.  This pertinent family history had a sobering effect on Nathaniel’s life and undoubtedly contributed to his writing. More specifically, “Hawthorne’s Puritan inheritance showed itself in his absorption in the problems not only of the spirit, but of the spirit out of harmony with itself and at odds with its own nature” (Mabie). Meaning Hawthorne was able to accept the contradicting reality of morality through realization of his family’s own hypocrisy. 

This hypocrisy is insightfully developed through the elderly traveler who resembles Goodman’s father. Once Goodman exclaims that he has gone, “Too Far” the dark stranger mentions Goodman’s family, while hinting at Hawthorne’s past when he says, “I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem; and it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village (Hawthorne). From this textual evidence it is easier to understand that this self-righteous behavior and killing of fellow “neighbors” undoubtedly goes against what is considered morally right in the aspect of Puritanism and the teachings of the Bible. This behavior relates to a major theme throughout “Young Goodman Brown,” which is the hypocrisy of morality because the actions of Hawthorne’s family actually contrast things that they believe in. Specifically, their prosecutions of others are too severe and are opposite of the ideas in the Bible, which suggest that all people are victim to sin and no one has the right to condemn others. Similarly in the story the name Young Goodman Brown directly illustrates the struggle Brown has with his morality. 

Being aptly named Young Goodman Brown, one can make many predictions about this character’s personality and morals. The idea of being “young” is often associated with innocence and some degree of ignorance to the evils in the world; to add the name Goodman connotes with the expression that was used to associate a man with being pious. However, these ideas can be considered tainted by the last name of Brown, which is a darker color implying the slow transition from light to dark. This name considerably reflects the plot of the story, which ultimately associates Brown’s journey into the woods to the journey of becoming a “stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man” (Hawthorne). Another aspect that contributes to this transition is the imagery associated with the journey into the woods. 

Brown leaves “at sunset” leaving behind his wife, Faith, who begs her husband not to leave having fear for his sake, “prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she's afeard” (Hawthorne). The concern Faith has for her husband to wait until morning contributes to the idea that Goodman’s intentions in the night of the woods are sinister. This belief of sinister intentions is contributed by the fact that Goodman’s journey has to be taken at night.  Another example of light-dark imagery is used by Goodman’s description of the setting, “He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind” (Hawthorne). This vivid imagery is suggesting that as Brown progresses further in the woods he is farther away from the good of his town and is surrounded by the darkness of the woods and the evil of Satin. Furthering this concept, as Goodman advances through the woods he is also coming closer to the knowledge of evil in his peers, which is tested of him throughout the journey.

During the journey into the forest, Goodman is constantly exposed to fellow religious individuals traveling to the demonic ceremony. The first unexpected person spotted by Goodman is Goody Cloyse, the woman who taught him catechism; this is followed by the minister and Deacon Gookin. Having seen these people in the woods, Goodman’s perception of them changes realizing that they are evil regardless of what they do beyond this. Although he is shaken by this he still exclaims with his remaining faith, “With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!” (Hawthorne). However, once Goodman finds Faith as a new follower of the devil, he loses all hope in humanity. Ironically, once Goodman loses Faith to the devil, he loses his own faith in his religion and morals. This once again builds on the theme that people are innately evil because although Goodman knew these people to be good, he came to the realization that no matter their ranking in the pious community, they all were sinning in the woods; the same as any sinner. This opens Pandora’s Box for Goodman making him unable to see the world as it was previously perceived to him, breaking his innocent understanding of evil. It also strengthens the belief that humans are incapable of keeping their morals. In other words, hypocrisy of man is unavoidable.  

In reflection to this story one can gather the underlying meaning addressed by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which is that Mankind is innately evil just as the people of story were evil and that regardless of one’s morals or how others see someone, people are hypocrites. This is directly addressed from the story through Goodman’s realization of evil in his pious friends. It is also further developed from the context of Hawthorne’s family who sentenced innocent people to death when they claimed to follow the teachings of the Bible. Conclusively, Hawthorne used his family’s dark involvement in Salem to write “Young Goodman Brown” in reflection to the idea that humans are born evil and that morality is uncontrollably associated with hypocrisy. 
