In the early 1800s, just before the start of the civil war, slavery was quickly becoming a greater problem each and every day. While many people had their thoughts and opinions against slavery, not many of those people even considered going out to stop this growing problem or to even speak out against it, but one writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, took action to express his thoughts through the use of historical fiction. Hawthorne wrote the short story “Young Goodman Brown” in 1832 to voice his opinions about slavery and the people running the country. Though set in 1692, “Young Goodman Brown” was written to show how slavery and the hypocrisy of leaders could ruin the future of the United States, and overall that Hawthorne is trying to convince the people to step up and change the way things are.

“Young Goodman Brown” is set in 1692 in a place called Salem Village, where Goodman Brown discovers that the amount of those practicing witchcraft is spreading like wildfire, much like slavery was spreading in the time of the writer, Antebellum South. During the time period of Brown, the presence of witchcraft terrified settlers, and anyone that was accused was either severely punished or put to death. Through the course of the story, Goodman Brown takes a journey through the forest, witnessing many acts of witchcraft and eventually stumbling upon a satanic ceremony. Hawthorne was born in 1804 and grew up in a time where “the expansion of slavery on the North American Continent” was “both remarkable and unprecedented” (Hammond 175). In the text, Hawthorne uses witchcraft as a metaphor, comparing how it lead to a downfall in Goodman Brown’s life to how slavery could lead to a downfall in the future of the United States. After discovering the terrible truth about witchcraft in his village, Goodman Brown lives his life as an angry and solitary man, while “his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne 9), and being buried with nothing to his gravestone. Hawthorne gave Chose Brown’s name to imply that he should be a good man. His name shows that he should stand up against the witchcraft in his village and take action against it. Hawthorne is comparing Goodman Brown to the United States, and is saying that when the people of the United States discover how terrible slavery is, the future of America will slowly dwindle away and be forgotten. Just like his Brown’s name, Hawthorne is telling the American people to be good people, and to stand up against slavery. Much like those accused of witchcraft, slaves who were caught escaping could have been “killed or executed during capture and punishment” (Hammond 185). Hawthorne knew that slaves were being mistreated and over worked, and he knew that if nothing was done, then nothing would change much like the actions of Goodman Brown who, after the events of that faithful night, lived life as a “a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man” (Hawthorne 9). Towards the end of the story, Hawthorne calls the people to action, to rise up against slavery, and to overthrow the hypocritical leaders and authority figures profiting off of other people’s suffering. 

Though seeming like true Puritans, there are many leaders, religious figures, and friends that all go against the puritan religion making them hypocrites. Throughout Goodman Brown’s walk in the forest, he learns about the sins committed by those who, on the surface, follow the strict rules of the Puritan religion, but below the surface, disobey these rules. The Puritans left their home country of England in search for a new world, where “they were free to worship and free to practice theological debates” (Cogell 45). The heritage of the Puritans included worshiping one and only one god. Those who disobeyed these set rules were either punished or excommunicate, depending on the severity of the sin. One way to break these rules was to practice witchcraft. Goodman Brown lived in a village where these Puritan values were followed strictly and those caught breaking them faced the consequences, but Brown learns a few truths in the forest that night. He learns that some of his closest friends and religious leaders go against their Puritan beliefs, which includes the minister of the church and Deacon Gookin. Brown heard the conversation between these two and learned that they too were headed to the witchcraft ceremony, and concluded that they “were men of dissolute lives” (Hawthorne 7). That night, Brown learns about the hypocrisy of his village’s leaders, and sees them as traitors to the Puritan beliefs. Hawthorne writes this to create a metaphor between the leaders of Brown’s village to the founding fathers of the United States. When the founding fathers drafted the constitution they stated that all men are created equal, but this statement did not come into effect until the late 1900s. Before then, all males that were not white were treated unfairly, and this can be seen most clearly through slavery in the United States. Hawthorne uses this analysis to show that even the most trusted of men can be hypocrites and if these men are not thrown out of their positions, then nothing can be changed. Again, Hawthorne is calling to the people to take action against these hypocrites, and looking back at Brown’s name, Hawthorne wants the people of America to act like good people. Goodman Brown sits quietly and angrily, not changing his village for the better after he learns what really is going on behind the scenes. Hawthorne is warning that if the American people do the same about their hypocritical leaders, then nothing will change about the corruption in the authorities of America. 

Before that night, Goodman Brown was a respectable man in his community and he also respected the of authority in his town, but after his journey, he learns the true secrets. He learns that witchcraft is quickly spreading through his town and his friends, that his friends and leaders are not true Puritans, and that they too take part in the satanic ceremonies, yet Goodman Brown does nothing about it. Hawthorne wrote this with the purpose to show the American people that this too can happen to their country if nothing is done. Witchcraft is the slavery of Brown’s town, and the hypocritical leaders of America are the religious figures of his village. Hawthorne is calling the people of America to action, and to abolish slavery before it leaves the United States a forgotten country.
