Goodman? Brown

Nathanial Hawthorne, through his protagonist's encounters in his narrative, "Young Goodman Brown," explores the question of whether or not man is inherently evil. Hawthorne's protagonist, named goodman Brown, goes on a journey of self-search that questions his former notions about his faith. It is true that Brown ultimately decides not to partake from the evil he submerses himself in, however through Hawthorne's tone towards the events, and by the outcome of the story, it seems that Hawthorne does consider humanity to be inherently evil. Hawthorne also hints that rather than religion correcting the evil that is inherent in humans, it merely sets it off and is expressed through different means . One key factor of this statement is Brown's original decision to go on this journey within the forest. The fact is that we, as readers, are not given any indication as to why Brown decides to go into the forest in the first place. By not revealing Brown's original motives, he leads readers to take for granted his decision to go, and by that, hints that man is indeed inherently evil. Though Hawthorne never asks us to question Brown's intentions throughout his journey, it is obvious what temptations keep him going. These temptations include the old man and every townsperson that is met along the way. This speaks to Hawthorne's belief that evil is manifested in every society through these advocates of sin that bring others down to their primordial evil instincts. The fact that even the religious leaders are sinners in the story, indicates that Hawthorne does not believe that religion corrects sin, but covers it up. This can be seen in his description of the next morning when, "The good old minister was taking a walk along the graveyard, to get an appetite for breakfast and meditate his sermon, and bestowed a blessing, as he passed, on goodman Brown." The final outcome of the story shows Hawthorne's true tone towards evil and religion as Brown becomes a bitter and distrusting man due to the happenings within the forest. Through Brown's fate, Hawthorne reveals his cynical thoughts about religion and its role in society, as well as reinforces that man is inherently evil.