Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil - Essay Example Symbolism is the most important in the story because it is the one through which the author is able to impress the essence of his story upon the reader. Nathaniel Hawthorne used several symbols in Young Goodman Brown and The Minister’s Black Veil to describe acts, subjects and persons in the two plays and the most prominent symbols used shall be discussed in this paper. In Young Goodman Brown, the devil’s staff that was surrounded by a sculpted serpent was symbolic of the serpent in the book of Genesis. The serpent was used to symbolize an evil demon. The devil told Goodman Brown that the staff would help him to travel faster and this is quite symbolic to the serpent in the bible that told Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make her wiser. This further corroborates the argument that the devil’s staff is symbolic to the serpent in the book of Genesis. However, Goodman Brown followed the instruction of the devil and was punished for being a weakling and losi ng his innocence and this is also synonymous to the punishment that was meted on Adam and Eve for following the counsel of the serpent. It should also be noted that just like Eve’s curiosity made her eat the forbidden fruit, it was Goodman Brown’s curiosity that influenced his decision to go into the forest. Another symbol that was used in Young Goodman Brown is the pink ribbon that was used by Faith. Faith’s pink ribbon is symbolic of her purity and this can be seen if one considers the fact the color, ‘pink’ embodies purity and gaiety.