Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown

In the short story Young Goodman Brown, purity and innocence are symbolized through the pink ribbons that are intertwined in Faith's cap. Pink ribbons appear as a sign throughout the story. Each occurrence of the ribbon in Young Goodman Brown signifies a realization in Goodman Brown's journey. Faith, herself, plays the metaphorical role of the loss of innocence and literal faith in Brown as his story progresses. The ribbons represent the difference between appearance and reality for Brown as he struggles with evil temptations in the woods. The color of the ribbons in the story is significant. The color pink represents the mixture of innocence and purity, white, with wickedness and the devil, red. When creating the color pink, only a minute amount of red is needed to taint the color white and change its entire appearance. Similarly, in humans, even a small amount of evil present can taint the innocence in someone and change their entire demeanor. Throughout his excursion through the woods, Brown struggles with an internal conflict between thoughts of evil and thoughts of good. Brown repeatedly finds himself trying to resist the influence of evil. The pink ribbons floating from the sky towards him, symbolize the torment that he is facing in his own mind. When at the Devil's altar at the end of the story, the color of the ribbons represents Brown's realization that in every person resides both good and evil. The ribbons guide Brown to the conclusion that there is no single person who is purely faithful. The symbol of innocence in the pink ribbons works hand in hand with the name of their owner, Faith. Goodman Brown becomes certain that his wife has been tempted by the devil after seeing her ribbons floating down from the sky. Brown, in turn, loses his own innocence because he has both literally and metaphorically lost Faith. He believes that his wife has been lured into sin by the devil, and therefore Brown loses the faith he had in his wife and with it his own purity. Brown becomes skeptical of his surroundings and is unsure of what is reality. As his fear of being portrayed as a sinner increases, the ribbons become a symbol of the superficiality that the appearance of innocence holds. His suspicions only escalate when he returns to Salem from the woods. Brown now sees the ribbons that are intertwined in Faith's cap as a sign of Faith's impurity and an attempt to conceal her wickedness and appear naive and morally correct. Brown's perception of reality is now altered and he no longer has faith in the people of the town. He cannot separate reality from appearance. As the story Young Goodman Brown unfolds, the ribbons in Faith's cap, that seemingly represent innocence and naivety, transform into a reason for Goodman Brown to be skeptical and suspicious of those around him. After his observations in the woods, Brown internally struggles with his perception of reality. The ribbons seem to mock him. Their appearance represents the hypocrisy and sinful nature of those around him. Brown's internal innocence is lost that night, along with the faith he once held about the true purity in others.

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