Question

You’ve learned that an allegory is a fictional narrative in which the literal story has another parallel, deeper meaning. Read the following excerpt from Hawthorne’s short story "Young Goodman Brown." Analyze and explain the allegory used in the story.
And there they stood, the only pair, as it seemed, who were yet hesitating on the verge of wickedness in this dark world. A basin was hollowed, naturally, in the rock. Did it contain water, reddened by the lurid light? or was it blood? or, perchance, a liquid flame? Herein did the shape of evil dip his hand and prepare to lay the mark of baptism upon their foreheads, that they might be partakers of the mystery of sin, more conscious of the secret guilt of others, both in deed and thought, than they could now be of their own. The husband cast one look at his pale wife, and Faith at him. What polluted wretches would the next glance show them to each other, shuddering alike at what they disclosed and what they saw!
"Faith! Faith!" cried the husband, "look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one."
Whether Faith obeyed he knew not. Hardly had he spoken when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind which died heavily away through the forest. He staggered against the rock, and felt it chill and damp; while a hanging twig, that had been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew.

Answer 1

Answer:

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown" is an allegory that symbolizes the duality in human nature: the good and the evil. The wife's name, Faith, is used as a symbol of humanity’s inherent belief in goodness. She stands for Christian faith and goodness, while the husband stands for man’s weakness in the face of temptation. The story exposes the hollow religious beliefs of the Puritans in New England. Their emphasis on public morality served to weaken private religious faith. Through the husband’s character, Hawthorne portrays that people didn’t have inner faith in their religious beliefs, which was governed by the society more than by personal conviction.

Explanation: