Young Goodman Brown Story

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Literary Criticism

YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN’S STORY


PSYCHOLOGICAL – ANALYTICAL CRITICISM (ID, EGO,
SUPEREGO)

Igsaril H. Cuas, Sched Code: 7315


Student

Jane Marie Lozada


Course Instructor
Young Goodman Brown Story (Summary)

Goodman Brown says goodbye to his wife, Faith, outside of his house in Salem
Village. Faith, wearing pink ribbons in her cap, asks him to stay with her, saying that she
feels scared when she is by herself and free to think troubling thoughts. Goodman Brown tells
her that he must travel for one night only and reminds her to say her prayers and go to bed
early. He reassures her that if she does this, she will come to no harm. Goodman Brown takes
final leave of Faith, thinking to himself that she might have guessed the evil purpose of his
trip and promising to be a better person after this one night.

Goodman Brown sets off on a road through a gloomy forest. He looks around, afraid
of what might be behind each tree, thinking that there might be Indians or the devil himself
lurking there. He soon comes upon a man in the road who greets Goodman Brown as though
he had been expecting him. The man is dressed in regular clothing and looks normal except
for a walking stick he carries. This walking stick features a carved serpent, which is so
lifelike it seems to move.

The man offers Goodman Brown the staff, saying that it might help him walk faster,
but Goodman Brown refuses. He says that he showed up for their meeting because he
promised to do so but does not wish to touch the staff and wants to return to the village.
Goodman Brown tells the man that his family members have been Christians and good
people for generations and that he feels ashamed to associate with him. The man replies that
he knew Goodman Brown’s father and grandfather, as well as other members of churches in
New England, and even the governor of the state.

The man’s words confuse Goodman Brown, who says that even if this is so, he wants
to return to the village for Faith’s sake. At that moment, the two come upon an old woman
hobbling through the woods, and Goodman Brown recognizes Goody Cloyse, who he knows
to be a pious, respected woman from the village. He hides, embarrassed to be seen with the
man, and the man taps Goody Cloyse on the shoulder. She identifies him as the devil and
reveals herself to be a witch, on her way to the devil’s evil forest ceremony.

Despite this revelation, Goodman Brown tells the man that he still intends to turn
back, for Faith’s sake. The man says that Goodman Brown should rest. Before disappearing,
he gives Goodman Brown his staff, telling him that he can use it for transport to the
ceremony if he changes his mind. As he sits and gathers himself, Goodman Brown hears
horses traveling along the road and hides once again.
Soon he hears the voices of the minister of the church and Deacon Gookin, who are
also apparently on their way to the ceremony. Shocked, Goodman Brown swears that even
though everyone else in the world has gone to the devil, for Faith’s sake he will stay true to
God. However, he soon hears voices coming from the ceremony and thinks he recognizes
Faith’s voice. He screams her name, and a pink ribbon from her cap flutters down from the
sky.

Certain that there is no good in the world because Faith has turned to evil, Goodman
Brown grabs the staff, which pulls him quickly through the forest toward the ceremony.
When he reaches the clearing where the ceremony is taking place, the trees around it are on
fire, and he can see in the firelight the faces of various respected members of the community,
along with more disreputable men and women and Indian priests. But he doesn’t see Faith,
and he starts to hope once again that she might not be there.

A figure appears on a rock and tells the congregation to present the converts.
Goodman Brown thinks he sees his father beckoning him forward and his mother trying to
hold him back. Before he can rethink his decision, the minister and Deacon Gookin drag him
forward. Goody Cloyse and Martha Carrier bring forth another person, robed and covered so
that her identity is unknown. After telling the two that they have made a decision that will
reveal all the wickedness of the world to them, the figure tells them to show themselves to
each other. Goodman Brown sees that the other convert is Faith. Goodman Brown tells Faith
to look up to heaven and resist the devil, then suddenly finds himself alone in the forest.

The next morning Goodman Brown returns to Salem Village, and every person he
passes seems evil to him. He sees the minister, who blesses him, and hears Deacon Gookin
praying, but he refuses to accept the blessing and calls Deacon Gookin a wizard. He sees
Goody Cloyse quizzing a young girl on Bible verses and snatches the girl away. Finally, he
sees Faith at his own house and refuses to greet her. It’s unclear whether the encounter in the
forest was a dream, but for the rest of his life, Goodman Brown is changed. He doesn’t trust
anyone in his village, can’t believe the words of the minister, and doesn’t fully love his wife.
He lives the remainder of his life in gloom and fear.
Applying the Psychological – Analytical Criticism (ID, Ego, Superego) to the Young
Goodman Brown Story

ID

Goodman Brown wants to fulfill his inner desire to go on a journey without his wife,
Faith. His wife tries to stop him because she does not want to be alone in her sleep. But
Goodman Brown tells Faith to sleep early and pray because he just wants to travel in one day.
All along the story, Goodman Brown realizes the dark secret of his relatives, church mate and
even his wife about worshipping the devil and he wants to keep himself to avoid the devil.
Even though that it was only a dream vision that he sees everyone turned into the devil,
Goodman Brown don’t trust all of the people around him, making his life miserable and
lonely for the sake of avoiding the evil side of the people.

Ego

As the story goes on, Goodman Brown wants to fulfill his longing to know why
people turns against the church that’s why he wants to travel. Knowing that people he knows;
his relatives, friends, churchmates and even his wife doing the ceremony of the devil, he
keeps himself as good and holy as possible and he doesn’t care if he is lonely and miserable.

Superego

Goodman Brown does not know if he really encounters the problem because he only
remembered that he was on the deserted forest or it is just a dream but when he returns to his
village, he keeps himself to avoid the evil side of the people around him. It changed him
drastically. He could not live the rest of his poor life in peace. He could not sing the holy
psalms without hearing the songs of the Devil worshippers.

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