A few aspects of the hero’s quest include the following: the hero endures, the hero has a goal, and he has a guide. (Stillman 32,37,39) Goodman Brown endures in this story by continuing to go deeper and deeper into the forest no matter what the consequences may be. He does this because he has a goal that he will do whatever it takes to succeed at. His goal is to find out the truth about people. Goodman Brown meets his

Although Goodman Brown felt a “...loathful brotherhood by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart”, (Dover 32) he could not ever return to a state of blind faith upon returning home. He has been enlightened and now understands that human nature is evil. He discovered what he was looking for and can return back to Salem village. The truth that he sought from the beginning has been bestowed upon him. He returned to Salem village a new man and throughout the rest of his life, he does not see the people he once thought he knew the same as he did before. Hawthorne states, “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream.” (Dover 34) Even Goodman Brown’s “...dying hour was gloom.” (Dover 34) His life was changed so much in that one night that he would never forget it. Throughout Brown’s journey, Hawthorne shows the development of Brown as he discovers his true nature as evil. He realizes that humans are evil creatures, no matter how honorable or innocent they may seem.

guide as he walks through the dark forest and is startled by a traveler on the road holding a dark, twisted staff. Brown needs a guide because his way isn’t clear to him. He doesn’t know the truth about his fellow townspeople and wants to learn the truth so badly that he is willing to leave behind everything he has ever known, go into the dark forest without any direction, and let the devil be his guide. The devil leads the way and tells Goodman a little bit about his ancestors and which direction he should go. (Dover 24-34) Heroes are also commonly faced with decisions. In the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown is faced with the decision of whether to stay home with his wife, Faith, or take off on his journey.

The heroic nature of “Young Goodman Brown” has historical background. The statement that Hawthorne makes for “Young Goodman Brown” is that in a distrustful and depraved society, personal evidence such as a dream or vision grows into allegations and belief. The distrustful society that Puritans created themselves for a prosperous congregation would only return to harm them. This is similar to Brown’s case in that he put the truth upon himself by going on the journey and it has come back to hurt him. By showing the failures of the Puritan society in dealing with the problem of church membership and specifically the conversion experience, Hawthorne spoke to his own time about the possible consequences of the Second Great

Goodman Brown may not have lived happily ever after as most heroes do, but he definitely had a goal in the beginning and did what it took to

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