As the story begins, Goodman Brown, a Puritan, is leaving his house around sunset. His wife, Faith, is trying to persuade him to depart at sunrise instead. His journey is to take him away for the night and he is to return at sunrise. He has a feeling of guilt for leaving her alone after being married to her for a mere three months, but he justifies his journey by swearing that after this night, he will “cling to her skirts

Goodman’s journey continues undisturbed until he meets his old catechism teacher, Goody Cloyse. She already has acquaintance with the devil, and she asks the devil for help so that she may get to the meeting. The devil drops his serpent-like staff before her astonishing Goodman Brown. Goodman Brown is excited to tell the story of the forest to the minister the next morning. He thinks to himself that he has done a good job not falling into the devil’s trap, but he soon hears the sound of oncoming horses and men. The voices he hears are strangely enough very similar to that of the minister and Deacon Gookin. Brown tries to rationalize what he heard. He tries to figure out why these two men would be in the woods at such an hour of the night. Brown’s faith is tested again when he sees these two men in the forest. Hawthorne strikes at the heart when Goodman Brown sees his catechism teacher and hears his minister because in Brown’s life, these people are flawless above reproach. He looks up to the sky, towards Heaven, and he sees a small piece of blue allowing the reader to know that he still has some faith left in God. Goodman cries out to whomever will hear him, “With Heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!”(168). Black clouds started to fill the sky as if Brown’s faith and his cry against evil were not enough to stop it from entering his life.

Goodman Brown awoke in the forest wondering what happened the previous night while on his journey. He awoke from his former illusion of reality. He wondered whether the scenes he witnessed were real or were they just his imagination. He awoke knowing the truth about all people of the Salem village. Goodman chooses to believe what he remembers as the truth and trusts no one in the village when he returns, not even his wife. Hawthorne leaves this story open too much interpretation. The reader could believe that Goodman is believing an exaggerated or distorted truth. No one can be perfect, not even priests. Goodman uses his illusion to pull back from reality and become a bitter man. Goodman lives out the rest of his life with misery and distrust. He continues to have little faith in his wife and often scowled at prayer and worship. After his life was over and he could do no more on this earth, “they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom”(172).

and follow her to Heaven”(164). Brown’s

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