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Hawthorne's ambiguous ending in "Young Goodman Brown" leaves the reader asking one question. "Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch hunting?" Most readers of this allegory try to answer this question, believing that Goodman Brown did in fact take the "dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest." Hawthorne himself has avoided answering the question, and has instead left it up for the reader to decide Goodman Brown's fate. The reader can never be certain about what actually happened in the forest; the reader can, however, be certain, not only of the nature and stages of Goodman Brown's despair, but also of its probable cause. This can be seen through Faith, Brown's journey into the forest, and the devil. By analyzing these three symbols, the reader can concur that it is he, Goodman Brown, that is responsible for his despair, an not the world, a view deviant from what many believe.
Before Goodman Brown......

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Approximate Word Count: 836
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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