“Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegorical play that warns of the potential for human evil. Hawthorne believed that the worst thing a person could do was to deliberately harden their heart, to completely ignore the emotions of others and therefore their humanity. In the story, the young man Brown commits this unforgivable sin. He repeatedly decided to continue a bad journey, but when it didn't end exactly the way he wanted, he ended his relationship with Faith. Hawthorne uses symbols to demonstrate and hopefully prevent people from turning into good young man Brown. Hawthorne recounts Brown's departure, his journey through the woods, and his arrival at the ceremony. The story begins: "The young man Brown went out, at sunset, into the street of the village of Salem, but bowed his head, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a farewell kiss with his young wife. (Hawthorne 605). Brown has already begun the journey that will lead to his demise in this very first line. Crossing the threshold is only the beginning. Although leaving the faith is not technically a sin, it is certainly not a step in the right direction. As Brown leaves, Faith calls him. She asks him to wait until morning. She pleads: “…postpone your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed tonight. A lonely woman is troubled by such dreams and thoughts that she is sometimes afraid of herself. Please stay with me this night, dear husband, of all the nights of the year! (Hawthorne 605). Brown replies that this “journey” can only be done tonight. In fact, the repetition of "of all the nights of the year" could very well refer to All Hallows' Eve, although this is never explicitly stated. (Hawthorne 606)....... middle of paper ... among them who participated in the communion of the devil, although somewhat hypocrites. Although Brown had a multitude of opportunities to cling to the faith, he ignored each one until it was too late. His clumsiness and lack of responsibility to preserve his faith ultimately cost him his life. Hawthorne proved that humans' unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding proves to be their downfall. For Brown, this is especially true. It was his curiosity that started him on his journey that fateful night. He is also unable to discern the validity of the night itself. Was it a dream? Nor does he know that the Faith remained pure or that it was corrupted. And if she was corrupt, might she now know things about old man Brown that he didn't know himself. His confusion forces him to isolate himself emotionally and harden his heart, which is after all the worst sin of all..