The Dark Truth of the Forest: A Platonic Reading of Young Goodman Brown
Nancy Strahan
“Young Goodman Brown” is a narrative about a man living in the Puritan town of Salem. The story follows the man’s journey through a dark forest, guided by the devil. As Goodman Brown walks further into the forest, his perception of people slowly changes as the devil reveals people Goodman believed to be holy and devote Christians as companions of the devil. By the light of the next morning Goodman Brown is transformed from a loving husband, proud churchgoer, and overall content young man, into a mournful and skeptical individual who isolates himself from everyone in the community, including his wife, Faith. When the text is read through a critical lens, the story, like Goodman Brown, transforms into a Platonic narrative. Plato, often referred to as the father of philosophy, was a scholar during the Golden Age of Athens. One of his most famous works “Republic, Book X,” criticizes poets and painters for being creators of imitations. “And so if the poet is an imitator, he too is thrice removed… from the truth: and so are all other imitators” (Plato 31). The concept referred to as thrice removed is the famous Platonic image of the table. Plato stated that there exists an ideal concept of a table, all physical interpretations of that ideal table, and lastly the images of the tables that are produced by poets and painters. Plato argues that the ideal is compromised first by its physical interpretational form and secondly, and more grievously, by the imitation that is made by the artist. “All these poetical individuals… are only imitators, who copy images of virtue… but have no contact with the truth” (33). When “Young Goodman Brown” is examined through the Platonic lens, the narrative of Goodman Brown supports Plato’s view of the ideal and the consequent corruption that occurs when the truth is lost in imitation or mimesis. In this text Plato’s ideal is represented by the forest and the false imitation is the town of Salem.
The town of Salem, which Goodman holds so dear at the beginning, is the embodiment of Plato’s imitation. This is shown by the parallel relationship that the town shares with deception. In the town, all the characters must lie and deceive in order to uphold the false image of the pure nature of mankind. “‘We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs’” (Hawthorne, 389). Goodman Brown believes this lie and is unaware of the deception surrounding him daily. Yet, once he has traveled the forest, therefore seeing the ideal or truth, the lie that is Salem Village causes consequences that reflect Plato’s idea that the poet’s imitation is destructive to man. Plato describes this concept by speaking of man as removed from reason. “Tell me: will he be more likely to struggle and hold out against his sorrow when he is seen by his equals, or when he is alone in a deserted place” (35). The reader sees Goodman Brown answer this question through his emotional state. Once he has seen the truth, he spends the rest of his life miserable in the lie of Salem. “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream” (Hawthorne 399). Just as Plato theorizes, Goodman’s rejection of the truth, that man’s basic nature is evil, causes him lifelong grief and isolation. Through the characters’ actions, of pretense and false behavior, and Goodman’s isolation after rejecting the ideal state of the forest, it becomes clear that the town is the mimesis of what man believes to be his true nature, while the forest is the truth of man’s nature.
The forest that young Goodman Brown walks through with the devil reflects Plato’s ideal realm in significant ways. The first is the element of knowledge. Plato states in his work that knowledge is lost in imitation and is therefore realized in the ideal. “The imitator has no knowledge worth mentioning of what he imitates” (34). This concept is mirrored in Goodman Brown’s journey from the lack of knowledge that he has within Salem, to the realization and acceptance of knowledge he reaches at the altar in the deep of the forest. “‘Let us walk on… reasoning as we go… We are but a little way in the forest yet’” (389). Goodman begins his walk believing that his wife, his ancestors, and the people of Salem are all good Christians, but as he continues, the truth is slowly revealed person by person, beginning with Goodman’s relatives. “I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans… I helped your Grandfather… it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot” (389). In the outskirts of the forest the devil tells Goodman the truth about people’s real nature and how sinful they are, but as they progress deeper and deeper, Goodman starts to see the truth on his own. “He could have sworn, were such a thing possible, that he recognized the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin” (393). This progression from ignorance to awareness peaks at the altar when he sees the faces of the crowd and loses Faith to the forest. “Among them… appeared faces that would be seen next day… he recognized a score of church members… by the blaze of the hell-kindled torches, the wretched man beheld his Faith” (397-398). Clearly the forest has a direct connection with truth and shows mankind’s real nature. Therefore, according to Plato, regardless of the darkness of the forest, it is the ideal form because it holds no deception.
Another key aspect that justifies the forest as the ideal is what takes place inside of it. In other words, life is arguably better there. This supports Plato’s theory that the ideal is above the imitation. “Inasmuch as his [the poet’s] creations have an inferior degree of truth—in this, I say, he is like him [the painter]; and he is also like him in being associate of an inferior part of the soul” (36). Here Plato is claiming that the creation of art is a lie that takes not only the artist but also its viewers and readers away from the truth and therefore distances them from the ideal state where everything is better and true. “Young Goodman Brown” shows this through the characters who are a part of the state of the forest. Through close reading, it becomes clear that the characters want to be in the forest, that they enjoy it over the village. This is shown when Goodman overhears Goody Cloyse speaking with the devil about making it to the ceremony. “‘I made up my mind to foot it; for they tell me there is a nice young man to be taken into communion to-night’” (391). It is also reinforced by the conversation between the minister and Deacon Gookin a little while later, “‘Spur up, or we shall be late’” (393). The forest also creates a since of equality between the members that is lost within the village. “It was strange to see that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were sinners abashed by the saints” (396). The forest allows truth to equalize man on the basis of sin, where else in the imitation, goodness is believed therefore the pious must separate themselves from the tainted in order to uphold the ruse. Goodman recognizes this bond stating, “he felt a loathful brotherhood by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart” (397). Even the devil calls upon this connection of sin as a positive when he addresses the members of his forest. “‘Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now are ye undeceived. Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race’” (398). Even though the forest is dark and sinful it is the ideal state because it contains truth. This truth allows its members to act freely, bond together, and let go of the pretenses that the lie of goodness places upon them. Because of these elements, the forest, in all its evils is above the picturesque facade of Salem Village.
“Young Goodman Brown” could easily be mistaken for a modest story of man deceived by the people around him and how he realized the lie one night. But that simple, although correct, reading vastly undervalues a complex narrative that is brought forth through a Platonic lens. When the text is examined critically, using Plato’s views in “Republic: Book X,” the narrative shows a problematic truth. That man’s basic nature is evil and that man’s desire to believe the lie that he is, at his core, good results in unhappiness. “Young Goodman Brown” is a lesson of acceptance, a text that suggests man is better off admitting his evil nature than creating a false imitation of truth. In this narrative Goodman Brown is not the hero who made God proud by resisting the devil, but instead he is the cautionary character who refused to admit his nature, accept the truth, and therefore lived a discontent lie of a life because of his need for the imitation over the truth.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 387-400.
Plato. “Republic, Book X.” The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, 3rd ed., Bedfor/St. Martin’s, 2007, pp. 25-38.
The town of Salem, which Goodman holds so dear at the beginning, is the embodiment of Plato’s imitation. This is shown by the parallel relationship that the town shares with deception. In the town, all the characters must lie and deceive in order to uphold the false image of the pure nature of mankind. “‘We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs’” (Hawthorne, 389). Goodman Brown believes this lie and is unaware of the deception surrounding him daily. Yet, once he has traveled the forest, therefore seeing the ideal or truth, the lie that is Salem Village causes consequences that reflect Plato’s idea that the poet’s imitation is destructive to man. Plato describes this concept by speaking of man as removed from reason. “Tell me: will he be more likely to struggle and hold out against his sorrow when he is seen by his equals, or when he is alone in a deserted place” (35). The reader sees Goodman Brown answer this question through his emotional state. Once he has seen the truth, he spends the rest of his life miserable in the lie of Salem. “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream” (Hawthorne 399). Just as Plato theorizes, Goodman’s rejection of the truth, that man’s basic nature is evil, causes him lifelong grief and isolation. Through the characters’ actions, of pretense and false behavior, and Goodman’s isolation after rejecting the ideal state of the forest, it becomes clear that the town is the mimesis of what man believes to be his true nature, while the forest is the truth of man’s nature.
The forest that young Goodman Brown walks through with the devil reflects Plato’s ideal realm in significant ways. The first is the element of knowledge. Plato states in his work that knowledge is lost in imitation and is therefore realized in the ideal. “The imitator has no knowledge worth mentioning of what he imitates” (34). This concept is mirrored in Goodman Brown’s journey from the lack of knowledge that he has within Salem, to the realization and acceptance of knowledge he reaches at the altar in the deep of the forest. “‘Let us walk on… reasoning as we go… We are but a little way in the forest yet’” (389). Goodman begins his walk believing that his wife, his ancestors, and the people of Salem are all good Christians, but as he continues, the truth is slowly revealed person by person, beginning with Goodman’s relatives. “I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans… I helped your Grandfather… it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot” (389). In the outskirts of the forest the devil tells Goodman the truth about people’s real nature and how sinful they are, but as they progress deeper and deeper, Goodman starts to see the truth on his own. “He could have sworn, were such a thing possible, that he recognized the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin” (393). This progression from ignorance to awareness peaks at the altar when he sees the faces of the crowd and loses Faith to the forest. “Among them… appeared faces that would be seen next day… he recognized a score of church members… by the blaze of the hell-kindled torches, the wretched man beheld his Faith” (397-398). Clearly the forest has a direct connection with truth and shows mankind’s real nature. Therefore, according to Plato, regardless of the darkness of the forest, it is the ideal form because it holds no deception.
Another key aspect that justifies the forest as the ideal is what takes place inside of it. In other words, life is arguably better there. This supports Plato’s theory that the ideal is above the imitation. “Inasmuch as his [the poet’s] creations have an inferior degree of truth—in this, I say, he is like him [the painter]; and he is also like him in being associate of an inferior part of the soul” (36). Here Plato is claiming that the creation of art is a lie that takes not only the artist but also its viewers and readers away from the truth and therefore distances them from the ideal state where everything is better and true. “Young Goodman Brown” shows this through the characters who are a part of the state of the forest. Through close reading, it becomes clear that the characters want to be in the forest, that they enjoy it over the village. This is shown when Goodman overhears Goody Cloyse speaking with the devil about making it to the ceremony. “‘I made up my mind to foot it; for they tell me there is a nice young man to be taken into communion to-night’” (391). It is also reinforced by the conversation between the minister and Deacon Gookin a little while later, “‘Spur up, or we shall be late’” (393). The forest also creates a since of equality between the members that is lost within the village. “It was strange to see that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were sinners abashed by the saints” (396). The forest allows truth to equalize man on the basis of sin, where else in the imitation, goodness is believed therefore the pious must separate themselves from the tainted in order to uphold the ruse. Goodman recognizes this bond stating, “he felt a loathful brotherhood by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart” (397). Even the devil calls upon this connection of sin as a positive when he addresses the members of his forest. “‘Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now are ye undeceived. Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race’” (398). Even though the forest is dark and sinful it is the ideal state because it contains truth. This truth allows its members to act freely, bond together, and let go of the pretenses that the lie of goodness places upon them. Because of these elements, the forest, in all its evils is above the picturesque facade of Salem Village.
“Young Goodman Brown” could easily be mistaken for a modest story of man deceived by the people around him and how he realized the lie one night. But that simple, although correct, reading vastly undervalues a complex narrative that is brought forth through a Platonic lens. When the text is examined critically, using Plato’s views in “Republic: Book X,” the narrative shows a problematic truth. That man’s basic nature is evil and that man’s desire to believe the lie that he is, at his core, good results in unhappiness. “Young Goodman Brown” is a lesson of acceptance, a text that suggests man is better off admitting his evil nature than creating a false imitation of truth. In this narrative Goodman Brown is not the hero who made God proud by resisting the devil, but instead he is the cautionary character who refused to admit his nature, accept the truth, and therefore lived a discontent lie of a life because of his need for the imitation over the truth.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 387-400.
Plato. “Republic, Book X.” The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, 3rd ed., Bedfor/St. Martin’s, 2007, pp. 25-38.
Nancy Strahan is pursuing a Baccalaureate of English.
This piece was selected by Professor Dan Kline.
This piece was selected by Professor Dan Kline.