The significant themes in Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown" are hypocrisy and mistrust, as depicted by the actions and words of the old man/devil (Hawthorne, 2005). As the "dark figure" welcomes his listeners to the "communion of the race," he intends the communion to depict the flawed way of life shown by Hawthorne across the book. The communion, therefore, points to mistrust and corruption (Hawthorne, 2005). The speaker creates the awareness of the disguised evil that people in the forest have, and instead of the outward pious appearance that people indicate, they cannot be trusted owing to their corrupt ways. Therefore, the communion of the race suggests the lives full of mistrust in the setting of the book, and the overflowing corruption. In Hawthorne's work, the central "sable form" promises the people a revelation of the fountain of all wicked arts. The fountain supplies comparatively more impulses to the individuals than human power can (Hawthorne, 2005).
A similar thing is suggested at the conversion ceremony of Faith, Goodman Brown's wife. She is promised the power to see evil from underneath. Hawthorne clarifies the fact that the senses of the listener that will be activated when the characters choose to be converted to the dark side increase their knowledge of the evil happenings of the world. In the phrase from page 536 of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," the dark figure is swearing Faith and the other convert to the dark side of the world, which Goodman Brown depicts as evil and hypocritical, but comprising of the most members of Salem (Hawthorne, 2005). A view of Goodman Brown from the perspective of the phrase reveals that he is utterly surprised that his wife is part of the dark side, and so are the governor's wife and the preacher, among other villagers of Salem. The sermon conducted by the sable figure seems to be convincing but exacerbates an existing problem in Salem: mistrust.
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Peer Response
Hi Ryan. I agree with you on the definition of communication, which marks the introduction of your discussion. A definition of communion also serves to stress the significance of the conversion ceremony in Salem. Additionally, the excerpt drawn from the book has indeed served the purpose of promising the converts the ability to know the evil that is around them. It is also correct to say that the excerpt drawn from page 536 connects to the ending of the book. That magnifies the theme of mistrust in Hawthorne's book.
References
Hawthorne, N. (2005). Young Goodman Brown . Wildside Press LLC.
