Evil in Young Goodman Brown In my interpretation of the story, I will discuss three main topics: the initial conversation with Faith, the evil character, and the significance of Brown's wife in the short story . Young Goodman Brown is about to embark on a journey like so many others before him, across the threshold that separates unsuspecting young boys and wise old men. This, however, will not be without danger, because aging is a process of experimentation defined by trial and error, and the price of errors is sometimes significant. This errand he is undertaking has an evil purpose. It seems this night was predicted long ago by both Faith and Goodman Brown. His wife begs him to stay home, of all nights, because she senses there is trouble. The purpose of the journey is not discussed, because it is the passage b...... middle of paper......; The last paragraph of the story indicates that this was not just a journey to maturity, because he died as a pagan, far from the religious community. He lost his faith and was punished for it. Darkness is an important part of this story, it symbolizes the forest, the unknown and evil. The fact that every person in Salem, sinner or pious, was present in the forest may reflect a certain humor. They act like zombies at night and like normal people during the day, pretending to believe in darkness and returning to church at dawn..