Hawthorne plays on the view that many Puritans shared during this time period, the fear of the wild and unknown. Young Goodman Brown sees "a devilish Indian behind every tree" (pg. 21). .
Young Goodman Brown venturing into the forest in the dark of night could be an allegory for the view of the Puritans of this time period; the fear of the unknown, people were scared to leave their homes, the pressure placed on their public morality by the Puritans often weakened their religious views, the forest was often naively associated with Indians, the puritans had a view that no one should venture into the forest because Indians will murder you. When Young Goodman Brown finally meets the man at the foot of an old tree, the man tells Young Goodman Brown "The clock of the old south was striking as I came through Boston, and that is a full fifteen minutes ago" (pg. 21). The fact that this man, who is most likely; the devil, reveals this key fact about his journey is enough to confirm he is some sort of supernatural being, Salem is over 15 miles away from Boston, there is no way this man could of made it to this tree as quickly as he did. The man lends Goodman Brown his wooden staff that has a serpent on it, which is dramatic irony, as a reader we are able to make the connection that the serpent is a reference to the book of Genesis, in which the serpent represents evil and tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. .
When Goodman Brown accepts the Serpent staff he is succumbing to the evil around him and ultimately loses his innocence. Goodman Brown only starts to feel comfortable in the forest, which is portrayed as evil and devilish, once he has accepted the fact that he is conspiring with evil, he considers turning back and going home but the devil persuades him to continue on. When he hears the hoof tramps and voices of his Minister and Deacon Gookin, he starts to realize the evil behind some of the people he admired most.
