Faith, in this concept, is not referring to his wife, but only its symbol. This is due to what he later discovers. He meets an old man not long upon entering the forest. This man, with his serpent-shaped staff, represents the Devil, tempting Goodman Brown. This scene is an allusion to the Bible, when Eve is tempted by the serpent to disobey God. Journalist John S. Hardt writes, "The woods were once the Garden of Eden, but have since been condemned by the serpent (the old man) who is now in control of the wilderness" (251). The serpent in the Bible helps lead Adam and Eve to eternal exile. The old man in "Young Goodman Brown" helps tempt Goodman Brown into sin and eternal guilt. The old man, or the Devil, in his attempt to lure Goodman Brown, claims that he was well acquainted with Goodman Brown's father and grandfather, both known as honest men and good Christians. He tells Goodman Brown of the Puritanical sins that he helped them both commit. .
But Goodman Brown completely misses the Devil's point. He still assumes his .
community has a monopoly on virtue; he does not understand that as long as his own people act uncharitably and unkindly toward those who do not conform to the Puritan ideal of goodness, they serve the Devil every day of their lives. (Bernardo par. 6).
His father and grandfather's deceitfulness bewilders Goodman Brown, that such thought good men could get away with such evil. Goodman Brown fights himself, deciding whether or not to turn back. At one point, he stops at a tree stump and refuses to go further, questioning his morality. Nevertheless, he continues after he sees the townspeople pass by, as well as the minister and deacon. He finally realizes the unfortunate truth of what the Devil told him; the people of Salem Village are not actually free of sin when their Puritan views are that destroying the villages of heathen Indians, tormenting practitioners of other faiths, or burning witches is not evil, but virtuous.
