The story about Young Goodman Brown centers around the allegory of a man pitted against his past and his desires to reach beyond that which his benighted heaven would put before him. The allegory is Christian due to the references in Young Goodman Brown to the devil and Satan. The beginning of the story mentions the goodman's wife, Faith. "Faith kept me back awhile," replied the young man, with a tremor in his voice, caused …showed first 75 words of 327 total…

…showed last 75 words of 327 total…to Young Goodman Brown being described as a lunatic who cannot discern his religious fanaticism from reality. And there they stood, the only pair, as it seemed where yet hesitating on the verge of wickedness, in this dark world (stanza 66). This may also symbolize Young Goodman Brown's allegoric faith of Purity. The goodman Brown was torn between what was dreams or what was reality. Although, no matter it dream or real his faith was shooken.