Question

In at least 100 words, describe how the symbol of the pink ribbons in Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown" illustrates the theme of the loss of innocence.

Answer 1

We associate the pink ribbons with Faith, Goodman Brown's young wife, whose innocence and devout character are seemed to be represented in part by the colour of her ribbons. I think potentially that the falling to the ground of these ribbons can symbolise one of the themes of the story, which is the fact that we are all sinners - none of us are so good as to avoid the taint of sin on our hearts.

Answer 2

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Faith’s pink ribbon that she places on her cap represents her purity. Pink is associated with innocence. The ribbons are a very modest and innocent decoration themselves. Hawthorne mentioned her pink Robbin a lot in the beginning of the story, edifying her characters cheerful spirit and pure aura. We later see the ribbons in the forest with Goodman Brown while he is struggling with doubts about the goodness of those around him. When one falls from the sky, he sees it as a sign Faith fell into the realm of the devil and she lost her signs of purity and innocence. At the end, when Faith and Goodman meet again and Faith still has her ribbon, leaving Goodman with doubts about his previous experiences.