Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Young Goodman Brown In "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism. Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil, and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity reflects this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's young Goodman Brown is deceived into believing in the perfectibility of humanity and the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story on a Puritan protagonist to convey the "hypocrisy" that he sees as "the antithesis of wisdom" (4). As a result, young Goodman Brown is unable to accept the undefinable vision of betrayal and evil he encounters in the forest. The uncertainty of this vision, reinforced by Hawthorne's deliberate but effective use of ambiguity, is also seen in the character of Faith, in the shadows and darkness of the forest, and in the imperceptible boundaries that separate nightmarish dreams from reality. The ambiguity surrounding Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, is immediately apparent at the beginning of the story. As young Goodman Brown leaves his comfortable and reverent Puritan home to embark on this mysterious journey, Faith unexpectedly dips her "beautiful head into the street" allowing the wind to ruffle and "play with the pink ribbons of her cap" (1199). Hawthorne uses natural imagery, such as the image of the wind "playing" with Faith's pink ribbons, to convey Faith's attachment to nature; the dark and mysterious part of life that is somewhere outside the constraints of Puritan society. In fact, the image...... in the center of the sheet......rne: A Study of Short Fiction. Ed. Nancy Bunge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. 136-41.Bunge, Nancy. Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study in Short Fiction. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Dolis, John. Hawthorne's style of gaze. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1993. Elder, Marjorie J. Nathaniel Hawthorne: Transcendental Symbolist. Ohio: Ohio UP, 1969. Fogle, Richard Harter. “The Hawthorne Fiction: The Light and the Darkness.” Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study in Short Fiction. Ed. Nancy Bunge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. 133-35Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207. Millington, Richard H. Practicing Romance. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1992. Ponder, The Early Narrative Art of Melinda M. Hawthorne. New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990.