Young Goodman Brown struggles mentally with his decisions. He doesn't want to be the first man in his family to travel down what he perceives as the morally wrong path, yet he walks it anyway. The poem in question, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a metaphor. It was not intended to be taken literally. It details the internal struggles of Goodman Brown. Ultimately the poem focuses on the themes of temptation and regret.
The man, or devil of the story, tells Brown that in fact, his father and even grandfather had walked the same path at points in their lives when looking for assistance, or the answers. No matter who you are or where you are, no matter your social status, Hawthorne implies, each human walks this path at some point in his or her life- the path which the individual finds morally wrong and causes one to question oneself. This path can be accurately entitled "The Path of Guilt." Even those outspoken about morality; those preaching their own morals down upon others have followed this mysterious man like young Goodman Brown. Says the man, "The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wine with me." [1]
Through the walk and onward Brown questions is intentions and whether or not he really wants to be walking down the path he's on. Regardless, his feet carry him forward. At a point he rests, before seeing his church's minister and deacon jogging along the very same path, speaking quietly with one another.
Source:
http://www.online-literature.com/poe/158/
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