Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne's use of symbols in much of his writing was primarily caused by his remarkable connection with a mysterious and supernatural plane of consciousness. This fact becomes evident even with just a cursory examination of one or more of his short stories. By using symbols, Hawthorne's ability to express things almost impossible to put into words was greatly increased. Many of the symbols used in “Young Goodman Brown” have both spiritual and mythic value. It was as if Hawthorne was able to think with the mind of an uneducated peasant, the mind of a well-educated lawyer, and at the same level of brilliance as Plato, all simultaneously. “Symbolism and Allegory in Short Fiction” describes the use of symbols as follows: “Authors want to find a way to express the inexpressible” (10M.). Again, this film paralleled Hawthorne's style in explaining, "So we take the abstract qualities of life and make them concrete by using symbols" (10M.). Was it possible that the great Nathaniel Hawthorne was schizophrenic? Did he deliberately weave such a network of words? I believe his giant intellect allowed him to overcome the usual limitations of the single-plane thinker. He thought, read, wrote and acted on many different levels. Arlin Turner in “Nathaniel Hawthorne a Biography” stated this precise fact: Jonathan Cilley was probably his most intimate friend in class; and yet his discrimination would lead him to say, “I love Hawthorne; I admire him; but I don't know him. He lives in a mysterious world of thought and imagination that he never allows me to enter. (40)This different way of thinking allowed him to create truth from fiction, disorder from solidarity. By using ambiguous words, he was able to create a real wife for Goodman Brown, while also creating a religious experience for Mr. Brown. The name alone is not really significant, but when combined with the serious religious overtones of the text, it becomes crucial. Goodman Brown lost Faith. He lost his wife's faith, the faith he had in his city, and, at one point, his faith in God's ability to protect those who choose to serve him. To say that one believes in ghosts would seem reasonable to any normal person, but to say that one believes in ghosts would seem reasonable to any normal person, but to say that one believes in ghosts would seem reasonable to any normal person. having witnessed a visible apparition may seem strange.