The devil has been around in life and literature for a long time. Sometimes his appearance is frightening ("The Divine Comedy" or "Paradise Lost") and sometimes his appearance is much more suave and subtle, perhaps representing the multiple ways that we are confronted with temptation in life. The devil in "Young Goodman Brown" tends to fall into the more casual characterization. He is not presented as a frightening threat, but more as the casual friend of many of the town's leading citizens, including members of Brown's own family. Even at the key moment in the story, the "Black Mass" in the forest, he does not present anything that is particuarly frightening. This is in keeping with the theme that the town's citizens, while appearing just and upright, are secret "friends" of the tempter. On the more subtle side, we should think of this casual acquaintance with the present town members as an indication that their failings may be more "casual" than serious (although he does describe some major sins in his horation in the forest). We never know whether the forest scene acutally happened; we do know that it destoys Brown's life because he can no longer accept even the most "casual" meeting with the devil. If he had been able to accept this as a part of being human, he might have had a good and useful life ... sadly, he could not.
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