In many cases, sin becomes guilt in seconds, even though the repercussions of that sin may never end. In the short story "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne , the devil haunts a man with his surprising words, and these words leave the young man unable to be himself for the rest of his life. Goodman Brown describes him as the average Puritan with an unknown desire to speak with the devil. a simple walk he takes in the woods with a new companion who enlightens him about the problems of his community, the problem being that he is not the only one traveling with the companion, and that means nothing is as he thought. proves that it is through his own sin and guilt that he is able to see the sin within his community, past and present In the short story, the awareness that the family of. Goodman Brown is not as pure as he thought comes from his own sin. By going into the woods with this stranger, Goodman Brown knows that what he is doing is wrong, and he realizes that this is not what a good Puritan does. This interaction b...