The symbolism is the use of symbols by a writer to exprees or represent ideas in literature.The symbols represent something else of what the author writes in a story. They can be names, places,material objectsphrases,etc.
In Young Goodman Brown the author uses a lot of symbolism. Firstly, he uses the names as symbols. For example the name of the main character is "Young Goodman Brown" which symbolizes the good, the perfection.The word young means that he is innocent, for instance at the beginning of the story he comes into the forest motivated by his curiosity,moreover he believes in the goodness of his grandfather, his father,Goody Cloyse,the minister, the deakon Goodking and Faith until the devil shows the oppositebthat all of them are evil people.He is a three-month husband, it symbolizes his inmaturity; he becomes mature when he knows that evil is everywhere and he isolates himself forever. Another important charater is Faith.Faith is the Young Goodman Broew`s wife,her name symbolizes, the belief in the puritan religion and her pink ribbons represents her innocence, when the fall it is a sign that she has fallen in the evil.
Secondly,the author uses the place in the story: the forest to represent the unknow,the evil, the destruction of people.It is a dark place where anything good can occurs. The satanic rituals takes place here.
Thirdly, he uses material objects like the stuff that the devil offers to Young Goodman Brown and seems as a snake to represent the evil and curiosity which leads him into temptation.
The last element that the author uses are the phrases that says Young Goodman Brown to his wife as "my love and my Faith" the author is using the wife`s name to refers to his love and faith in God.Another phrase that he says is "this one night i must tarry away from thee" this means he must part from his faith in God to continue with his journey in the forest.
In my opinion symbols are important resources in the literature to understand in the best way a story.We must use the brain to interprete what the the author intend to communicate us. When we think,we are stimulating our imagination.