"Young Goodman Brown" casts the Puritan society in a negative light. This is best seen in Hawthorne's critique of hypocrisy evident in Salem. While the Puritans were incredibly hard working and resilient, they were deeply religious and viewed people as either elect (destined for heaven) or damned (destined for hell). It appears that there was little one could do to move from one category to the other. This, of course, would naturally lead to a great division in society. Those who were elect would naturally view themselves as superior to those who were damned.
Hawthorne criticizes this because it is ripe for hypocrisy. Notice how Brown views himself as elect, yet he allows the devil to lure him deeper and deeper into the forest. In fact, when he realizes Faith is in the woods, Brown becomes so enraged that he becomes the most frightening thing in the entire woods - including the devil and the black mass!
Notice too how the devil tells Brown those around him - and even his ancestors - were not as pious as he thought. He realizes prominent members of his own church are devil worshippers. He realizes his father and grandfather also knew the devil and received his help.
It seems that Hawthorne, who had an ancestor who served as a judge on the infamous Salem witch trials, criticizes the Puritans for neglecting to realize that all humans are susceptible to sin, not exempt from it.
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