The Bible says, in John 10:10, "The thief only comes tosteal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."(NIV). If either one of the protagonists where actively guarding themselves against the thief, Satan, the endings would have been very different. Their knowledge of the Word, gave them a false confidence in themselves rather than a confidence in God and the presence of the Holy Spirit around them, allowing them to let their guard down and opening the door for the devil. In both short stories, "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Thomas Wofe's "The Child by Tiger", the protagonists are both religious men coming from very different backgrounds and time periods. They struggle not only with their earthly desires but also their beliefs in God and how they deal with the conflicts of their choices.

The authors of these stories write of the spiritual conflicts suffered by the corresponding protagonists by using different points of view and different time periods, which creates its own stuggles. In the short story "Young Goodman Brown" the title character and protagonist, Goodman Brown grows up in the Catholic Church and comes from a reputation of generations of good, upstanding and religious men. The time period of this story is in the 1700's in Salem Massachusetts. This is probably why the witch's ceremony enters into Goodman's dream. This is a great way for the evil to antagonize Goodman. Whereas, in Wolfe's story, Dick Prosser is an ex-military Negro who struggles with the continued racism of the south, following the abolishment of slavery. He has to work hard to earn respect. Prosser's religious background probably comes from his family and his continuous pursuit of being a faithfull attendant of church, daily Bible reading, and singing, changting, and praying to God and for the "white folk".

Both men would make choices that would eventually lead to their falls. Goodman's choice would be to go on his journey with an arrogant sort of confidence that despite that it is a journey on the dark side; he still believes his soul will remain intact, as evident in his cnversation with Faituh. And Prosser's choice to have an affair with Pansy Harris, the cook, is the beginning of his fall. If he would not have pursued Pansy, the fight with Mr. Harris, her husband, would probably never have happened. This is the moment that propels Prosser into his killing rampage.

There is much symbolism emphasizing the Holy Spirits presence and attempts to interrupt the choices these men make. The Holy Spirit uses Faith to try and change Goodman's mind about going on his desired journey. The Holy Spirit also uses Goddman's wisdom of right and wrong to get him to hesitate and to turn back, representing repentance. Goodman does hesitate and even turns back and also stops to pray at different times throughtout his journey. There is also the presence of God there with Goodman, as seen by the starrs in the sky and the humn music that he hears. But the presence of evil is there as well and eventually wins Goodman's soul. This is evident when Goodman said "My Faith is gone!" (para 50). In "The Child by Tiger", it is through the Word, that the Holy Spirit tries to intercede. When Prosser reads his Bible, he woeeps, showing that the Word is getting inside of him. The way he places his Bible on the table and nothing else around it also indicates the importance of God which allows the Holy Spirit to work inside of him. The symbol that represents the conflict between good and evil is the image of the rigle lying across the Bible. It also indicates that Prosser chooses the world's way, turning away from God's. In the end, Prosser turns around and surrenders, representing repentance and his complete surrender to God.

In conclusion, both aurthors are able to demonstrate the conflict between good and evil and God's willingness to interupt the men's bad choices and sin. He gives then the opportunity to turn back. Neither man chooses wisely. At the end of their journeys they both die. One dies physically but with peace and the other dies emotionally and without peace and has to live with his choice for the remainder of his natural life.