The Man In The Black Suit

King has stated that “The Man in the Black Suit” is an homage to his favorite story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” (69). Hawthorne was a 19th-century American author associated with the Gothic and Dark Romantic literary movements. Hawthorne wrote about the Christian battle between good and evil and believed that evil lurked inside every individual.

Hawthorne wrote “Young Goodman Brown” in 1835. The story is set in 17th-century Puritan New England, specifically, in Salem Village, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials.

Brown is a young married man who sets out on an evening journey. His wife Faith implores him to stay, but Brown persists, promising to return in the morning. At the edge of the forest, he meets an old man who carries a serpent-shaped staff. The old man convinces Brown to accompany him into the forest. Brown experiences supernatural events on their journey and realizes that the old man is the Devil.

The Devil takes Brown through the forest to an initiation ritual. When they reach the clearing, Brown sees, to his horror, that all the townsfolk—including the deacon and preacher—are there for the ceremony. Another initiate is brought beside him, and he realizes that it is his wife, Faith. Brown cries out before the ceremony begins, and he wakes the next morning in his own bed.

From that moment onward, Brown cannot trust any of the townspeople, including his wife. He does not know if the events he experienced were a dream, but he lives the rest of his life as an unhappy, mistrustful man. Hawthorne leaves the ending ambiguous, allowing the reader to decide how to interpret Brown’s experience.

Like “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Man in the Black Suit” is highly symbolic and open-ended. Both stories contain a protagonist’s meeting with the Devil and a terrifying encounter that may or may not have been a dream. Both stories portray a woman who is idealized (Brown’s wife Faith and Gary’s mother Loretta) and whose destruction the Devil uses to frighten the protagonist. Both stories end ambiguously, leaving the reader with multiple possibilities as to the stories’ messages.

Despite the stories’ similarities, King’s story stands on its own. “The Man in the Black Suit” contains many aspects that are not present in Hawthorne’s story. King has stated that a friend’s account of his grandfather’s meeting with the Devil inspired the main elements in “The Man in the Black Suit,” such as the setting, plot, and the description of the Devil (69).

With a story as symbolic—even allegorical—as “The Man in the Black Suit,” there are a number of interpretations possible. While it is unwise (and unhelpful) to pronounce any single interpretation as definitive, King’s story appears to be a modern take on “Young Goodman Brown,” interjecting modern ideas of faith and psychology that both echo and bring into question the basic assumptions of the characters in the older story. Specifically, while Hawthorne’s work scrutinizes faith, King’s work scrutinizes reality. The basic structure of the story questions whether Gary truly met and grappled with the Devil himself or if instead Gary simply fell asleep and had his biggest fears visited upon him through an extremely vivid dream. With a nine-year-old’s tenuous grasp of genetics, perhaps Gary does blame his mother for Dan’s death. Gary certainly questions the strength of his own faith and character when he does not accept the bounty of the first fish and continues to seek out more.

Another interpretation moves the focus away from Gary and onto his father, Albion. Albion was deeply distraught by the death of his older son, Dan. This extreme emotion can be seen in Gary’s description of the day Dan died. It is possible that Albion never considered bees a major threat and so never thought to have anything on hand to protect Dan should he be stung, and because of this Albion may feel responsible for Dan’s death. This heavy feeling of responsibility may now come into play with the only son he has left. Albion may be asking himself what would happen to his son if he did not at least entertain the possibility that Gary may be in danger, and so he walks the line between logic and faith. Gary then walks this same line as he nears the end of his life—he can be logical and accept that it was all most likely a dream, or he can accept how the encounter reflects the lessons of his Christian faith and go into the afterlife prepared to meet the man once again. Since this story offers so many different interpretations, this guide offers suggestions for interpreting key themes, events, and symbols while acknowledging a wealth of other valid interpretations.