Young Goodman Brown Study Guide Faith Faith represents the stability of the home and the domestic sphere in the Puritan worldview. Faith, as her name suggests, appears to be the most pure­hearted person in the story and serves as a stand­in of sorts for all religious feeling. Goodman Brown clings to her when he questions the goodness of the people around him, assuring himself that if Faith remains godly, then his own faith is worth fighting temptation to maintain. When he sees that Faith has been corrupted, he believes in the absolute evil at the heart of man. His estrangement from Faith at the end of the story is the worst consequence of his change of heart. If he is able to be suspicious of Faith, Hawthorne suggests, then he has truly become estranged from the goodness of God. Goodman Brown Goodman Brown shows both innocence and sympathy as he vacillates between believing in the inherent goodness of the people around him and believing that the devil has taken over the minds of all the people he loves. At the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown believes in the goodness of his father and grandfather, until the old man, likely the devil, tells him that he knew them both. Goodman Brown believes in the Christian nature of Goody Cloyse, the minister, and Deacon Gookin, until the devil shows him that Goody Cloyse is a witch and the other two are his followers. Finally, he believes that Faith is pure and good, until the devil reveals at the ceremony that Faith, too, is corruptible. This vacillation reveals Goodman Brown’s lack of true religion his belief is easy to shake as well as of the good and evil sides of human nature. ­­­In depth descriptions and analyses of the major characters (the traveler) 1.​
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Who is he? He is a traveler who young Goodman Brown met in the dark forest with a staff resembling a snake who has supernatural power, and they travel together. He might have a good social status. Because in the story he said that ​
the deacons
of many a church have drunk the communion wine with him; the selectmen,
of divers towns, make him their chairman.
2.​
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What is his role in the story? The role of the traveler is a person who walked with Goodman Brown in the dark forest together. And gave the snake­like walking stick. 3.​
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How do they relate to each other characters? The traveler represents the evil. He changed Goodman Brown, from an honest, well­behaved person to a unbelievable bad guy. The man, possibly the devil, tempted Goodman Brown into attending the ceremony in the forest. The man intercepts Goodman Brown in the middle of the dark road, and then presides over the ceremony. He sees through the Salem villagers’ charade of Christian piety and prides himself on the godly men he has been able to turn to evil. 4.​
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How do they affect plot and the theme? The traveler stayed with Goodman Brown together all the time and affected him all the way. The words and actions are one part of the reason why Goodman Brown changed. He is not a devout Puritan man anymore. Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author) Who is he ­ He is the author of Young Goodman Brown What is his role in the story ­ He wrote the book How do they relate to each character ­ Nathaniel Hawthorne, with his mother and two sisters, moved to Salem after his father died on a voyage in 1808. He took the knowledge gained from the books he read in the library in Salem to create stories, such as Young Goodman Brown. Plot Summary Where? Puritan New England Salem, Massachusetts Plot diagram Exposition Young goodman Brown is going on a journey through the forest but we don’t know where or why. we also get a little background info Goodman Brown is happily married, takes pride in his community & his family did some pretty wicked stuff back in the days Rising action in the forest goodman meets up with a mysterious traveler with a snake shaped staff. first a pious old woman named Goody Cloyse is revealed as a witch. Next, a deacon and minister come riding along, chatting their love about the devil­worship . And to top it all off, young Goodman Brown hears the voice of his wife, and becomes convinced that she's been up to some really bad stuff. Climax These all lead to climax #1: our protagonist, convinced that his wife has turned evil, runs madly through the forest and right into the second climax. This one celebrates sin, guilt, and evil. But, this time, goodman manages ​
not​
to give in. So, two climaxes: one where young Goodman Brown gives in to wickedness, one where he doesn't. Falling Action Young Goodman Brown returns to town in the morning, shaken by what he has seen. A series of tiny conflicts emerge, as Brown tries to resist the hypocrisy and devilish influences of his townspeople. Okay, so we don't know how hypocritical and devilish they ​
really​
are. But Brown thinks he does. End of story, as far as he's concerned. Resolution In his final paragraph, Hawthorne jumps years and years ahead to show what kind of a man young Goodman Brown becomes. Brown spends the rest of his life suspecting the worst about people. ­­­List and discussion of all major themes in the work. 1. The big ideas of the story. The main idea of the story, the purpose of writing this satirize story is to reveals what author saw the society is. Hawthorne used different symbolism and satire to show the weakness of Public Morality. 2. Major themes In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne reveals what he sees as the corruptibility that results from Puritan society’s emphasis on public morality, which often weakens private religious faith. Although Goodman Brown has decided to come into the forest and meet with the devil, he still hides when he sees Goody Cloyse and hears the minister and Deacon Gookin. He seems more concerned with how his faith appears to other people than with the fact that he has decided to meet with the devil. Goodman Brown’s religious convictions are rooted in his belief that those around him are also religious. This kind of faith, which depends so much on other people’s views, is easily weakened. When Goodman Brown discovers that his father, grandfather, Goody Cloyse, the minister, Deacon Gookin, and Faith are all in league with the devil, Goodman Brown quickly decides that he might as well do the same. Hawthorne seems to suggest that the danger of basing a society on moral principles and religious faith lies in the fact that members of the society do not arrive at their own moral decisions. When they copy the beliefs of the people around them, their faith becomes weak and rootless. Symbols The Staff ­ ​
The devil’s staff, which has carved serpent, draws from the biblical symbol of the serpent as an evil demon. In the Book of Genesis, the serpent tempts Eve to taste the fruit from the forbidden tree, defying God’s will and bringing his wrath upon humanity. When the devil tells Goodman Brown to use the staff to travel faster, Goodman Brown takes him up on the offer and, like Eve, is ultimately condemned for his weakness by losing his innocence. Besides representing temptation, the staff also represents curiosity Goodman Brown’s decision to come into the forest is motivated by curiosity. The staff makes clear that the old man is more demon than human and that Goodman Brown, when he takes the staff for himself, is on the path toward evil as well. Faith’s Pink Ribbons ­ ​
The color pink is associated with innocence and gaiety, and ribbons themselves are a modest, innocent decoration. Hawthorne mentions Faith’s pink ribbons several times at the beginning of the story, imbuing her character with youthfulness and purity. He reintroduces the ribbons when Goodman Brown is in the forest, struggling with his doubts about the goodness of the people he knows. When the pink ribbon floats down from the sky, Goodman Brown perceives it as a sign that Faith has definitely fallen into the realm evil and impurity—she has shed this sign of her purity and innocence. At the end of the story, when Faith greets Goodman Brown as he returns from the forest, she is wearing her pink ribbons again, claiming that she has returned back to her pure form.