"Young Goodman Brown"

Characters

100

Recently married Puritan who lives in Salem in the 1600’s. He believes in the goodness of the townspeople until he sees many of them attending a witches’ Sabbath in the forest.

What is Goodman Brown

200

Goodman Brown’s wife, begs her husband to stay home at the beginning of the story.

What is Faith

300

The mysterious man who meets Goodman Brown in the forest and accompanies him part way to the witches Sabbath where Brown is inducted into an evil brotherhood.

What is The Devil Figure

400

Teacher of Catholicism who attends the witches' Sabbath.

What is Goody Cloyse

500

Salem resident described as a “rampant hag” who attends the witches’ Sabbath. The devil has promised her that she would be the queen of Hell

What is Martha Carrier

Symbols/Themes

100

-Represents purity and innocence. Hawthorne mentions ______ several times throughout the story: -In the beginning of the story (to emphasis his wife’s purity and goodness). -In the forest when Goodman is struggling with his doubts about the goodness of the people he knows, and sees ______ he (perceives this as a sign that his wife has shed her purity and innocence and has fallen under the spell of the devil) -And at the end of the story when Faith greets Goodman Brown, putting into question whether his experience was reality or just a dream.

What is What is Faith's Pink Ribbons

200

In what ways do you think the Presence of Temptation plays into the story, provide two specific instances of temptation in the story and explain their significance.

Goodman makes the choice to go into the forest and meet with the devil; the choice was the true danger, and the devil only facilitates Goodman Brown’s fall.

300

Do you think that the story's setting has a significant role in establishing the themes of the story? Why or why not, explain.

400

Goodman uses to ________ to walk faster, draws from the Biblical symbol of the serpent as an evil demon. When Goodman is told to use it to travel faster he is ultimately condemned for his weakness by losing his innocence.

What is The devil’s staff

500

In allegories, characters are usually personifications of abstract qualities. For example, a character can represent a human trait of behavior. With that in mind, what do you think the significance are of the names “Young Goodman Brown,” and “Faith”?

Goodman Brown: Symbolizes the good and evil sides of human nature. Faith: Symbolizes religious faith. When Goodman leaves to go on his journey he leaves his wife Faith behind and thus it is a symbolic representation that he left his faith behind as well.

Background Info.

100

Who wrote "Young Goodman Brown"

What is Nathaniel Hawthorne Hawthorne first published “Young Goodman Brown” anonymously in 1835 in "New England Magazine", and in 1846 in his short-story collection titled "Moses from an Old Manse"

200

What is the setting of "Young Goodman Brown"

Salem, Massachusetts

300

"Young Goodman Brown" is considered to be a part of the _____ genre. This genre emerged in the early 1800’s. It was influenced by the commercial rise of publication and emerging popular magazines.

What is the Short Story

400

What time period was "Young Goodman Brown" set in?

What is the 17th Century

500

What historical event occurred during this time that served as inspiration for the story? Hint: Hawthorne’s ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and his great grandfather, John Hawthorne served as a judge at the _______ and condemned twenty-five women to death.

What is The Salem Witch Trials

Important Quotations

100

Explain the importance of the following passage found on page 214 of the text: "You are late Goodman Brown," said he. "The clock of the Old South was striking as I came through Boston, and that is a full fifteen minutes agone." ... "Faith kept me back a while," replied the young man, with tremor in his voice, caused by the sudden appearance of his companion, though not wholly expected.'

200

What is the irony of the following passage: Found on page 215 of the text "Too Far! too far!" exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk. "My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyr's'; and shall I be the first of the name of the Brown that took this path..."

300

"Faith! shouted Goodman Brown, in a voice of agony and desperation; and the echoes of the forest mocked him crying, "Faith! Faith", as in bewildered wretches were seeking her all through the wilderness. The cry of grief, rage, and terror was yet piercing the night, when the unhappy husband held his breath for a response. There was a scream, drowned immediately in a louder murmur of voices, fading into far-off laughter, as the dark cloud swept away, leaving the clear and silent sky above Goodman Brown. But something fluttered lightly down through the air and caught on the branch of a tree. The young man seized it, and beheld a pink ribbon." "My Faith is gone!" Cried he after one stupefied moment. "There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given."

What is the importance of this passage found on page 218 of the text:

400

What do you think is the significance of the following quote to the story? Page 222 in the text: "Turning the corner by the meeting house, he spied the head of Faith, with the pink ribbons, gazing anxiously forth, and bursting into such joy at the sight of him that he almost kissed her husband before the whole village. But Goodman Brown looked sternly and sadly into her face, and passed on without a greeting. Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?"

500

What is the importance of the following passage found on the bottom of page 222 in the text: "And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly procession, besides neighbors not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom."

Discussion Questions

100

Do you think that Goodman Brown deserved all of the things that happened to him as a direct result of not listening to Faith's request to stay home and giving into temptation instead Do you think that he was at fault?

200

If Brown had not ventured into the forest, how do you think his life may have been different?

300

After the meeting in the forest, how might Brown’s life differ if he knew for certain whether his journey was real or not? Why does his uncertainty make his  life miserable?

400

What do you think is the central message that Hawthorne is trying to convey in "Young Goodman Brown" (Think about the characters, symbols, and themes of the story when answering the question)

500

Hawthorne’s ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and his great grandfather, John Hawthorne served as a judge at the Salem witch trials and condemned twenty-five women to death. Hawthorne felt both shame and fascination for his families history and incorporated those emotions into his writings, such as “Young Goodman Brown”. Discuss two examples of these incorporations within the text.