- Consider the significance of the names of the title character and his wife. How are the names symbolic?
- List what you think each of these symbols stands for: the woods (setting), the time of day, Faith’s pink ribbons, the Traveller’s staff.
- What does Goodman Brown’s decision to go into the forest suggest about his character? Considering this, what is ironic about his reaction to seeing all the other townsfolk – and especially his wife – at the gathering in the woods with the devil?
“This story, one of the all-time classics of any Intro to Lit course, has a plot that can seem hard to follow because the middle, critical part seems like it could be a dream, or it could be really happening. In order to “get” the basics of the story so that you can understand its symbolism and theme, you want to read it as if all the events are actually happening…even though it includes the main character flying through the air with some version of the devil and witnessing some sort of dark rituals in the woods. (Now aren’t you eager to read it?) This question is going to ask you what you think Hawthorne’s THEME or “message” is here about society. In order to get close to an appropriate interpretation you will need to go through many of the steps that the “Elements of Literature” web links have presented; understanding the character’s personality (characterization), understanding how the setting impacts the plot and the theme (this is an old Puritan New England town), and MOSTLY looking at SYMBOLISM — names like “Faith”, “Young Goodman Brown”, colors like pink and black, items like serpents, etc. Break down these elements of the story, and in your response, answer the following question in the form of a complete sentence: “Hawthorne’s story “Young Goodman Brown” has a theme that suggests that…. “.