“Young Goodman Brown,” answer the attached … summer 18.pdf · Major Works Data Sheet: ......

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition

2018-19

Ms. Lively

Assignment One: Fill out 5 of these “Major Works Data packets for 5 different novels you have

read that are of literary merit (AP worthy).

Assignment Two: Look up all of the attached allusions. These will be checked upon return and a

major part of your first quarter grade. We will NOT immediately test on these.

Assignment Three: Study the attached list of literary terms by making flash cards for all 100

terms. The bold words SHOULD be a review for you. You WILL have a test over the terms on the

second day of school. We will be keeping a running list of terms throughout the course to add to

these as we progress through our reading.

Assignment Four:

1. Read “Young Goodman Brown,” answer the attached questions, and find literary and

rhetorical devices the author uses (use the list for assignment one to help you). Then take

it a step further. After you have found the device, write down the purpose for which the

author may have used that particular device and/or what it adds to the text. Find as many

as you can. There may be more than one correct answer. You do not and may not find

some of the terms within the passages. This will be a class discussion upon return.

2. Figure out the time period of this story’s setting; identify the historical allusions (you need

to have knowledge of the Salem Witch Trials, Puritan intolerance of the Quakers and King

Phillip’s War to be able to identify some of the more subtle allusions)

3. This story also has Puritan and Calvinism allusions – attached is a quick explanation of each

4. Briefly research Nathaniel Hawthorne; this will help you understand his reason for writing it

5. Answer the questions that follow the text. ICE “Young Goodman Brown” (Upon return)

Purchasing the books How to Read

Literature like a Professor and

latest version of English Literature

and Composition CliffsNotes will be

beneficial, but are NOT necessary. I

have a classroom set of How to

read Literature like a Professor.

AP Literature and Composition

Watkins Memorial High School

Name ________________________________

Major Works Data Sheet: Fill out 5 of these packets for 5 novels you have read that are AP worthy.

Title: Biographical information about the author:

Author:

Date of publication:

Genre:

Circle the correct period and explain the historical information about the

period below.

English Time Periods

Old English/Anglo-Saxon 450-1100

Middle English 1100 – 1500

English Renaissance 1500-1660

Neo-Classical Literature (Restoration, Augustan, Age of Sensibility 1660-1798

English Romanticism 1798-1837

Victorian Literature 1837-1901

English Modernism 1901-1939

English Post-Modernism 1940-Present

American Time Periods

Native American Literature ?- present

Puritan/Colonial Literature 1650-1750 Characteristics of the Genre”

Revolutionary Literature/Age of Reason/Enlightenment 1750-1800

American Romanticism/Renaissance 1800-1860

Realism 1860-1900

American Modernism 1900-1950

American Post-Modernism 1950-Present

Historical information about the period of publication:

Plot summary:

Major Works Data Sheet Page 2

Describe the author’s style: An example that demonstrates this style:

Memorable Quotes

Quote Significance


Characters

Name Role in the story Significance Adjectives


Setting: Significance of the opening scene:

Significance of the ending/closing scene:

Symbols:

Subjects Covered:

Possible Themes:



Name ________________________________



Author:


Genre:


period below.















Realism 1860-1900




Plot summary:



Memorable Quotes

Quote Significance


Characters





Symbols:

Subjects Covered:

Possible Themes:



Name ________________________________



Author:


Genre:


period below.















Realism 1860-1900




Plot summary:



Memorable Quotes

Quote Significance


Characters





Symbols:

Subjects Covered:

Possible Themes:



Name ________________________________



Author:


Genre:


period below.















Realism 1860-1900




Plot summary:



Memorable Quotes

Quote Significance


Characters





Symbols:

Subjects Covered:

Possible Themes:



Name ________________________________



Author:


Genre:


period below.











Native American Literature? - present




Realism 1860-1900




Plot summary:



Memorable Quotes

Quote Significance


Characters





Symbols:

Subjects Covered:

Possible Themes:

Assignment Two: Look up the following AP Literature allusions: Allusions are compact keys to meaning. The

following is an introductory list of allusions for literature students. Notice the Bible and mythology get a

huge shout-out here. Please add to this list as you come across new references.

1. Cerberus

2. Medusa

3. Stygian

4. Minotaur

5. Venus

6. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

7. Bacchus

8. Nemesis

9. Zephyr

10. Pan

11. Aurora

12. Persephone

13. Achilles

14. Aphrodite

15. Philistines

16. Clytemnestra

17. Leda

18. Labyrinth

19. Magi

20. Mary (the Virgin)

21. Mary Magdalene

22. Massacre of the Innocents

23. Pontius Pilate

24. Brutus

25. Prodigal Son

26. Herod

27. Prometheus

28. Solomon

29. Proteus

30. Hermes

31. Pygmalion

32. Daedalus

33. Phoebus

34. Icarus

35. Rachel and Leah

36. Hercules

37. Romulus and Remus

38. Ruth

39. Xanadu

40. Ambrosia

41. Elysian Fields

42. Sisyphus

43. Harpies

44. Electra

45. Satyrs

46. Oedipus

47. Scylla and Charybdis

48. Job

49. Adam and Eve/Garden of Eden

50. Hades

Assignment Three:

1. Cerberus 2. Medusa 3. Stygian 4. Minotaur 5. Venus 6. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream 7. Bacchus 8. Nemesis 9. Zephyr 10. Pan 11. Aurora 12. Persephone 13. Achilles 14. Aphrodite 15. Philistines 16. Clytemnestra 17. Leda 18. Labyrinth 19. Magi 20. Mary (the Virgin) 21. Mary Magdalene 22. Massacre of the Innocents 23. Pontius Pilate 24. Brutus 25. Prodigal Son 26. Herod 27. Prometheus 28. Solomon 29. Proteus 30. Hermes 31. Pygmalion 32. Daedalus 33. Phoebus 34. Icarus 35. Rachel and Leah 36. Hercules 37. Romulus and Remus 38. Ruth 39. Xanadu 40. Ambrosia 41. Elysian Fields 42. Sisyphus 43. Harpies 44. Electra 45. Satyrs 46. Oedipus 47. Scylla and Charybdis 48. Job 49. Adam and Eve/Garden of Eden 50. Hades

51. Sodom and Gomorrah 52. Abraham and Isaac 53. Styx 54. Absalom 55. Tantalus 56. Midas 57. Thirty Pieces of Silver 58. Antigone 59. Tower of Babel 60. Armageddon 61. Madonna 62. Atlantis 63. The Second Coming 64. Camelot 65. Thebes 66. Atlas 67. Cain and Abel 68. David and Bathsheba 69. Four horsemen of the Apocalypse 70. Good Samaritan 71. Grail or Holy Grail 72. Jacob’s ladder 73. Jephthah’s daughter 74. Joshua 75. Jezebel 76. Judas Iscariot 77. Circe 78. Lazarus 79. Tartarus 80. Ajax 81. Japhet, Ham, and Shem 82. Siren 83. Cyclops 84. Odysseus 85. Adonis 86. Narcissus 87. Pandora’s Box 88. Daniel and Goliath 89. Alpha and Omega 90. Machiavellian 91. McCarthyism 92. Furies 93. Romulus and Remus 94. Sir Lancelot, King Arthur, Sir Gawain, Merlin 95. Trojan Horse 96. Medea 97. Trojan Horse 98. Round Table 99. Excalibur 100. Gordian Knot

101. Noah 102. Jonah 103. Moses 104. Beelzebub 105. Michael 106. Daniel in the Lion’s Den 107. 40 Days and 40 Nights 108. Eye for an Eye 109. Jacob’s Ladder 110. Disciples 111. Forbidden Fruit, Tree of Knowledge 112. Promised Land 113. Loaves and fish 114. Last Supper 115. Wolf in sheep’s clothing 116. Parting of the Red Sea 117. Seven Deadly Sins 118. Coat of Many Colors 119. Walking on Water 120. 10 Commandments 121. Thief in the Night 122. Crown of Thorns 123. Turn the other cheek

Assignment Three: Study the attached list of literary terms by making flash cards for all 100 terms. The bold words SHOULD be a review for you. We will be keeping a running list of terms throughout the course to add to these as we progress through our reading.

1. Abstract/Concrete: Classifications of imagery 2. Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected

words 3. Allusion: Reference to well-known being or event or other literary work 4. Ambiguity: Purposeful multiple meanings as in pun and double entendre 5. Anacoluthon: Breaking off a sentence… 6. Analogy: Extended comparison of similar things 7. Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses,

clauses, or paragraphs; for example, "We shall fight on the beaches… 8. Anastrophe: the inversion of the usual order of words or clauses. Also known as inversion 9. Antagonist: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary. 10. Antihero: a central character in a story, movie, or drama that lacks conventional heroic attributes. 11. Antithesis: Placing of a sentence or one of its parts against another to which it is opposed, balancing of

contrasting ideas (“Give me liberty or give me death). 12. Aphorism: witty observation that contains a general truth, such as, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” 13. Apostrophe: Addressing person/entity not present. Ex: “Oyez Gods!” 14. Archetype: Recurrent idea (character, plot, theme, setting) that crosses time periods and genres). Ex: The

scapegoat, the wise old man, Happily Ever After, a disorienting forest (especially in Gothic Lit.) 15. Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds 16. Asyndeton: the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence 17. Atmosphere/Mood: Effect of physical environment 18. Bathos (anticlimax): the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style. A

disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events. Ex: Her hair was finely curled, her cheeks were lined with rouge, and her dress was a flowing green and blue which made her look rather like a tired, old peacock. The previous sentence is an example of bathos: an abrupt turn from the serious and poetic to the regular and silly. Rather than likening the woman to a beautiful bird, she is compared, surprisingly, to a tired, old peacock.

19. Bildungsroman: Coming of age novel 20. Cacophony: Harsh, discordant, unpleasant sounds 21. Catharsis : the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions 22. Chiasmus: repeating a phrase in reverse order. Ex: “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” 23. Climax: Highest point of tension or conflict in a story 24. Colloquialism: Informal diction; expression often belongs to a regional or local dialect. Ex: “Pop” for soda.

“Buggy” for cart. (May also be known as an idiom) 25. Comic Relief: Lightens mood of a tragic or sad situation 26. Complex sentence: sentence containing one or more dependent clauses in addition to the main clause, as

when the bell rings (dependent clause), walk out (main clause). 27. Compound complex: sentence having two or more coordinate independent clauses and one or more

dependent clauses, as the lightning flashed (independent clause) and the rain fell (independent clause) as he entered the house (dependent clause).

28. Compound sentence: sentence containing two or more coordinate independent clauses, usually joined by one or more conjunctions, but no dependent clause, as the lightning flashed (independent clause) and (conjunction) the rain fell (independent clause).

29. Conceit: extended metaphor that incorporates surprise and shock the readers by making farfetched comparisons

30. A. Connotation: Feelings a words evokes B. Denotation: Dictionary definition

31. Consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds 32. Denouement: Resolution, outcome of plot. This is where the loose ends in a story are typically tied up

33. Dialect: a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region

34. Diction: word choice 35. Double Entendre: a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué or indecent. 36. Dramatic Irony: Audience knows, character doesn’t 37. Ellipsis: the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the

context (“Some people prefer cats; others, dogs”). 38. Dynamic Character: Character who changes in a story 39. Epiphany: Sudden awareness 40. Epistrophe: the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences. 41. Epithet—a term used to point out a characteristic of a person. Homeric epithets are often compound

adjectives (“swift-footed Achilles”) that become an almost formulaic part of a name. Epithets can be abusive or offensive but are not so by definition. For example, athletes may be proud of their given epithets (“The Rocket”).

42. Euphemism: a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. “To pass away” is a euphemism for dying.

43. Euphony: the quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words 44. Eulogy: a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has

just died. 45. Exposition: Background information of a story 46. Falling Action: Events in a plot diagram that take place after the climax leading to the resolution or

denouement 47. Flashback: Device to supply background 48. Flat Character: stereotypical character with few traits; usually not a main character 49. A. Figurative Language: generalization of metaphors, similes, and allusions that go beyond the literal

meanings of the words to give readers new insights B. Figure of Speech - a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect

50. Flora and Fauna: Flora is plant life; fauna refers to animals. 51. Character Foils: Characters purposely set to oppose one another 52. Foreshadowing: Hints at coming events 53. Frame device: a story within a story. An example is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales

are told within the “frame story” of the pilgrimage to Canterbury 54. Hamartia: a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine 55. Hyperbole: Exaggeration 56. Hubris: Extreme pride 57. Imagery: Sensory detail 58. In media res: beginning in the middle of things 59. Inversion: reversal of normal word order 60. Juxtaposition: placing two unlike things side by side for contrasting effect 61. Litotes: a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (describing a

particularly horrific scene by saying, “It was not a pretty picture.”) 62. Loose Sentence: A loose sentence, also called a cumulative sentence, begins with a main clause that is

followed by phrases and/or clauses that modify the main clause. Ex: I went to the movies yesterday, bought candy, and shopped at the mall.

63. Malapropism: the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar (“The doctor wrote a subscription”).

64. Maxim: a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage. Ex: Never trust a man who says, "Trust me." You're either part of the solution or part of the problem. "Nothing ever goes away." Same as a aphorism.

65. Metaphor: Comparison of two seemingly unlike things 66. Metonymy: Substitution of associated word for word itself. Ex: “The White House is concerned about

terrorism.” The White House here represents the people who work in it. Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.)

67. Motif: Often-repeated idea or theme 68. Oxymoron: Seeming contradiction – short style

69. Paradox: Seeming contradiction – long style 70. Parallelism: Repetition of similar syntactical structure. Ex: “I like to swim, to eat and to fish.” 71. Pathos: insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity. 72. Pathetic Fallacy: Weather in a story mimics mood of characters or atmosphere surrounding them 73. Periodic Sentence: the main clause or predicate is at the end. This is used for emphasis and can be

persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made. It can also create suspense or interest for the reader. Ex: In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued.

74. Personification: Characteristics of humans given to non-humans 75. Plot: Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, Resolution 76. Polysyndeton: the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some could otherwise

be omitted, as in: "He ran and jumped and laughed for joy." 77. Protagonist: Main character – doesn’t always have to be a “good guy.” 78. Pun: Play on words 79. Rising Action: Action in the plot of the story leading to the climax 80. Round Character: character in a story who has many traits 81. Sentence Fragment: incomplete sentence. Missing a subject or a verb 82. Sentence Run-on: two or more main or independent clauses are joined without a word to connect them or

a punctuation mark to separate them 83. Simile: Comparison using like or as 84. Simple sentence: sentence having only one clause, as I saw her the day before yesterday. 85. Situational irony: Unexpected result 86. Static Character: Character who stays the same during a story 87. Stream of Consciousness: Thoughts and feelings recorded as they occur 88. Syllepsis: a construction in which one word is used in two different senses (“After he threw the ball, he

threw a fit.”) 89. Synesthesia: Confusion of the senses 90. Syllogism: a three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor

premise (“All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal”). 91. Symbol: Is what it is and something more 92. Synecdoche: is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something

or vice versa. Ex: The word “bread” refers to food or money as in “Writing is my bread and butter” or “sole breadwinner.” The phrase “gray beard” refers to an old man. The word “suits” refers to businessmen.

93. Syntax: Sentence and phrase structure 94. Theme: Central idea or bigger picture. Message the author is trying to convey with the piece of writing. 95. Tone: Author’s or speaker’s attitude 96. Tragic Flaw: Character trait that leads to his/her downfall 97. Understatement: Making big things seem small 98. Verbal irony: To say one thing, but mean another 99. Vernacular: the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region. 100. Zeugma: a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g., John and his license expired last week) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g., with weeping eyes and hearts).

Assignment Four: Background Information

Puritans and Calvinism

The central belief of Calvinism was that only 10% of people - The Elect - will go to Heaven after death. Further, God

has already decided who this 10% will be as He is all knowing and all powerful.

The central belief of Puritanism is that people should live their lives, and rulers rule, according to the Laws of God, in

particular as laid down in the Old Testament. This way they will become better people, make the world a better place,

and increase their chances of entering Heaven after death.

_____________________________________________________________________

Puritans was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church; they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence. In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy commonwealth in New England. Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.

English Puritanism

Associated exclusively with no single theology or definition of the church — although many were Calvinists — the English Puritans were known at first for their extremely critical attitude regarding the religious compromises made during the reign of Elizabeth I. Many of them were graduates of Cambridge University, and they became Anglican priests to make changes in their local churches. They encouraged direct personal religious experience, sincere moral conduct, and simple worship services. Worship was the area in which Puritans tried to change things most; their efforts in that direction were sustained by intense theological convictions and definite expectations about how seriously Christianity should be taken as the focus of human existence.

After James I became king of England in 1603, Puritan leaders asked him to grant several reforms. At the Hampton Court Conference (1604), however, he rejected most of their proposals, which included abolition of bishops. Puritanism, best expressed by William Ames and later by Richard Baxter, gained much popular support early in the 17th century. The government and the church hierarchy, however, especially under Archbishop William Laud, became increasingly repressive, causing many Puritans to emigrate. Those who remained formed a powerful element within the parliamentarian party that defeated Charles I in the English Civil War. After the war the Puritans remained dominant in England until 1660, but they quarreled among themselves (Presbyterian dominance gave way to Independent, or congregational, control under Oliver Cromwell) and proved even more intolerant than the old hierarchy. The restoration of the monarchy (1660) also restored Anglicanism, and the Puritan clergy were expelled from the Church of England under the terms of the Act of Uniformity (1662). Thereafter English Puritans were classified as Nonconformists.

American Puritanism

Early in the 17th century some Puritan groups separated from the Church of England. Among these were the Pilgrims, who in 1620 founded Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, under the auspices of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the first major Puritan migration to New England took place. The Puritans brought strong religious impulses to bear in all colonies north of Virginia, but New England was their stronghold, and the Congregationalist churches established there were able to perpetuate their viewpoint about a Christian society for more than 200 years.

Richard Mather and John Cotton provided clerical leadership in the dominant Puritan colony planted on Massachusetts Bay. Thomas Hooker was an example of those who settled new areas farther west according to traditional Puritan standards. Even though he broke with the authorities of the Massachusetts colony over questions of religious freedom, Roger Williams was also a true Puritan in his zeal for personal godliness and doctrinal correctness. Most of these men held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought. In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience. These Puritans insisted that they, as God's elect, had the duty to direct national affairs according to God's will as revealed in the Bible. This union of church and state to form a holy commonwealth gave Puritanism direct and exclusive control over most colonial activity until commercial and political changes forced them to relinquish it at the end of the 17th century.

Because of its diffuse nature, when Puritanism began to decline in America is difficult to say. Some would hold that it lost its influence in New England by the early 18th century, but Jonathan Edwards and his able disciple Samuel Hopkins revived Puritan thought and kept it alive until 1800. Others would point to the gradual decline in power of Congregationalism, but Presbyterians under the leadership of Jonathan Dickinson and Baptists led by the example of Isaac Backus (1724–1806) revitalized Puritan ideals in several denominational forms through the 18th century.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864)

Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was born and raised in Salem, is best known for his novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s family had deep roots in Salem. As a result, the town and Nathaniel’s Salem ancestors themselves greatly influenced his writing. Nathaniel Hawthorne was the great-great grandson of the Salem Witch Trials judge John Hathorne.

Hawthorne was haunted by his connection to his ancestor and it is speculated that he may have eventually added the “W” to his last name to distance himself from his great-great grandfather. Hawthorne published two stories under the name “Hathorne” in 1830 but started spelling his name with a W after this date.

Nathaniel Hathorne is not only related to John Hathorne but also to a number of the accused witches from the Salem Witch Trials: Mary and Philip English, John Proctor and Sarah Wilson, as well as one of the accusers: Sarah Phelps. Nathaniel’s great uncles, Captain William Hathorne and Daniel Hathorne, married two of Mary and Philip English’ granddaughters, Mary and Susannah Touzel. Nathaniel’s cousin, Elizabeth Hathorne, married John Proctor’s great-great-great grandson, Thorndike Proctor.

Education

In 1821, Hawthorne entered Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Among his classmates were Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who would become a distinguished poet and Harvard professor, and Franklin Pierce, future 14th president of the United States. Another classmate, Horatio Bridge, was later to offer a Boston publisher a guarantee against loss if he would publish Hawthorne's first collection of short stories.

Hawthorne graduated middle of his class in 1825. Regarding his aspirations, he wrote, "I do not want to be a doctor and live by men's diseases, nor a minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer to live by their quarrels. So, I don't see that there is anything left for me but to be an author."

Early Career

For the next 12 years, Hawthorne lived in comparative isolation in an upstairs chamber at his mother's house, where he worked at perfecting his writing craft. He also began keeping notebooks or journals, a habit he continued throughout his life. He often jotted down ideas and descriptions, and his words are now a rich source of information about his themes, ideas, style experiments, and subjects.

Genre

Along with Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe much of Hawthorne's work belongs to the sub-genre of Dark Romanticism (Gothic), distinguished by an emphasis on human fallibility that gives rise to lapses in judgement that allow even good men and women to drift toward sin and self-destruction. Dark Romantics tends to draw attention to the unintended consequences and complications that arise from well-intended efforts at social reform.

End of Life

Hawthorne suffered from poor health in the 1860s and died in his sleep during a trip to the White Mountains with Franklin Pierce on May 19, 1864. He is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. Widely eulogized as one of America's foremost writers, his fellow authors gathered to show their respect. Among his pallbearers were Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell, and Emerson. Today he rests there with Washington Irving, Emerson, Thoreau, and the Alcotts, as well as his wife, Sophia.

Seven years after Sophia Hawthorne buried her husband in Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, she passed away in London. She was interred an ocean away from her husband along with their daughter Una when she died in 1877. In 2006, the bodies of Hawthorne’s wife and daughter were unearthed from London’s Kensal Green Cemetery and reinterred next to his side.

http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-salem-witch-trials/

http://historyofmassachusetts.org/john-hathorne-the-salem-witch-judge/

Young Goodman Brown

[1] Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his

head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife. And

Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind

play with the pink ribbons of her cap, while she called to Goodman Brown.

[2] “Dearest heart,” whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear,

“pr'ythee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman

is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she's afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray,

tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!”

[3] “My love and my Faith,” replied young Goodman Brown, “of all nights in the year, this one

night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must

needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise. What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me

already, and we but three months married!”

[4] “Then God bless you!” said Faith, with the pink ribbons, “and may you find all well, when

you come back.”

[5] “Amen!” cried Goodman Brown. “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no

harm will come to thee.”

[6] So they parted; and the young man pursued his way, until, being about to turn the corner by

the meeting-house, he looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after him, with a

melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons.

[7] “Poor little Faith!” thought he, for his heart smote him. “What a wretch am I, to leave her on

such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her

face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done to-night. But, no, no! 't would kill

her to think it. Well; she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I'll cling to her

skirts and follow her to Heaven.”

[8] With this excellent resolve for the future, Goodman Brown felt himself justified in making

more haste on his present evil purpose. He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the

gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and

closed immediately behind. It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such

a solitude, that the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the

thick boughs overheard; so that, with lonely footsteps, he may yet be passing through an

unseen multitude.

[9] “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree,” said Goodman Brown to himself; and he

glanced fearfully behind him, as he added, “What if the devil himself should be at my very

elbow!”

[10] His head being turned back, he passed a crook of the road, and looking forward again,

beheld the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree. He arose,

at Goodman Brown's approach, and walked onward, side by side with him.

[11] “You are late, Goodman Brown,” said he. “The clock of the Old South was striking, as I

came through Boston; and that is full fifteen minutes agone.”

[12] “Faith kept me back awhile,” replied the young man, with a tremor in his voice, caused by

the sudden appearance of his companion, though not wholly unexpected.

[13] It was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were

journeying. As nearly as could be discerned, the second traveller was about fifty years old,

apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable

resemblance to him, though perhaps more in expression than features. Still, they might have

been taken for father and son. And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad as the

younger, and as simple in manner too, he had an indescribable air of one who knew the world,

and would not have felt abashed at the governor's dinner-table, or in King William's court, were

it possible that his affairs should call him thither. But the only thing about him, that could be

fixed upon as remarkable, was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so

curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent.

This, of course, must have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light.

[14] “Come, Goodman Brown!” cried his fellow-traveller, “this is a dull pace for the beginning

of a journey. Take my staff, if you are so soon weary.”

[15] “Friend,” said the other, exchanging his slow pace for a full stop, “having kept covenant by

meeting thee here, it is my purpose now to return whence I came. I have scruples, touching the

matter thou wot'st of.”

[16] “Sayest thou so?” replied he of the serpent, smiling apart. “Let us walk on, nevertheless,

reasoning as we go, and if I convince thee not, thou shalt turn back. We are but a little way in

the forest, yet.”

[17] “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 martyrs. And shall I be the first of the

name of Brown, that ever took this path and kept” —

[18] “Such company, thou wouldst say,” observed the elder person, interrupting his pause. “Well

said, Goodman Brown! I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one

among the Puritans; and that's no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when

he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem. And it was I that brought

your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in king

Philip's war. They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along

this path, and returned merrily after midnight. I would fain be friends with you, for their sake.”

[19] “If it be as thou sayest,” replied Goodman Brown, “I marvel they never spoke of these

matters. Or, verily, I marvel not, seeing that the least rumor of the sort would have driven them

from New England. We are a people of prayer, and good works to boot, and abide no such

wickedness.”

[20] “Wickedness or not,” said the traveller with the twisted staff, “I have a very general

acquaintance here in New England. The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion

wine with me; the selectmen, of divers towns, make me their chairman; and a majority of the

Great and General Court are firm supporters of my interest. The governor and I, too — but

these are state-secrets.”

[21] “Can this be so!” cried Goodman Brown, with a stare of amazement at his undisturbed

companion. “Howbeit, I have nothing to do with the governor and council; they have their own

ways, and are no rule for a simple husbandman like me. But, were I to go on with thee, how

should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister, at Salem village? Oh, his voice would

make me tremble, both Sabbath-day and lecture-day!”

[22] Thus far, the elder traveller had listened with due gravity, but now burst into a fit of

irrepressible mirth, shaking himself so violently, that his snake-like staff actually seemed to

wriggle in sympathy.

[23] “Ha! ha! ha!” shouted he, again and again; then composing himself, “Well, go on,

Goodman Brown, go on; but, prithee, don't kill me with laughing!”

[24] “Well, then, to end the matter at once,” said Goodman Brown, considerably nettled, “there

is my wife, Faith. It would break her dear little heart; and I'd rather break my own!”

[25] “Nay, if that be the case,” answered the other, “e'en go thy ways, Goodman Brown. I would

not, for twenty old women like the one hobbling before us, that Faith should come to any

harm.”

[26] As he spoke, he pointed his staff at a female figure on the path, in whom Goodman Brown

recognized a very pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, and

was still his moral and spiritual adviser, jointly with the minister and Deacon Gookin.

[27] “A marvel, truly, that Goody Cloyse should be so far in the wilderness, at night-fall!” said

he. “But, with your leave, friend, I shall take a cut through the woods, until we have left this

Christian woman behind. Being a stranger to you, she might ask whom I was consorting with,

and whither I was going.”

[28] “Be it so,” said his fellow-traveller. “Betake you to the woods, and let me keep the path.”

[29] Accordingly, the young man turned aside, but took care to watch his companion, who

advanced softly along the road, until he had come within a staff's length of the old dame. She,

meanwhile, was making the best of her way, with singular speed for so aged a woman, and

mumbling some indistinct words, a prayer, doubtless, as she went. The traveller put forth his

staff, and touched her withered neck with what seemed the serpent's tail.

[30] “The devil!” screamed the pious old lady.

[31] “Then Goody Cloyse knows her old friend?” observed the traveller, confronting her, and

leaning on his writhing stick.

[32] “Ah, forsooth, and is it your worship, indeed?” cried the good dame. “Yea, truly is it, and in

the very image of my old gossip, Goodman Brown, the grandfather of the silly fellow that now

is. But, would your worship believe it? my broomstick hath strangely disappeared, stolen, as I

suspect, by that unhanged witch, Goody Cory, and that, too, when I was all anointed with the

juice of smallage and cinque-foil and wolf's-bane” —

[33] “Mingled with fine wheat and the fat of a new-born babe,” said the shape of old Goodman

Brown.

[34] “Ah, your worship knows the recipe,” cried the old lady, cackling aloud. “So, as I was

saying, being all ready for the meeting, and no horse to ride on, I made up my mind to foot it;

for they tell me, there is a nice young man to be taken into communion to-night. But now your

good worship will lend me your arm, and we shall be there in a twinkling.”

[35] “That can hardly be,” answered her friend. “I may not spare you my arm, Goody Cloyse,

but here is my staff, if you will.”

[36] So saying, he threw it down at her feet, where, perhaps, it assumed life, being one of the

rods which its owner had formerly lent to the Egyptian Magi. Of this fact, however, Goodman

Brown could not take cognizance. He had cast up his eyes in astonishment, and looking down

again, beheld neither Goody Cloyse nor the serpentine staff, but his fellow-traveller alone, who

waited for him as calmly as if nothing had happened.

[37] “That old woman taught me my catechism!” said the young man; and there was a world of

meaning in this simple comment.

[38] They continued to walk onward, while the elder traveller exhorted his companion to make

good speed and persevere in the path, discoursing so aptly, that his arguments seemed rather to

spring up in the bosom of his auditor, than to be suggested by himself. As they went, he

plucked a branch of maple, to serve for a walking-stick, and began to strip it of the twigs and

little boughs, which were wet with evening dew. The moment his fingers touched them, they

became strangely withered and dried up, as with a week's sunshine. Thus the pair proceeded, at

a good free pace, until suddenly, in a gloomy hollow of the road, Goodman Brown sat himself

down on the stump of a tree, and refused to go any farther.

[39] “Friend,” said he, stubbornly, “my mind is made up. Not another step will I budge on this

errand. What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil, when I thought she was

going to Heaven! Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith, and go after her?”

[40] “You will think better of this by-and-by,” said his acquaintance, composedly. “Sit here and

rest yourself awhile; and when you feel like moving again, there is my staff to help you along.”

[41] Without more words, he threw his companion the maple stick, and was as speedily out of

sight as if he had vanished into the deepening gloom. The young man sat a few moments by the

road-side, applauding himself greatly, and thinking with how clear a conscience he should meet

the minister, in his morning-walk, nor shrink from the eye of good old Deacon Gookin. And

what calm sleep would be his, that very night, which was to have been spent so wickedly, but

purely and sweetly now, in the arms of Faith! Amidst these pleasant and praiseworthy

meditations, Goodman Brown heard the tramp of horses along the road, and deemed it

advisable to conceal himself within the verge of the forest, conscious of the guilty purpose that

had brought him thither, though now so happily turned from it.

[42] On came the hoof-tramps and the voices of the riders, two grave old voices, conversing

soberly as they drew near. These mingled sounds appeared to pass along the road, within a few

yards of the young man's hiding-place; but owing, doubtless, to the depth of the gloom, at that

particular spot, neither the travellers nor their steeds were visible. Though their figures brushed

the small boughs by the way-side, it could not be seen that they intercepted, even for a moment,

the faint gleam from the strip of bright sky, athwart which they must have passed. Goodman

Brown alternately crouched and stood on tip-toe, pulling aside the branches, and thrusting forth

his head as far as he durst, without discerning so much as a shadow. It vexed him the more,

because he could have sworn, were such a thing possible, that he recognized the voices of the

minister and Deacon Gookin, jogging along quietly, as they were wont to do, when bound to

some ordination or ecclesiastical council. While yet within hearing, one of the riders stopped to

pluck a switch.

[43] “Of the two, reverend Sir,” said the voice like the deacon's, “I had rather miss an

ordination-dinner than to-night's meeting. They tell me that some of our community are to be

here from Falmouth and beyond, and others from Connecticut and Rhode Island; besides

several of the Indian powows, who, after their fashion, know almost as much deviltry as the

best of us. Moreover, there is a goodly young woman to be taken into communion.”

[44] “Mighty well, Deacon Gookin!” replied the solemn old tones of the minister. “Spur up, or

we shall be late. Nothing can be done, you know, until I get on the ground.”

[45] The hoofs clattered again, and the voices, talking so strangely in the empty air, passed on

through the forest, where no church had ever been gathered, nor solitary Christian prayed.

Whither, then, could these holy men be journeying, so deep into the heathen wilderness?

Young Goodman Brown caught hold of a tree, for support, being ready to sink down on the

ground, faint and over-burthened with the heavy sickness of his heart. He looked up to the sky,

doubting whether there really was a Heaven above him. Yet, there was the blue arch, and the

stars brightening in it.

[46] “With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!” cried

Goodman Brown.

[47] While he still gazed upward, into the deep arch of the firmament, and had lifted his hands to

pray, a cloud, though no wind was stirring, hurried across the zenith, and hid the brightening

stars. The blue sky was still visible, except directly overhead, where this black mass of cloud

was sweeping swiftly northward. Aloft in the air, as if from the depths of the cloud, came a

confused and doubtful sound of voices. Once, the listener fancied that he could distinguish the

accents of town's-people of his own, men and women, both pious and ungodly, many of whom

he had met at the communion-table, and had seen others rioting at the tavern. The next

moment, so indistinct were the sounds, he doubted whether he had heard aught but the murmur

of the old forest, whispering without a wind. Then came a stronger swell of those familiar

tones, heard daily in the sunshine, at Salem village, but never, until now, from a cloud of night.

There was one voice, of a young woman, uttering lamentations, yet with an uncertain sorrow,

and entreating for some favor, which, perhaps, it would grieve her to obtain. And all the unseen

multitude, both saints and sinners, seemed to encourage her onward.

[48] “Faith!” shouted Goodman Brown, in a voice of agony and desperation; and the echoes of

the forest mocked him, crying — “Faith! Faith!” as if bewildered wretches were seeking her,

all through the wilderness.

[49] 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.

[50] “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.”

[51] And maddened with despair, so that he laughed loud and long, did Goodman Brown grasp

his staff and set forth again, at such a rate, that he seemed to fly along the forest-path, rather

than to walk or run. The road grew wilder and drearier, and more faintly traced, and vanished at

length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness, still rushing onward, with the instinct

that guides mortal man to evil. The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds; the

creaking of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians; while, sometimes the

wind tolled like a distant church-bell, and sometimes gave a broad roar around the traveller, as

if all Nature were laughing him to scorn. But he was himself the chief horror of the scene, and

shrank not from its other horrors.

[52] “Ha! ha! ha!” roared Goodman Brown, when the wind laughed at him. “Let us hear which

will laugh loudest! Think not to frighten me with your deviltry! Come witch, come wizard,

come Indian powow, come devil himself! and here comes Goodman Brown. You may as well

fear him as he fear you!”

[53] In truth, all through the haunted forest, there could be nothing more frightful than the figure

of Goodman Brown. On he flew, among the black pines, brandishing his staff with frenzied

gestures, now giving vent to an inspiration of horrid blasphemy, and now shouting forth such

laughter, as set all the echoes of the forest laughing like demons around him. The fiend in his

own shape is less hideous, than when he rages in the breast of man. Thus sped the demoniac on

his course, until, quivering among the trees, he saw a red light before him, as when the felled

trunks and branches of a clearing have been set on fire, and throw up their lurid blaze against

the sky, at the hour of midnight. He paused, in a lull of the tempest that had driven him onward,

and heard the swell of what seemed a hymn, rolling solemnly from a distance, with the weight

of many voices. He knew the tune; It was a familiar one in the choir of the village meeting-

house. The verse died heavily away, and was lengthened by a chorus, not of human voices, but

of all the sounds of the benighted wilderness, pealing in awful harmony together. Goodman

Brown cried out; and his cry was lost to his own ear, by its unison with the cry of the desert.

[54] In the interval of silence, he stole forward, until the light glared full upon his eyes. At one

extremity of an open space, hemmed in by the dark wall of the forest, arose a rock, bearing

some rude, natural resemblance either to an altar or a pulpit, and surrounded by four blazing

pines, their tops a flame, their stems untouched, like candles at an evening meeting. The mass

of foliage, that had overgrown the summit of the rock, was all on fire, blazing high into the

night, and fitfully illuminating the whole field. Each pendant twig and leafy festoon was in a

blaze. As the red light arose and fell, a numerous congregation alternately shone forth, then

disappeared in shadow, and again grew, as it were, out of the darkness, peopling the heart of

the solitary woods at once.

[55] “A grave and dark-clad company!” quoth Goodman Brown.

[56] In truth, they were such. Among them, quivering to-and-fro, between gloom and splendor,

appeared faces that would be seen, next day, at the council-board of the province, and others

which, Sabbath after Sabbath, looked devoutly heavenward, and benignantly over the crowded

pews, from the holiest pulpits in the land. Some affirm, that the lady of the governor was there.

At least, there were high dames well known to her, and wives of honored husbands, and

widows, a great multitude, and ancient maidens, all of excellent repute, and fair young girls,

who trembled lest their mothers should espy them. Either the sudden gleams of light, flashing

over the obscure field, bedazzled Goodman Brown, or he recognized a score of the church-

members of Salem village, famous for their especial sanctity. Good old Deacon Gookin had

arrived, and waited at the skirts of that venerable saint, his reverend pastor. But, irreverently

consorting with these grave, reputable, and pious people, these elders of the church, these

chaste dames and dewy virgins, there were men of dissolute lives and women of spotted fame,

wretches given over to all mean and filthy vice, and suspected even of horrid crimes. It was

strange to see, that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the

saints. Scattered, also, among their pale-faced enemies, were the Indian priests, or powows,

who had often scared their native forest with more hideous incantations than any known to

English witchcraft.

[57] “But, where is Faith?” thought Goodman Brown; and, as hope came into his heart, he

trembled.

[58] Another verse of the hymn arose, a slow and mournful strain, such as the pious love, but

joined to words which expressed all that our nature can conceive of sin, and darkly hinted at far

more. Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends. Verse after verse was sung, and still

the chorus of the desert swelled between, like the deepest tone of a mighty organ. And, with the

final peal of that dreadful anthem, there came a sound, as if the roaring wind, the rushing

streams, the howling beasts, and every other voice of the unconverted wilderness, were

mingling and according with the voice of guilty man, in homage to the prince of all. The four

blazing pines threw up a loftier flame, and obscurely discovered shapes and visages of horror

on the smoke-wreaths, above the impious assembly. At the same moment, the fire on the rock

shot redly forth, and formed a glowing arch above its base, where now appeared a figure. With

reverence be it spoken, the apparition bore no slight similitude, both in garb and manner, to

some grave divine of the New England churches.

[59] “Bring forth the converts!” cried a voice, that echoed through the field and rolled into the

forest.

[60] At the word, Goodman Brown stepped forth from the shadow of the trees, and approached

the congregation, with whom he felt a loathful brotherhood, by the sympathy of all that was

wicked in his heart. He could have well nigh sworn, that the shape of his own dead father

beckoned him to advance, looking downward from a smoke-wreath, while a woman, with dim

features of despair, threw out her hand to warn him back. Was it his mother? But he had no

power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in thought, when the minister and good old Deacon

Gookin seized his arms, and led him to the blazing rock. Thither came also the slender form of

a veiled female, led between Goody Cloyse, that pious teacher of the catechism, and Martha

Carrier, who had received the devil's promise to be queen of hell. A rampant hag was she! And

there stood the proselytes, beneath the canopy of fire.

[61] “Welcome, my children,” said the dark figure, “to the communion of your race! Ye have

found, thus young, your nature and your destiny. My children, look behind you!”

[62] They turned; and flashing forth, as it were, in a sheet of flame, the fiend-worshippers were

seen; the smile of welcome gleamed darkly on every visage.

[63] “There,” resumed the sable form, “are all whom ye have reverenced from youth. Ye

deemed them holier than yourselves, and shrank from your own sin, contrasting it with their

lives of righteousness, and prayerful aspirations heavenward. Yet, here are they all, in my

worshipping assembly! This night it shall be granted you to know their secret deeds; how

hoary-bearded elders of the church have whispered wanton words to the young maids of their

households; how many a woman, eager for widow's weeds, has given her husband a drink at

bed-time, and let him sleep his last sleep in her bosom; how beardless youths have made haste

to inherit their father's wealth; and how fair damsels — blush not, sweet ones! — have dug

little graves in the garden, and bidden me, the sole guest, to an infant's funeral. By the

sympathy of your human hearts for sin, ye shall scent out all the places — whether in church,

bed-chamber, street, field, or forest — where crime has been committed, and shall exult to

behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood-spot. Far more than this! It shall be

yours to penetrate, in every bosom, the deep mystery of sin, the fountain of all wicked arts, and

which inexhaustibly supplies more evil impulses than human power — than my power, at its

utmost! — can make manifest in deeds. And now, my children, look upon each other.”

[64] They did so; and, by the blaze of the hell-kindled torches, the wretched man beheld his

Faith, and the wife her husband, trembling before that unhallowed altar.

[65] “Lo! there ye stand, my children,” said the figure, in a deep and solemn tone, almost sad,

with its despairing awfulness, as if his once angelic nature could yet mourn for our miserable

race. “Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream!

Now are ye undeceived! — Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness.

Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!”

[66] “Welcome!” repeated the fiend-worshippers, in one cry of despair and triumph.

[67] And there they stood, the only pair, as it seemed, who were yet hesitating on the verge of

wickedness, in this dark world. A basin was hollowed, naturally, in the rock. Did it contain

water, reddened by the lurid light? or was it blood? or, perchance, a liquid flame? Herein did

the Shape of Evil dip his hand, and prepare to lay the mark of baptism upon their foreheads,

that they might be partakers of the mystery of sin, more conscious of the secret guilt of others,

both in deed and thought, than they could now be of their own. The husband cast one look at

his pale wife, and Faith at him. What polluted wretches would the next glance show them to

each other, shuddering alike at what they disclosed and what they saw!

[68] “Faith! Faith!” cried the husband. “Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!”

[69] Whether Faith obeyed, he knew not. Hardly had he spoken, when he found himself amid

calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind, which died heavily away through the

forest. He staggered against the rock, and felt it chill and damp, while a hanging twig, that had

been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew.

[70] The next morning, young Goodman Brown came slowly into the street of Salem village,

staring around him like a bewildered man. The good old minister was taking a walk along the

graveyard, to get an appetite for breakfast and meditate his sermon, and bestowed a blessing, as

he passed, on Goodman Brown. He shrank from the venerable saint, as if to avoid an anathema.

Old Deacon Gookin was at domestic worship, and the holy words of his prayer were heard

through the open window. “What God doth the wizard pray to?” quoth Goodman Brown.

Goody Cloyse, that excellent old Christian, stood in the early sunshine, at her own lattice,

catechising a little girl, who had brought her a pint of morning's milk. Goodman Brown

snatched away the child, as from the grasp of the fiend himself. 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 sight of him, that she skipt along the street, and almost kissed her

husband before the whole village. But Goodman Brown looked sternly and sadly into her face,

and passed on without a greeting.

[71] Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-

meeting?

[72] Be it so, if you will. But, alas! it was a dream of evil omen for young Goodman Brown. A

stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the

night of that fearful dream. On the Sabbath-day, when the congregation were singing a holy

psalm, he could not listen, because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear, and drowned

all the blessed strain. When the minister spoke from the pulpit, with power and fervid

eloquence, and with his hand on the open bible, of the sacred truths of our religion, and of

saint-like lives and triumphant deaths, and of future bliss or misery unutterable, then did

Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading lest the roof should thunder down upon the grey

blasphemer and his hearers. Often, awaking suddenly at midnight, he shrank from the bosom of

Faith, and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down at prayer, he scowled, and

muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife, and turned away. And when he had lived

long, and was borne to his grave, a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and

children and grand-children, a goodly procession, besides neighbors, not a few, they carved no

hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom.

Questions:

1. Near the end of the story the narrator asks the following: “Had Goodman Brown fallen

asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?” What is the

answer? If Goodman Brown’s visions come out of his own dreams (mind, sub-

conscious), what do they tell us about him?

2. Is Goodman Brown a round or flat character? To what extent is he a symbolic

“everyman” or representative of humankind?

3. What details establish the two settings? What characters symbolize Salem? The woods?

Why might we be justified in seeing the forest as a symbolic setting?

4. Consider the Hawthorne’s use of symbolism, such as sunset and night, the walking stick,

the witches’ Sabbath, the marriage to Faith, and the vague shadows amid the darkness

together with other symbolism you may find. Name what each stands for.

5. How does the setting add to the meaning of the story: sunset and night, dreary road,

gloomiest trees, narrow path creeping through, lonely, peculiarity in solitude? How does

this imagery create mood? How does this mood help us predict the nature of Young

Goodman Brown’s journey?

6. Discuss the significance of, “Faith kept me back awhile.”

7. Why do you think Faith wore pink ribbons?

8. Discuss the significance of the second traveler, “…apparently in the same rank of life as

Goodman Brown an bearing a considerable resemblance to him, though perhaps more in

expression than in features. Still they might have been taken for father and son.” What

do you think Hawthorne was hinting at here? Is this Brown’s alter ego? If not, then what

or who is the older man?

9. Interpret the description of the staff “which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so

curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle like a living serpent.

This, of course, must have been some ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light.”

Why the uncertainty?

10. When the fellow traveler states, “I have been well acquainted with your family…I

helped your grandfather, the constable when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly

through the streets of Salem…The deacons of many a church have drunk wine with me,

the select men of divers town make me the chairman; and a majority of the Great and

General Court are firm believers of my interest,” what do we begin to understand about

him? Through this character, what is Hawthorne telling us about evil?

11. Discuss the meaning of the encounter with Goody Cloyse. “…and in the very image of

my old gossip, Goodman Brown, the grandfather of the silly fellow that now is.”

12. After Goodman Brown refuses to go any farther, the traveler throws him the maple stick

and leaves. Discuss Goodman Brown’s attitude and conscience.

13. After the minister and Deacon Gookin ride by, what happens to Goodman Brown? Why

is this significant? Discuss the statement, “With heaven about and Faith below, I will yet

stand firm against the devil!”

14. What does the black mass of cloud symbolize – the confused and doubtful voices?

15. Discuss the meaning(s) of, “My Faith is gone!”

16. Describe what Goodman Brown saw when he arrived at the meeting – the grave,

reputable, and pious people, the chaste dames and dewy virigins, the revered pastor, and

that good “shrank not from the wicked.” Discuss the meaning of this.

17. The dark figure states, “Welcome, my children, to the communion of your race. Ye have

found thus young your nature and your destiny.” Discuss the meaning of this.

18. How does Goodman Brown treat people the next day? What happens to him? Why?

19. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory. Essentially, an allegory is an extended

metaphor – using one thing to represent another – a story with dual meanings. In order

words, Hawthore uses this moral allegory to reveal a moral lesson or lessons. Discuss

the moral lesson(s) you discovered within the story.

20. In allegories, characters ususally personify abstract qualities. For example, a character

can represent a human trait or behavior. With that in mind, discuss the significance of

the names, Young Goodman Brown and Faith.

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