Young Goodman Brown Review Unit 1
6. Which quote from the text best supports the answer to question 5?
"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." ( Paragraph 73)
2. Which section of the text supports question 1?
"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," ( Paragraph 64)
8. Which detail from the quote best supports the answer to question 7?
"The traveler put forth his staff, and touched her withered neck with what seemed the serpent's tail." ( Paragraph 30)
4. : Which detail from paragraph 73 best supports the answer to question 3?
"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"
9. What impact does the author's decision to name Goodman Brown's wife "Faith" have on the text?
By naming Goodman Brown's wife "Faith," Hawthorne uses Brown's wife to symbolize Brown's commitment to his religion, or "faith." It is Brown's journey into the forest that ultimately tests his faith. When Brown initially leaves his wife for the forest, he thinks "'[p]oor little Faith!'...'What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand!'" (Paragraph 7). Faith becomes representative of something larger than his wife, and personifies faith itself. Throughout the text, whenever Brown refers to his wife Faith, the comments he makes can easily be applied to his relationship to his religious faith as well. Additionally, as Brown continues on his journey into the forest, he is constantly in conflict with leaving Faith behind. For example, "[w]hat 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?" (Paragraph 40). While this journey into the forest creates physical distance between Brown and Faith, it also puts Brown at odds with his religious faith. When Brown believes his wife is gone, he cries, "'[m]y Faith is gone!'...'There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! for to thee is this world given'" (Paragraph 51). By associating Faith with all that is good on earth, Brown expands what "Faith" is representative of. Without his faith, Brown no longer believes that there is good on earth. After Brown returns from his journey in the forest, his relationship with his wife and his religion have changed. This is emphasized in paragraph 73, when "he shrank from the bosom of Faith." Faith the character acts more like a personification of religious faith in this section, particularly since "the arms of faith" (Paragraph 61) and "the bosom of faith" are conventional personifications of religious belief (Paragraph 73).
10. How does the author's representation of reality throughout the text help build mystery?
Hawthorne's development of Brown's reality makes it ambiguous for the character, as well as the reader, to identify whether what he is experiencing is a dream or not. Students should discuss how Hawthorne describes the setting of Brown's journey into the forest. For example, it is stated, "the traveller knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that, with lonely footsteps, he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude" (Paragraph 48). The forest takes on a mysterious quality that feels almost mystical and dream-like. Additionally, the confusion that surrounds Brown as he walks through the forest, unable to detect "an unseen multitude," reflects the mystery that shrouds the reader. Additionally, the students should discuss the ambiguous details that the narrator provides during Brown's journey in the forest that force readers to question what is really happening. For instance, when the traveler offers Goody Cloyse his staff, "he threw it down at her feet, where, perhaps, it assumed life" (Paragraph 37). The narrator is unable to tell us whether or not the snake-like staff came to life. This detail would have allowed readers to better determine whether or not this passage is a dream. It is this manipulation of reality and uncertainty present throughout the story that creates a sense of mystery. While Brown is ultimately changed by his experiences, whether they were part of a dream or not, readers are unable to determine whether or not Brown truly witnessed the evil of human nature.
5. How does Goodman Brown's experience affect his perception of the world?
He becomes more suspicious of human nature.
3. How is the is the dark figure's address to the people gathered in the forest, in paragraph 64, important to the story as a whole?
It helps show that even the most righteous elders amongst the townspeople are inclined to evil.
7. How are the details of the traveler's staff important to the development of the text's theme?
It resembles a snake which is associated with sin and evil.
1. What is the central theme of the text?
None of us are pure and perfect people, because sin is in our nature.
