Yong Goodman Brown Q&A

1) What do you think Hawthorne's purpose was for writing this story?: I believe that the purpose for this story is not only to entertain but to educate us on our point of view and the way we live our lives. 2) Hawthorne states that Brown's wife is "aptly named" Faith. After reading the story, do you agree? Does Faith's name fit her personality? Does Brown have true faith in her? In the story Young Goodman Brown loses all hope of being holy and turns to Satin when he see that his wife was also going to the gathering in this passage it clearly shows how the trust and "faith" in Faith to be good and hold her vows to be holy affected his actions. In my opinion faith was a great name for his wife because it signified the faith of Young Goodman Brown. 3) What do you think the pink ribbons signify. I think that the pink bows where a hint of symbolism showing the love and positivism that Faith gave to Young Goodman Brown. 4) Was everything Brown witnessed real, a figment of his imagination, something conjured by evil, or a dream? Support your answer with passages from the text. I assume that what Young Goodman Brown had witnessed was a dream due to the fact that he woke up from a deep sleep and no one at the gathering acted strange towards him the next day on his way back home. 5) Who do you think the old man really is? What textual clues tell you this? I believe that the old man was Satin for the reason in witch he greeted Goody Cloyse. What does the staff represent? Do you think the staff leads Brown onward or is the primary motivator Brown's own conscience/mind? I assume that the staff was a symbolism for the path of sin and that that the staff had dark powers that made him walk onward. 6) If Brown had not ventured into the forest, how would his life be different? If he'd stayed home, would Brown still have Faith? Would he still trust his wife and his fellow townspeople? I am sure that if Brown had not gone into the forest he would have kept living his life full of faith as it was he would trust his wife and the townspeople With Goody Close as his role model.