Salem Village at Sunset

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Recommended: Does each setting represent something about the human condition in young goodman brown

Setting influences character and theme with places, time of day and the atmosphere. In Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, the setting of the Salem Village at sunset, the forest and what happened in the forest influenced the character and theme of the story with temptation, testing humanity, and Browns changed views on humanity, people in the village and faith, his faith and his wife after what happened in the forest. In the first sentence in the story, gives the first setting, Salem Village at sunset. The setting at the beginning of the story is in Salem Village and the time of day which is sunset, influences the theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown, by starting to test humanity with temptation. Its dark or getting dark and it is in a village known for witchcraft and he’s going to the forest. According to Moores in ‘Young Goodman Brown’s ‘evil purpose’: Hawthorne and the Jungian Shadow’, “The story is set at dusk in Salem, a locale strongly evocative of darkness, witchcraft, hangings, and things Satanic and evil.” (Moores 1) The first place where the story starts is in Salem. “Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street at Salem Village…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” (Hawthorne 402). Salem village has a past of…well, witches or those accused of witchcraft and witchcraft trials. Brown, the character, goes to the forest to stay on the path. The forest is symbolic as a setting, influences the development of the character and theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne ‘Young Goodman Brown’ as evil, a temptation testing his humanity, changing his views on humanity. The forest is c... ... middle of paper ... ...t changed his views on his faith and his wife faith, he saw it as her betraying her faith, and him. It changed his views on his fellow villagers, how he viewed them, grabbing a little girl from an old lady and trying not to listen to a word that is said during church. Brown’s little escapade in the forest tested his humanity, faith (both his faith and wife faith). Works Cited Gener, Randy. "Into the Woods with the Devil." American Theatre Apr.(1995): 8+ (1-2 pg) Literature Resources Center.Web . 10 Mar 2011 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Michael, Meyer. The Bedford lntroduction to Literature. 9th Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 402-411. Moores, D.J. "Young Goodman Browns 'evil purpose': Hawthorne and the Jungian Shadow." Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 27. 3-4 (2005): +4 (1-11). Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 Mar 2011.

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