Question

In at least 100 words, describe the two settings of the village and the forest in “Young Goodman Brown.” Determine which setting contributes to the Gothic atmosphere and how Hawthorne accomplishes this.

Answer 1

The first setting is the Salem village.  The story begins at dusk in Salem Village, Massachusetts as young Goodman Brown leaves Faith, his wife of three months, for some unknown errand in the forest.  

The second setting is the forest which is characterized as devilish, frightening, and dark, and Goodman Brown is comfortable in it only after he has given in to evil.

The characteristics of a gothic atmosphere usually pass in the first place for a romantic setting: dark landscapes, dark forests, medieval ruins and castles with their respective basements, crypts and passageways well populated with ghosts, nocturnal noises, chains, skeletons, demons and witches. In the case of Young Goodman Brown story, Hawthorne accomplishes this gothic genre by introducing the description of the forest and the existence of witches at that time.  This atmosphere would move readers to fear and question their surroundings.