Question

Who is Young Goodman Brown and why does he go for a walk into a wooded area outside a village? What happens when he first enters the woods? Support your answer with textual evidence.

Answer 1

In "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown is pious Christian man from the Salem village who agreed to meet with the Devil in the forest. He leaves his wife Faith behind, and claims he's running an errand. Goodman Brown intends to resist the Devil and return to his wife after the meeting, but the Devil intends to divert him away from God. “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.”

Answer 2

Answer and Explanation:

"Young Goodman Brown" is a short story by author Nathaniel Hawthorne, the same author who wrote "The Scarlet Letter". Published in 1835, the story takes place in Salem during the witch hunt. Goodman Brown is a young man who believes in God and Heaven, and who looks up to several members of his community as role models in piety and righteousness.

Brown kisses his wife Faith goodbye and leaves home to an unknown errand. We soon learn he is supposed to spend the night in the forest, accompanied by the devil. Brown still seems quite sure he can resist the devil's temptation. When he first enters the woods, to his surprise, Brown sees that the very people he admired so much are all impure, have all given their lives to evil. He finds out, for instance, that the pious old woman who once taught him is actually a witch:

“That old woman taught me my catechism,” said the young man; and there was a  world of meaning in this simple comment.

It turns out Brown is being taken to an initiation ceremony. He and a young woman are supposed to accept their sinful natures and give their lives away to the devil. The woman reveals herself to be Brown's wife, Faith.

At the end of the story, it is unclear if Brown dreamed all that or if it really took place. As a result of his experience in the forest, anyway, he "loses faith" in people, seeing everyone as rotten and evil.