Day and night. Light and darkness, Good and evil. The protagonist in this story leaves one setting, Salem Village, which seems to represent good, order, white European civilization, Christianity, and so on, and goes into the Wilderness, representing the exact opposite: evil, chaos, anarchy, “a devilish Indian behind every tree” and….
Wait. That’s actually the other story.
Phoenix Jackson goes on her own journey, but I don’t think it’s as dramatic as Hawthorne’s treatise of Good versus Evil. In some ways, it is a much quieter, more human story, less allegorical* perhaps. Let’s not focus on what her journey means, if it can be said to mean anything, but on the journey itself. What are the notable or striking details, for you, and why? What sort of settings does Phoenix pass through, what encounters does she have, and what do things look like? In other words, tell me about Welty’s use of description in this piece.
“Young Goodman Brown” (hereafter, YGB for both the story and the character) is essentially a story of life, of the title character’s journey from innocence to experience. Kind of. Maybe? That is, he starts off as an innocent, who believes in the essential good and purity of humanity, especially his wife Faith. (Get it? Faith?) Then he encounters his fellow villagers in the woods, loses his bride—causing him to lament “My Faith is gone!” (His Faith is gone?)—and discovers a Satanic mass, ultimately deciding that man is essentially irremediably evil.
What does YGB learn, actually? What is the true nature of humanity? (And is that almost some sort of Rolling Stones reference, anyhow?) what does Hawthorne want us to decide or believe as readers? Are we meant to agree with YGB’s beliefs? Why or why not? Be sure to use evidence from the text—but no other sources—to support your readings.
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