Ms. DeMarco
English 3
October 1, 2012
In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses character and setting to show the difference between right and wrong.
Nathaniel Hawthorne builds up the character Young Goodman Brown as brave and strong man. When YGB mentions “he sat himself down, and refused to go any further.” Young Goodman Brown is a risk taker; he had a bad feeling about going father inside the forest with the man. Young Goodman Brown knew what he was going to go into if he keeps going. The difference between right and wrong with Young Goodman Brown is that he shows that he will believe in anything and can risk his life for anything his considers important to him. Hawthorne created the townspeople to show that everyone has moral sins also. Young Goodman Brown thought that they were cursed by the devil for being in the circle. One of the townspeople mentioned that “I rather miss an ordination than tonight’s meeting.” This quote is saying that no matter what the meeting is for your moral sins. Young Goodman Brown thought that he was good enough to meet with the devil and that he had no sins. The quote is trying to say that not everyone and thing is perfectly created. The forest was described has a dark, weird place. The reason of the forest is to show that it’s not perfect; the forest has its own defects. The main purpose of the forest is to show that good and evil can meet. The story reflects the American ethos because they story is all about good, evil and spiritual matter.
In conclusion, the story contributes to character and setting because they show that Young Goodman Brown is a strong and brave person for meeting the devil and the circle for its moral sins. The story relates to character because each character has a certain part to show the good or bad side of the person. This story also relates to setting because the forest and the circle show that places can be very scary or