Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" (1835)

Discussion Questions

1.) Discuss and analyze the character of Young Goodman Brown: how he begins, how he changes through the course of the story, how he ends, etc.

2.) How is the appearance of his walking companion important?

3.) How is the appearance of Goody Cloyse important?

4.) How is the appearance of the Minister and Deacon Gookin important?

5.) How does Young Goodman Brown respond to these three appearances?

6.) What is important about the cloud / storm scene?

7.) What "event" is happening in the woods? What is important about the description of the event?

8.) What questions do you have about this story that have not been answered?