‘What a wretch I am to leave her on such an errand! . . . Well, she’s a
blessed angel
on earth; and after this one night I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven. ‘ Goodman Brown
WHO said poor little faith thought he for his heart smote him what a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand she talks of dreams too?
Young Goodman Brown
sets out into the woods of an evening for “an evil purpose.” After he says goodbye to his pious young wife, Faith, he comments to himself: “Poor little Faith!” thought he, for his heart smote him. “What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand!
What is important about this night and why does Goodman Brown believe he must journey Twixt Now and Sunrise?
For, after his traveling between good and evil,–“twixt now and sunrise”–he no longer believes in his wife’s innocence or the prevailing innocence of the Puritans in his community;
he has, indeed, moved away from his faith
. … he means that he needs to be away from Faith, his wife, this night.
What does Goodman Brown say would break faith’s heart?
“Well, then, to end the matter at once,” said Goodman Brown, considerably nettled, “
there is my wife, Faith. It would break her dear little heart; and I’d rather break my own!”
What is Brown’s wife dreading as he leaves?
Faith
is articulating her dread of being left alone at night because she knows she is susceptible to an attack by Satan in the form of a dream that could turn her away from her Puritan belief system.
Who felt that death of a beautiful woman was the highest form of beauty?
Quote by
Edgar Allan Poe
: “The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionab…”
Who said look up to heaven and resist the wicked one?
Faith! ‘ cried the husband, ‘look up to Heaven, and resist the wicked one. ‘
Goodman Brown
and Faith stand before the Devil, who has just explained that with his baptism, they will know everyone else’s secret sins.
Why does Goodman Brown leave his wife?
In “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown leaves his wife, Faith, at night. Goodman Brown is leaving
because he wants to commit an evil deed in the night.
What can you infer about Goodman Brown’s feelings from the statement?
What can you infer about Goodman Brown’s feelings from the statement?
He is very hopeful
.
What did Goodman Brown experience in the forest?
Goodman Brown, like other Puritans, associates the forest with the wild “Indians” and
sees one hiding behind every tree
. He believes that the devil could easily be present in such a place—and he eventually sees the devil himself, just as he had expected.
What word best describes Goodman Brown’s dying hour?
In the story, it was quoted that “
his dying hour was gloom
” and that no hopeful words could describe him. After he saw his wife attend the meeting with the rest of the witches, he lost his mind and believed the world was sinned.
What do faith’s pink ribbons most likely symbolize at this point in the story?
The pink ribbons that Faith puts in her cap represent
her purity
. The color pink is associated with innocence and gaiety, and ribbons themselves are a modest, innocent decoration. Hawthorne mentions Faith’s pink ribbons several times at the beginning of the story, imbuing her character with youthfulness and happiness.
What does the devil offer Goodman Brown?
The devil promises that if Goodman Brown is baptized,
he will be able to know the secret evil within each member of the human race
– he will see “where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt”.
Is Goodman Brown sympathetic?
This amuses the older man, although when Goodman Brown expresses his fears concerning his wife, Faith,
the man is more sympathetic
, and reassures him that Faith will come to no harm.
What is grave and decent attire?
Quote: “He beheld the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire.” Analysis:
The devil is dressed decently enough
. He does not resemble the traditional image of a horned, tailed figure with a pitchfork. … It is man who gives the devil his hideousness.
Why does Faith not want Brown to leave?
In other words, Faith pleads with Brown not to go
because she feels herself to be vulnerable to Satan’s influence
, and this fear plants the seed in Brown’s mind that grows into his belief that Faith has given herself to Satan when he dreams that her pink ribbon falls out of the sky while Brown is in the forest.
What human characteristic is Thematized in the excerpt?
What human characteristic is thematized in the excerpt?
Rational people can act irrationally
.
What signs do we see in the text that this destination is a frightening one on this particular night?
What signs do we see in the text that this destination is a frightening one on this particular night of the year? –
Text states that he had taken a “dreary road darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind.
How does Goodman Brown tempt sin?
Goodman Brown is tempted many times
to choose evil during his journey through the forest
. Goodman Brown is first tempted by evil when the old man, who symbolizes the devil, tells him that his father and grandfather had once taken this same journey. This influences his choice to continue the journey.
How does Goodman Brown react to his wife and others upon his return to Salem?
Young Goodman Brown reacts
very coldly toward his wife
and the people in his town after he’s returned from his strange trip into the woods.
Who is Goody Cloyse?
Goody Cloyse
A citizen of Salem Village who reveals herself to be a witch. … Goody Cloyse was the name of
an actual woman who was tried and convicted of witchcraft during the historical
Salem Witch Trials of 1692; Hawthorne borrows her name for this character.
What did Hawthorne write?
One of the greatest fiction writers in American literature, he is best known for
The Scarlet Letter (1850)
and The House of the Seven Gables (1851).
Who is Goody Cloyse and what does Goodman Brown discover about her later in the story?
A citizen of Salem Village who reveals herself to be a witch. Goody Cloyse is
a Christian woman who helps young people learn the Bible
, but in secret she performs magic ceremonies and attends witch meetings in the forest.
Are Goodman Brown’s experiences reality or a dream?
it was
a dream of evil
omen for young Goodman Brown. Here, the narrator poses the idea that the events Goodman Brown experienced—his neighbors succumbing to the temptations of sin—may or may not have been a dream. Regardless, now he can never fully dismiss what he learned.
What does this excerpt tell us about Whittier’s political views?
What does this excerpt tell us about Whittier’s political views?
He was a radical who wanted immediate emancipation of all slaves.
What is carved on Brown’s tombstone when he dies?
What is carved on Brown’s tombstone when he dies? (trick question!) “They carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying
hour was gloom so nothing is written.
“
How does Goodman Brown feel toward his wife at the end of the tale?
Goodman Brown says goodbye to his wife, Faith, outside of his house in Salem Village. Faith, wearing pink ribbons in her cap, asks him to stay with her, saying that she
feels scared
when she is by herself and free to think troubling thoughts.
What is Goodman Brown’s relationship to Goody Cloyse?
Goodman Brown’s Father
Goody Cloyse is a respected Salem Puritan who taught Goodman Brown his catechism, serves as his spiritual advisor, and was
a good friend of Goodman’s grandfather
. Goodman is shocked to see her at the devil’s conversion ceremony.
What is written on Brown’s tombstone?
Fittingly, at Brown’s funeral, “they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone,
for his dying hour was gloom”
(Hawthorne 70).
What do we learn about Goodman Brown’s wife at the beginning of the story?
What do we learn about Goodman Brown’s wife at the beginning of the story? What do we know about Brown’s motives for leaving his wife?
She had cancer
. Brown left her because he knew that she was going to die.
What do you think the pink ribbons are meant to signify?
The pink ribbon is an international symbol of
breast cancer awareness
. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for women with breast cancer. Pink ribbons are most commonly seen during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Is Goodman Brown round or flat?
Brown as
a very, very round character
. As Goodman meets the fellow-traveller in the woods, he sizes him up, along with his cane: It was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying.
Does Goodman Brown really attend a Witches Sabbath or does he dream about it?
The entire thing is a dream
, and it did not really happen. The final paragraph of the story admits to readers that Goodman Brown did indeed dream the events that occurred in the forest. A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream.
Where did Goodman Brown find one of the pink ribbons from faith?
Faith’s pink ribbons Symbol Analysis
In the forest
, Goodman Brown loses his innocent faith and becomes certain that Faith has been tempted by the devil when he sees her pink ribbon fluttering down from the cloudy sky and snagging in a tree.
What do faith’s pink ribbons most likely symbolize at this point in the story purity disobedience understanding darkness?
Faith’s name does not fit her character because brown does not have complete faith in her. … The pink ribbons signify
the innocence and purity and trust in the relationship of Hawthorne and Faith
.
What is the guilty purpose that has drawn Brown to the forest?
Goodman Brown’s guilty purpose is
forsaking his wife literally, and his religion metaphorically
. It should be noted that this story is somewhat open to interpretation, as with many matters of faith.
