Young Goodman Brown

1. Many author's write a story with a moral for the reader to learn or they try to send a message to the reader, through the story. The story shows the townspeople with a hidden faith. Hawthorne's message in this story is, probably, that some people aren't what they seem to be.
2. Trying to comprehend a character like Faith can be really confusing. Her name is what she has, she apparently has "faith" in her witch-like religion. At the end of the story, Brown had no faith in her at all. After his episode that night, he couldn't look at her the same way he did before he left for the woods.
3. I believe that the pink ribbons signify faith, the confidence or trust in a person or thing.
4. I strongly believe that the events that occured were just a dream. While he was saying goodbye to Faith, She insisted that he'd sleep that night. Why would she want him to stay if the plan was to have him at the meeting?
5. I don't think he is an ordinary human being, he could be the devil or someone affiliated with the devil. He was a strange man and he really did stand out from the rest. His staff looked a lot like a snake, as it said in the story, and the snake is known to be a sign of the devil or a bad omen.
6. The staff could represent evil and power. The old man prefered walking with the staff, it probably gave him strength to move on. It could have also persuaded him to move on and that is what might have happened to Goodman Brown, the staff persuaded him to move forward. In the Bible, a snake persuaded Eve to bite the apple. In the story, the staff is said to look like a snake. So, metaphorically speaking, the snake convinced Brown to move forward. The snake is the master of deception and that is what the staff represented.
7. Of course, he would have still been living his normal life. He wouldn't be questioning his faith in Faith. He wouldn't be questioning his trust on the townspeople. Young Goodman Brown would be living his life without a worry.