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1. This page from Perspectives in Literature offers a good broad overview of Puritanism in American literature.  According to this site, Puritan writers’ goals are 1) to transform a mysterious God—mysterious because he is separate from the world, 2) to make him more relevant to the universe, and/or 3) to glorify God. Which, if any, of these goals do you think Hawthorne achieves in “Young Goodman Brown”? Do you think Hawthorne is writing as a Puritan or as a challenge to Puritan beliefs? Give examples from the text to support your answer.


2. Puritans were taught from childhood that men are sinners at heart and should contemplate daily their evildoings.  Read this overview of Puritanism, concentrating especially on the Half-Way Covenant.  Who in the story might represent a child of the Half-Way Covenant? What do you think was Hawthorne’s opinion of the idea that children of the Half-Way Covenant had to wait for a conversation experience?




3. Reread the “Young Goodman Brown” in this hypertext version which includes links to explain major symbols.  Then pick two symbols from the story and explain how the website’s explanation of the symbol deepened your understanding of the story.