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1. What do you know about tests of faith in different cultures? What does your religion say about tests of faith? It is a necessary part of being a faithful person? What periods or events in history are the result in people feeling like their faith is being tested, or that they needed to prove their faiths?
2. What does the wilderness and forest represent in the story? Use examples from the text to show how Puritans viewed undeveloped parts of their environment.  How much of this mindset do you think lingers today? Can you think of examples from our culture which represents wilderness as a place of fear, evil, or uncertainty?