Essential Short Stories
Teaching Unit
Young Goodman Brown
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
written by Stephanie Polukis
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Young Goodman Brown
ESSENTIAL SHORT STORIES TEACHING UNIT
Young Goodman Brown
Biography
Considered one of the greatest American writers, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864), is a direct
product of his New England background. His father was a sea captain, who died when the boy
was only four. Reared in a reclusive setting, Hawthorne became an avid reader, as recorded by
the huge number of books he borrowed from the local lending library in Salem, Massachusetts.
His uncle sent him to Bowdoin College, where Hawthorne became good friends with the future
president Franklin Pierce and future poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Hawthorne wrote a
great deal, but destroyed most of his early writings; however, by the time he was 33, his writing
style and content had matured. Critics credit Hawthorne with making the short story acceptable
literature in America, especially after his Twice-Told Tales was published in 1837.
Haunted by his Puritan past, including a grandfather who was a judge at the Salem Witch Trials,
Hawthorne portrayed the characters in many of his novels and short stories, including The
Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and “Young Goodman Brown” as having deeply
Puritan backgrounds. His contributions to American literature include his meticulous style,
intriguing themes, complex symbolism, and keen psychological insights into human nature.
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BIOGRAPHY
Young Goodman Brown
ESSENTIAL SHORT STORIES TEACHING UNIT
Young Goodman Brown
Plot Summary
Young Goodman Brown* is about to leave his home in Salem village to take a journey into the
woods. His wife, Faith, begs him not to go, but he ignores her concerns, telling her to say her
prayers and go to bed at dusk.
When he enters the woods, Young Goodman Brown meets the “person” he has an appointment
with: the Devil in the guise of Brown’s grandfather. Having fulfilled his promise to come, Brown
asks to return to the village, and Brown says that if his late father were to know what he was
doing, he would be ashamed. The Devil tells him that not only was he a friend of Brown’s father,
but he also knows many Puritans intimately. The Devil urges Brown to continue walking with
him into the woods, but Brown says that he will not give in to temptation; if Faith ever found
out what Brown was doing in the woods, it would “break her dear little heart.”
At that point, Young Goodman Brown’s catechist, or religious instructor, Goody Cloyse, is seen
entering the forest. Brown hides from her and watches as the she and the Devil converse. In the
conversation, Goody Cloyse reveals that, not only is she a friend of the Devil, but she is also a
witch and will be attending the gathering that night.
When she walks on, and the Devil returns to Young Goodman Brown, Brown expresses
astonishment at Goody Cloyse’s fall to temptation, and he refuses to go further into the woods.
The Devil leaves him to make up his mind, and as Brown waits on the side of the road, he sees
Deacon Gookin and the minister. They, too, are attending the meeting.
Brown withstands the temptation to go farther into the woods, but he soon hears Faith’s voice
crying out and sees one of her pink ribbons flying in the air. He races madly to the meeting
place. He sees all of the people of Salem gathered around an altar. The Devil stands before
them and makes a sermon, preaching that “Evil is the nature of mankind.” Brown realizes that,
although the people of his church pretend to be devout and pious, in actuality, they are sinners
and intrinsically evil.
Faith is brought to the altar to be baptized as a new convert, but before Brown can see whether
she resists, the scene changes, and Brown finds himself in the quiet, dark, empty woods.
Young Goodman Brown isn’t sure if what he saw was a dream. The next day, the people of
Salem return to their normal routines. However, from that day forward, Brown views them
as hypocrites, and he alienates himself from the community. Although he lives a long life and
raises a family, he distrusts his wife and fellow men and dies wretched and alone.
*Y
ou may want to point out to the students that Goodman is not the character’s first name, but a
term of respect the Puritans used to refer to one another other. Goody is the female equivalent of
this term.
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PLOT SUMMARY
Young Goodman Brown
ESSENTIAL SHORT STORIES TEACHING UNIT
Young Goodman Brown
Objectives
By the end of this Unit, students will be able to:
• Analyze how themes are developed in a work of literature
• Identify the type of conflict and how it appears in the text
• Understand how characterization contributes to the meaning of the story
• Trace elements of foreshadowing in the text
• Evaluate various symbols and their importance in the story
• Analyze how setting affects plot and mood
• Identify and understand the significance of metaphor, allusion, simile, and personification
• Assess the role the author’s diction plays in conveying a message
• Identify point of view and its effect on the story
• Define new vocabulary words using context
• Determine how plot elements are applied in the text
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OBJECTIVES
Young Goodman Brown
STUDENT’S COPY
Young Goodman Brown
Study Guide
Vocabulary
abashed – embarrassed, uncomfortable
anathema – a curse or punishment
anointed – blessed by having oil placed on one’s forehead
aspirations – desires, hopes
assumed ­– took on the quality of *
basin – a bowl
benignantly – showing kindness to others
bestowed – gave
blasphemer – a person who ridicules God and religion
boughs – the branches of a tree
catechism – part of religious education
cognizance – the ability to use and judge information *
covenant – a contract, agreement
deacons – church officials
discerned ­– perceived
eventide – evening
exhorted – urged
fain ­– willingly
firmament – the heavens, the sky
forsooth – absolutely; indeed
gravity – serious consideration
hoary – gray, implying old age
husbandman – a farmer
impious – unholy; not religious
lamentations – cries or pleas
lattice – crossed wooden strips with openings in between
lurid – reddish
ocular – visual
pious ­– religious
prithee – “I beg you”
rampant – raging; wild
reverenced – respected
sanctity – holiness
scruples ­– hesitations
selectmen – town officers
similitude – a resemblance
smote – struck
steeds – horses
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STUDY GUIDE
Young Goodman Brown
STUDENT’S COPY
7. Identify the following plot elements in “Young Goodman Brown”:
• inciting incident (the event that initiates the action of the story):
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• rising action (when the action and conflict grow in intensity):
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• climax (the height of the action and the turning point in the story):
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• falling action (when the action and conflict decrease in intensity):
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• resolution (the final outcome of the conflict):
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STUDY GUIDE
Young Goodman Brown
STUDENT’S COPY
3. Young Goodman Brown lives in a Puritan, New England town that prides itself on both
its sense of community and its religious values. However, when Young Goodman Brown
watches his wife, minister, religious leaders, and peers participating in a satanic ritual, he
is forced to make a very difficult decision: Should he join in the ritual and be a part of this
community, or should he alienate himself from the other people and remain devout? He
chooses the latter option.
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4. When the main character enters the woods and encounters the Devil, the Devil appears to
have expected him. “You are late, Goodman Brown,” he says. Is the Devil saying this to trick
and manipulate Young Goodman Brown, or is the entire incident in the woods predestined?
Use examples from the text to support your answer.
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STUDY GUIDE