Young old good bad

   Hawthorne's purpose in writing this story is to show that even the kindest person could be the most evil .The name faith is complete trust and confidence in the story faith isn't as faithful as her name as a result her name does not fit with her personality.The pink ribbons in the beginning of the story signify love and purity and as the end of the story approaches the pink ribbons begin to symbolize hatred and evil. In my opinion Everything Brown witnessed was a dream because in the story it says "had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest,and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch meeting?"
I think the old man could be anyone trying to harm Brown. Someone like the devil or someone close to him.If Brown would't have ventured into the forest then he would't have seen the real side of people. Brown Would have still believed that his wife and the towns people were kind people.

1. What do you think Hawthorne's purpose was for writing this story?
2. Hawthorne states that Brown's wife is "aptly named" Faith.  After reading the story, do you agree?  Does Faith's name fit her personality?  Does Brown have true faith in her?
3. What do you think the pink ribbons signify?
4. Was everything Brown witnessed real, a figment of his imagination, something conjured by evil, or a dream?  Support your answer with passages from the text.
5. Who do you think the old man really is?  What textual clues tell you this?
6. What does the staff represent?  Do you think the staff leads Brown onward or is the primary motivator Brown's own conscience/mind?
7. If Brown had not ventured into the forest, how would his life be different?  If he'd stayed home, would Brown still have Faith?  Would he still trust his wife and his fellow townspeople?