Another key element that Hawthorne uses to play a major role in the story is setting. The significance of the setting starts right off in the village of Salem and leads us into the journey of the woods, where our main character Goodman Brown has an experience that changes his life forever. Hawthorne goes into elaborate detail about the surroundings in order to get the reader to envision the setting. By doing so, it is easier to relate to characters that otherwise might seem foreign to us. He is able to create this vision with the use of words from the opening line, “Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street of Salem Village” (Trimmer 3).

In the beginning of his trip into the woods he reassures himself of his love for his wife and his faith in his religion but, throughout the journey, Goodman demonstrates how signs of faith begin to leave him and let him down, like when pink ribbon fluttered down to Goodman Brown and he knew that he had lost his Faith. He began to question who was telling the truth and who was living a lie. Despite this, in panic, he declares “With heaven above, and faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil” (Trimmer 2). Again, Brown makes a promise to keep his faith unto God. Around the same time, it is clear that Goodman Brown goes mad from his realizations about everything that is happening in the town and in his later life. He challenges evil by making it known how he feels toward everyone through his behavior, like when the minister tried to give him a blessing and Goodman Brown walks away. Brown believes the

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