Firstly, Hawthorn sets up the time period as the historically significant Salem Massachusetts of the 1690’s. “And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot… in King Philip’s War.” If Goodman Brown’s father fought in this war in 1675 his son would be of marrying age around 1690. This time and place was ripe with religious persecution and strict moral codes. With such ethical and spiritual ----- now hanging in the air, the reader can sense the message of morality, right vs. wrong, good vs. evil.

The village of Salem itself represents the goodness in Mr. Brown’s life. With its straight and open streets, and

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