YGB Questions

1. What do you think Hawthorne's purpose was for writing this story? It was to tell readers how easily it is to change a persons point of view.
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? Faith is the good girl in the story. Goodman Brown only hope was that faith was a sin free person. He was clinging on her when tested on his beliefs. But then that view is shattered in his face.
3. What do you think the pink ribbons signify? I happen to believe that the ribbon is a symbol for purity and i read that the color pink is related to innocence, due to its similarity to white.
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. I think it's all too real. For a sane person to see all this must be on some drugs. 
5. Who do you think the old man really is?  What textual clues tell you this? I think that it's in his mind, because when he entered the forest he was paranoid. Then he states that, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" . I am still not sure by the way. 
6. What does the staff represent?  Do you think the staff leads Brown onward or is the primary motivator Brown's own conscience/mind? The staff is an evil object. It was seen as a snake which is related to biblical texts, about the devil in genesis and Adam and Eve. I think Brown went on his on and his irrational mind to see the truth. 
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? I think it would be a whole new world. It's like the saying everything happens for a reason. If he wouldn't of gone in the forest he would still have faith in everything he believed in.