"Young Goodman Brown" (1835) is a short storyby American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne
The story takes place in 17th century PuritanNew England , a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that humanity exists in a state of depravity , exempting those who are born in a state of grace
Hawthorne frequently attempts to expose the hypocrisy of Puritan culture in his literature
In a symbolic fashion, the story follows Young Goodman Brown's journey into self-scrutiny which results in his loss of faith
Plot summary The story begins at sunset in Salem, Massachusetts , as young GoodmanBrown leaves Faith, his wife of three months, for an unknown errand in the forest
Faith pleads with her husband to stay with her but he insists the journey into the