Much of Hawthorne's work focuses on the effects of guilt and sin on individuals, especially when they remain secret—think of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale ofThe Scarlet Letter or Father Hooper of "The Minister's Black Veil." Like those characters, Young Goodman Brown would likely be much better off if he were simply honest about his sinfulness.  He tries to hide it from his wife, Faith, and if he had simply told her where he was going, then perhaps things would not have gone so terribly awry. Likely, they would have gained a better understanding of one another, bringing them closer together in their relationship.  Many people, perhaps beginning in America with the Puritans, seemed to try to hide the fact that they were sinners—this is a popular Hawthorne theme: we are ALL sinners—an irony that added hypocrisy to sin and alienated each individual from his or her fellows, never to be understood or known, and always to be alone.  This story is no different and is, thus, certainly affected by Hawthorne's Puritan past.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was affected by Puritanism in a number of different ways.  After all, Hawthorne was born and raised in New England, a part of the country in which the Puritan heritage was especially strong. Moreover, Hawthorne’s own ancestors had been Puritans. One of them, in fact, had been involved in the infamous witch trials at Salem, and Hawthorne seems to have been quite troubled by the conduct of this ancestor in particular. Another way in which the influence of Puritanism can be seen in Hawthorne’s writings involves his deep interest in sin. Hawthorne’s writings are often dark and gloomy, but they are also almost always morally serious.  In other words, they almost always deal with matters of right and wrong, of good conduct and bad. Hawthorne was highly aware of the often grim legacy of Puritanism, and he was also interested in the hypocrisy that Puritan beliefs could sometimes produce in some people.

Hypocrisy, of course, is a major theme of Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” Brown himself seems hypocritical when he heads off into the woods, apparently to meet the devil, assuming that he can engage in evil one last time before he returns to a life that he assumes will be entirely virtuous. However, Brown is even more hypocritical when he passes harsh judgment on others he encounters in the woods, even though he himself is there. He is especially distraught when he thinks he discovers that his own wife, Faith, whom he had considered completely pure, is also in the woods, apparently communing with Satan. Brown’s tendency to judge others harshly for thoughts and deeds of which he may be guilty himself makes him liable to the charges of hypocrisy that were often leveled against Puritans.

Perhaps the most disturbing section of “Young Goodman Brown” is the final paragraph, which notes of Brown that after he returned from the woods to town, he became a

stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man . . . from the night of that fearful dream. On the Sabbath day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain. When the minister spoke from the pulpit with power and fervid eloquence, and, with his hand on the open Bible, of the sacred truths of our religion, and of saint-like lives and triumphant deaths, and of future bliss or misery unutterable, then did Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading lest the roof should thunder down upon the gray blasphemer and his hearers.

In other words, Brown takes on the role of God. He self-righteously and inappropriately condemns others for their supposed transgressions. Rather than examining himself and his own scrutinizing his own conscience, he presumes to sit in judgment of others.

I think that your introductory paragraph does pretty much what an introduction should do, including focusing quickly on your subject and moving smoothly toward the thesis statement.

At the same time, though, this introductory paragraph may be trying to do too much at once. I'm a big fan of saving items -- such as the selective and purposeful summary of the story -- for the second paragraph in an essay.

I like to write and rewrite sections of my papers at different times. You don't have to have the introductory paragraph perfected before moving on to paragraph two. In fact, moving on is often a very good thing to do. You can always use a wordprocessor to move sections of your essay around and to revise your introduction once you have a better sense of what your essay is actually doing. I know that I may start an essay off one way only to find later that a different (and more interesting) sort of essay has emerged.

I would also recommend that you consider opening with a more specific statement about Hawthorne's background, such as "The nineteenth-century American writer...."

Finally, I would recommend that you definitely cite your sources but consider ways in which to incorporate the sources more smoothly into your own writing. I often like to use formal introductory phrases, such as "According to..." For me, the parenthetical citation is not enough, as it doesn't tell me exactly where the borrowing of material starts. Consider saving your sources for later in the essay, if possible. Feel free to challenge or otherwise move beyond your sources. You should treat them with respect, but you have the final say in your essay.

I hope that these comments are helpful.

“Young Goodman Brown” certainly reflects Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan heritage and his continual fascination with the idea of witchcraft due to his family’s involvement in the witch trials, but it also shows us some of Hawthorne’s personal beliefs and challenges. Let’s look at some of these.

Hawthorne, for instance, embraced transcendentalism and held firmly to the belief in human free will. While, in Hawthorne’s view, the divine (and the demonic) is certainly present in human affairs, human beings have a choice. “Young Goodman Brown” reveals this clearly. Brown comes face to face with the supernatural in this story, and he must make a choice about what to do about it. No one is forcing him (although the mysterious stranger is trying his best). The decision rests with Brown.

You might also talk about Hawthorne’s own struggles with faith, which may be somewhat reflected in the story. His ancestors were Puritans, but Hawthorne needed to find his own path. He questioned the beliefs of his ancestors as Brown starts to question the authority figures in his village and even his own wife. Brown’s situation turns out to be more negative than Hawthorne’s, but we can see the questioning and the searching.