Setting In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown'

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's “Young Goodman Brown”, it introduces a character who goes by the name of Goodman Brown and he faces issues while living in Salem, Massachusetts. “In great fiction, the setting lives from the very first pages. Such places not only feel extremely real, they are dynamic. They change. They affect the characters in the story” this was said by Donald Maass, agent and author of “The Breakout Novelist”. Many writers may think the effect of a story setting upon characters is obvious. If the events unfold in a city, a character will likely act in completely different ways than if they unfold in a rural setting. Writers need to think about what kind of person would leave home knowing he may never return, knowing he is weakening and perhaps breaking ties with his family. The setting dictates a character’s personality and

In Tobias Wolff’s “Rich Brother”, Donald drives him and his brother named Pete to the woods and they stop in the middle of nowhere in the woods to talk. Donald leaves his brother Pete in the woods alone and forgets about him. When Donald goes to his house, his wife asks him where his brother was, but Donald didn’t tell her and only he knew where Pete was (pg. 375). Like in “Young Goodman Brown”, we can tell that the setting of the woods or forest has a big meaning on how it has a big impact on the characters. “Pete drove on between the trees and considered the truth of what Donald had just said. The truth was that Donald would believe anything that anybody says” (pg. 374). Because Donald can afford almost anything he shows off to his brother Pete. Pete is not like Donald because Pete does not like to spend his money. Donald gave his brother Pete $100 to take a bus to get to Donald’s home. Instead of using the $100 to the bus he hitchhiked his way to Donald’s place. The setting in “Rich Brother”, changed Donald to leave his brother in the woods all