You may have seen the new hobbit movies in recent years, where the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who doesn't like leaving the comforts of home goes on a journey and learns there is a lot more to life than just staying at home. This is an example of a story of initiation. Other popular examples of stories of initiation are “ Young Goodman Brown” and “ I want to Know Why” which are both stories of initiation, where the protagonist learns people aren't always as nice as they seem. Even though they both teach the same thing “Young Goodman Brown” has a darker mood. This is seen in the setting, characters, and the effects the lesson has on the protagonist. The setting in “Young Goodman Brown” starts in the town of Salem, which is a town famous for the …show more content…
The most evil of these characters is the old man Goodman Brown meets in the forest. The stories implies that the old man is actually the devil and by his actions you believe more and more that he actually is the devil. He temps Goodman Brown to come deeper into the forest with him and tells Brown about how he used to be good friends with his ancestors. The man carries a snake staff that appears to move in his hand, which makes the man seem very creepy. The reader fully understands how evil the man is at the end of the story, when you see the amount enjoyment he gets for making people do horrible things. Other dark characters in the story are Goody Cloyse, the minister, and Deacon Gookin because they are supposed to be the role models of the town and they are committing evil acts. The characters in “I want to Know Why” are mostly average people. They make mistakes like any other person, but they are not grim and evil like the characters from “Young Goodman Brown”. The only person who might be seen as bad is the guy who wins the race in Saratoga and he didn't really do anything wrong it was just wrong in the eyes of the