Topic #3: Discuss the co-existence of belief in Christianity and belief in “witches” and other superstitions in 17th-century Puritan society as shown in “Young Goodman Brown.” What do you think are some of the most important themes or messages in this allegory by Nathaniel Hawthorne? What is one of the main “flaws” in Goodman Brown that causes him a long, prosperous lifetime of misery and unhappiness? What do you think makes this story (published nearly two centuries ago) still interesting to modern readers today?
“Young Goodman Brown,” pdf: Pages 1-9
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Include brief references to 2–3 secondary sources in your essay.
Two databases that I recommend are Literature Resource Center (Gale) and JSTOR. Inside the databases, you can search by title, author, and subject.
1. Make sure that your essay addresses the topic accurately and clearly. It’s always a good idea to review the original topic sheet to be sure you haven’t missed anything.
2. For quotations and paraphrases of sources, give credit to these sources in your essay and on a separate works cited page at the end of your paper.
3. Give your essay a specific, original title that reflects its content. (Don’t use exactly the same title as the stories or poems that you are writing about).
4. Divide your essay into several paragraphs—indent one tab over from the left margin at the start of each new paragraph. Hit return/enter only once when you reach the end of a paragraph. (Don’t leave extra space between paragraphs).
5. Type your essay according to MLA format. (Double space everything, including the works cited page, use the correct left and right margin headings—see the individual notes I made on your rough drafts about MLA format—don’t use a separate title page or cover sheet).
6. Be sure that you have checked each sentence for grammar and punctuation, particularly for run-on sentences and sentence fragments. (Run the grammar/style check on your computer for additional help with this).
7. Check the spelling of titles, names of characters, and all words. (Run spell check on computer).
8. Put quotation marks around the titles of short stories and poems. Don’t italicize titles unless they are full-length books.
9. Avoid bold print.
10. Don’t use sub-headings or section numbers within the text of your essay.
11. Be sure that your essay meets the length requirement of 750–950 words.