ENG111 -- Introduction to Literature

Prof. Eileen Joy

Spring 2007

DISCUSSION QUESTION #6 (Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown" & Jackson, "The Lottery")

Figure 1. Still image from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Respond to ALL of the following prompts:

1. In Hawthorne's story, why does Goodman Brown become "a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man" after his experience in the forest? How might you judge his change of character and new outlook?

2. What experiences and events in our own, more contemporary world might cause us or others to enter a "dark forest," as Goodman Brown did? Is it possible to avoid walking through dark forests?

3. Where does "The Lottery" take place, and what purpose do you think Jackson had in making the setting appear so familiar and ordinary?

4. What do you think Jackson was tying to tell us about human nature in her story?

5. Considering "Young Goodman Brown" alongside "The Lottery," what kind of world-view is presented in these two stories? Is it a world-view you can relate to, and why or why not?

Please respond to the question with full, complete sentences. You should write one to one-and-a-half typed, double-spaced pages in response to the prompt (but let's not get distracted by these fine points of detail--what matters to me is that you respond to this prompt with thoughtfulness and care and show me that you have something of substance to say in relation to the reading and discussions we have had in class, and what that ultimately means is: MORE is always better than less, but one page is the minimum). The questions are always interpretive in nature, and therefore there are NO right or wrong answers, only your opinion (an opinion, nevertheless, that's hopefully grounded in a close reading of the text as well as a close attention to background material presented in class). You will want to refer to and/or quote specific passages from the text in order to support your observations and ideas (that will help you practice a skill that will become an absolute necessity when you are writing your critical essay).