"Wickedness or not," said the traveller with the twisted
staff, "I have a very general acquaintance here in New
England. The deacons of many a church have drunk the
communion wine with me; the selectmen, of divers
towns, make me their chairman; and a majority of the
Great and General Court are firm supporters of my
interest. The governor and I, too--but these are state-
secrets."
"Can this be so!" cried Goodman Brown, with a stare of
amazement at his undisturbed companion. "Howbeit, I
have nothing to do with the governor and council; they
have their own ways, and are no rule for a simple
husbandman like me. But, were I to go on with thee, how
should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister,
at Salem village? Oh, his voice would make me tremble,
both Sabbath-day and lecture-day!"
-"Young Goodman Brown,"
Nathaniel Hawthorne
If the traveler represents evil, which is the purpose of
his mentioning the others he is acquainted with?
O to explain that the person had many friends in the
area
O to criticize the unfair treatment he has received from
others
to show that the character can be trusted
O to illustrate that there are people in power who have
chosen to be wicker