In the 17th century the Puritans split into separatists and non-separatists, the separatist Puritans founded ideal Christian communities that the story "Young Goodman Brown" describes taking place. The village of Salem was recovering from the Witch Trail scandal, but the rest of the Puritan communities were still involved in witchcraft. Brown is unaware of how involved his community is in witchcraft. However, Brown is aware of the events in Salem and has gained a great curiosity towards the knowledge of witchcraft. This curiosity is the foundation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown", in which he presents the corruption in Puritan society, the loss of innocence, and the overwhelming fear of nature. The story paints a picturesque vision of Puritans living a quiet, simplistic, and pure life. surrounded by family, community and religion. “Puritans were expected to live by a strict moral code; they believed that all sins, from sleeping in church to stealing food, should be punished” (Life in Salem 1692). The Puritans, however, were not always as pure as we are led to believe. Many actions of the Puritans, although based on religion, are a contradiction to what their religion taught. During the Puritan period there were several recognized periods of unorthodox methods of rebuke. By 1692 the Salem witchcraft trials were tearing the community apart. Puritan society, which relied so heavily on community support, had begun to turn against each other to an unprecedented degree. The reasons for the Salem witch trials vary based on misconceptions, illogical values, and misunderstood information. In “Young Goodman Brown” the devil suggests himself as responsible for several dark periods in Puritan history, “I help your g...... middle of paper ...... Works Cited Cochran, RW (1962, 1 November). How Young Goodman Brown Became Old Badman Brown: Answered. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from the National Council of Teachers of English: http://www.jstor.org/stable/373757 .Cook, R. (1970, September 1). Goodman Brown's The Forest of Night: A Reading of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown." Retrieved November 25, 2011, from The New England Quarterly, Inc: http://www.jstor.org/stable/363309Hawthorne, N. (2008). Young Goodman Brown. In S. Belasco and L. Johnson, The Bedford Anthology of American Literature (pp. 987-996). Boston: Bedford/St. Life of Martin in Salem 1692. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2011, from Discovery Education: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/resources.htmlMcKeithan, D. (1952). Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown": An Interpretation. Notes on the modern language , 67 (2), 93-96.