Journal Questions for A Rose for Miss Emily and Young Goodman Brown

A Rose for Miss Emily

Answer one of the following:
1. The title of this story tells a "story" in and of itself. What higher symbolic meaning is derived
from this title in terms of character, plot, and theme? How are the three consistently interwoven
in the story?
2. Is Miss Emily a champion or a victim of the values her town tries to preserve?
3. What characters (or what larger forces) are in conflict with Emily?
4. What details foreshadow the conclusion of the story? Did you anticipate the ending?
5. Contrast the order of events as they happen in the story with the order in which they are told.
How does this plotting create interest and suspense?
6. Faulkner uses a number of gothic elements in this plot: the imposing decrepit house, the
decayed corpse, and the mysterious secret horrors connected with Emily's life. How do these
elements forward the plot and establish the atmosphere?
7. How does the information provided by the exposition indicate the nature of the conflict in the
story? What does Emily's southern heritage contribute to the story?
8. Who or what is the antagonist of the story? Why is it significant that Homer Barron is a
construction foreman and a northerner?
9. Discuss how Faulker's treatment of the North and South contributes to the meaning of the
story.
Young Goodman Brown
1.Where is Young Goodman Brown headed after sunset?
2.What signs do we see in the text that this destination is a frightening one on this particular
night of the year?
3.With what character is the leit-motif of the pink ribbon associated Why is that an appropriate
object for this character?
4 How is Brown's wife an allegorical figure, given her name?
5. How is Brown's own name and title potentially allegorical? Where does Brown fit on the

spectrum of black and white?

6. Who does Brown meet first in the dark woods? Why do you suppose that figure appear the
way s/he does in terms of his/her clothing and mannerisms?
7. What is this figure's connection with Brown's family, if we can believe the figure's claims?
8. Who is Goody Cloyse? Why was she special to Brown in the development of his beliefs?
9. What falls from the sky that convinces Brown his wife is attending the witches' sabbat?
10. Who attends the Satanic coven in the woods, i.e., what sort of people?
11. What happens when Brown calls out to Faith to look to heaven rather than partake of the
unholy ceremony?
12. How does this event--real or imagined--affect Brown's interactions with his community?
13. What is carved on Brown's tombstone when he dies? (trick question!)