The setting of a work may be the most powerful literary device an author uses in their work. Setting refers to a place or time in which a work takes place. The setting offers a wide range of possibilities. The setting of a work can be as simple as a single play or as complex as the psychological state of mind of the author or character. Authors can use setting to enhance the theme of their works. One author in particular is Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “Young Goodman Brown” in 1835. His era influenced the theme of his work. Hawthorne's chosen theme was the weakness of public morality. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne shows this theme through the perspective of a Puritan, Goodman Brown. In the story, Hawthorne shows that Goodman Brown's religious beliefs are rooted in his belief that those around him are also religious. This type of faith, which depends heavily on the views of others, weakens easily. Hawthorne suggests that faith is weak when people copy the beliefs of other people around them. Hawthorne shows this in the story of the fall of Goodman Brown, who at first was pure and godly. To further illustrate this, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the context of his time and that of his predecessors to reinforce the theme of weak public morality in his work "Young Goodman Brown." Nathaniel Hawthorne used his own personal context to help write his short stories. Most of Hawthorne's stories are dark and gloomy, much like his family's history. The Hawthorne family had deep roots in New England. Hawthorne had an imaginative connection to his father's side of the family. This connection to his father's family inspired much of Nathaniel's literary work. Nathaniel's great-great-great-grandfather...... middle of paper ......literary biography selection, retrospective supplement 1. Ed. A. Walton Litz and Molly Weigel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. Scribner Writers Series. Internet. November 27, 2011. Liebman, Sheldon W. "The Reader in 'Young Goodman Brown'." The Nathaniel Hawthorne Journal 1975. Ed. CE Frazer Clark, Jr. Microcard Editions Books, 1975. 156-169. Rep. In News Criticism. Ed. Anna J. Leaves. Flight. 29. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Literary Resource Center. Internet. November 29, 2011. Walsh, Thomas F., Jr. “The Bedeviling of Young Goodman Brown.” Modern Language Quarterly 19.4 (December 1958): 331-336. Rep. in Short Story Review. Ed. Anna J. Leaves. Flight. 29. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Information Resource Center. Internet. November 29, 2011. Wilson, George. "Young Goodman Brown" Literature and Its Times. By Joyce Moss. Flight. 1. Gale Cengage, 1997. 420-26. Print.