Decor influences character and theme based on locations, time of day and atmosphere. In Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, the setting of Salem village at sunset, the forest and what happened in the forest influenced the character and theme of the story with temptation, testing humanity, and Browns changed his views on humanity, the people of the village. and faith, his faith and his wife after what happened in the forest. In the first sentence of the story, gives the first setting, Salem Village at sunset. The setting at the beginning of the story is in Salem Village and the time of day which is sunset influences the theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, of beginning to test humanity through temptation. It's dark or starting to get dark and it's in a village known for witchcraft and he's going into the forest. According to Moores in Young Goodman Brown's "The Evil Aim: Hawthorne and the Jungian Shadow", "the story takes place at dusk in Salem, a place strongly evocative of darkness, witchcraft, hangings and satanic things and evil. » (Moores 1) The first place the story begins is in Salem. “Young Goodman Brown appeared at sunset in the village street of Salem… Goodman Brown felt justified in further haste to carry out his present evil scheme. He had taken a dreary path, darkened by all the darkest trees of the forest” (Hawthorne 402). Salem Village has a history of…well, witches or people accused of witchcraft and witchcraft trials. Brown, the character, goes into the forest to stay on the path. The forest is symbolic as a setting, influences character development and the theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' as evil, a temptation testing his humanity, changing his views on humanity. The forest is in the middle of paper......he changed his views on his faith and his wife's faith, he saw this as a betrayal of his faith, and he. It changed his perspective on his fellow villagers, on how he viewed them, grabbing a little girl from the hands of an old lady and trying not to listen to a word that was said during the church. Brown's little escapade in the forest tested his humanity, his faith (both his faith and that of his wife). Works CitedGener, Randy. “In the woods with the devil.” American Theater April (1995): 8+ (1-2 pg) Literature Resources Center.Web. March 10, 2011 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Michael, Meyer. Bedford's Introduction to Literature. 9th edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 402-411.Moores, DJ "The 'Evil Goal' of Young Goodman Browns: Hawthorne and the Jungian Shadow." Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 27. 3-4 (2005): +4 (1-11). Literary Resource Center. Internet. March 10 2011.