Problem
In the story "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. What does the staff represent in the story? Is it the staff which leads Brown onward in his journey, or is it Brown's own choices leading him forward? What might this use of the staff in the story say about Hawthorne's view of evil? For example, would Hawthorne say that an supernatural force leads humans to do dark deeds, or are humans perfectly capable of leading themselves into evil?