The Puritan Ethos

Introduction

Ethos is a term that means the “spirit and culture of an age.” After reading through some of the stories from and literature about the Puritans, we will discuss what those stories reveal about the Puritan era.

Process

  1. Click here to read a segment from Of Plymouth Plantation

  2. Click here to read a short segment from The Scarlett Letter

  3. Extra Credit: Click here to read a graphic novel version of The Scarlett Letter

  4. Click here to read the short story Young Goodman Brown

Written Response

After you have read through the links, compose a written response to the following questions. Submit your response to Schoology before class.

  1. Based on your reading Of Plymouth Plantation and The Scarlett Letter (segment), how would you describe the ethos of the Puritan culture? How did the Puritans and pilgrims demonstrate their values, their character, or the spirit of their age?

  2. Young Goodman Brown is written as an allegory, which is a literary device used to tell a story with characters and symbols that are meant to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a political or religious one. After reading Young Goodman Brown, take a stance and write 1-2 paragraphs that defend your position on ONE of the following:

    • Young Goodman Brown is an inward psychological journey where Goodman Brown discovers evil in himself but refuses to acknowledge it. 

    • Young Goodman Brown is a coming of age story about a young man who desires to abandon his faith to have one last “fling,” to “taste the forbidden fruit,” before settling into a strict Puritan life.

    • Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown to expose and denounce Puritan attitudes and hypocrisy. 

  3. Extra Credit: After reading the segment from and the graphic novel version of The Scarlett Letter, answer the following question with a 1-2 paragraph response: What are the central themes of The Scarlett Letter, and how do those themes have timeless applicability? Find THREE quotes from the segment/graphic novel and discuss the universality of those quotes (how they can apply to many people in any time period).