What does Goodman Brown mean when he says, "Faith kept me back a while," after the Devil comments on his lack of punctuality?

Was Goodman Brown's brush with evil real or imagined?

Read other works of literature in which the line between reality and imagination is blurred, such as "The Swimmer" by John Cheever and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. What are some of the reasons why authors might use this technique?

Investigate the dictates of Puritan culture. How is contemporary American culture different? How is it the same?

What effects did the Salem Witch Trials have on the nation as a whole? Cite specific historic examples.