In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown," how does the setting affect the characters and theme?

We learn that the
setting of the story is Salem, Massachusetts: a city known for the infamous witch trails that
took place there in 1692, trials that resulted in the executions of nineteen innocent men and
women and the deaths of several others who perished in jail or as a result of their
imprisonment.It is one of the darkest chapters in American history because people turned on
their neighbors and friends, accusing them of witchcraft without evidence, the result of
hysteria and fear and, perhaps, greed and malice.Rather than just a few people being guilty of
wrongdoing, it turns out that a great many people were actually sinful and dishonest.The people
in Goodman Brown's community have the appearance of being morally upstanding and righteous
individuals, but they are really harboring sinful natures.Even the most upright people are
actually working for the devil.This certainly helps to convey that theme that, no matter how
sinless we may appear, we are all secretly sinful....