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Why is Goodman Brown surprised by the people he sees in the forest?

Goodman Brown is surprised by the people he sees in the forest because he would never have expected so many folks who seem to upright and honest to be in attendance at a Witches' Sabbath or to be in league with the Devil.  Brown might have expected to see "men of dissolute lives and women of spotted fame," or other people who are suspected of terrible crimes and those who are well-known for their vices.  However, to see these kinds of people mixing with those church members who are "famous for their especial sanctity" as well as many others who all have excellent, pious reputations, is quite shocking to him.  The narrator says, "It was strange to see, that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints."  In other words, Brown is very surprised to note that there seems to be no difference at all in the behavior of those people he once believed to be good and those people he knows to be sinful.  Further, there is no sign that anyone is embarrassed to be seen there; it is as if the fact that every person in this crowd is actually a sinner is a surprise to no one except Brown.

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