Who do you think the old man Brown meets on the road is? Look closely at the words used to describe him. What do they signify?

The old
man thatmeets on the road is clearly meant to be the Devil. Brown knows from the moment he
leaves on his journey that he is doing something that he should not, and as soon as he meets up
with the traveler, who is clothed "in grave and decent attire," the traveler gives
Brown a clear indication that there is something mysterious about him:

"You are late, Goodman Brown," said he. "The clock of
the Old South was striking, as I came through Boston; and that is full fifteen minutes
agone."

Here the "Old South" refers to the
Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Brown's journey takes him to the woods outside Salem.
In modern times, the journey between Boston and Salem takes at least a half hour by car, without
traffic. The fact that this traveler could move between the two locations in less than half of
that time, hundreds of years ago, suggests that he has supernatural powers.

Further, throughout the journey into the woods, Young Goodman Brown repeatedly...