The Tie that Binds
Richard Fogle confesses that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story Young Goodman Brown is a seemingly simple story leading the protagonist on a short journey, wherein he must face a crisis in the forest, when upon completion, he proceeds home “a changed man”. (Fogle/p.22). This skeletal framework of the story seems simple enough for the reader to comprehend. So, why are
there so many different analysis’, many of which are violently
conflictive, on this short, simple story?
How can such a basic story inspire one critic to parade Young Goodman Brown as, “the achieve[ment]…[of the] highest art”, while it ignites another critic to set it aflame as a, “failure of the artist’s vital responsibility toward his material?” (Fogle/p.32: Humma/p.431).
