Examples Of Alienation In The Minister's Black Veil

Hooper’s sacrifice acknowledges that sin comes at a high price, as he wore the veil, he isolated himself from the Puritan society and no longer accepted him as that was advent. The theme of the Minister’s Black Veil is that everyone has a secret sin, dying from others and that no one person can escape sin. “The subject had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them” (Hawthorne). Reverend Hooper wears the black veil to communicate to his congregation and acknowledge that he has sinned. He sacrifices himself by wearing the black veil to recognize the sins committed by himself and the others townspeople; coming to terms with bad sins and remaining as part of humanity.

In “The Minister's Black Veil”, Hawthorne uses alienation to illustrate how the community around you can affect you as a person. Mr.Hooper wears a black veil as a punishment for his hidden sin and believes everyone has their own veil representing their own hidden sin, but the ignorance throughout the town is abundant due to the fact that they are puritans and believe that they cannot be touched by sin. That is what Hawthorne wanted to show, that no matter who they were, they cannot escape

In my opinion, it seems throughout the story that Hooper is seldom joyous or happy, and he is always miserable and sorrowful. It is first shown when Elizabeth, his soon to be wife, threatens to abandon Hooper and their marriage if he does not remove the dark, black veil. He practically begged her to stay, but she ultimately refused because he did not remove the veil. Also, going back to the children, it is obvious that Hooper is devastated when he cannot even watch the children romp around. Likewise, Hooper can also not have ordinary conservations with people throughout the town.

Scout then realizes that he was a nice man and all the things said about him were not true. Scout’s friendliness helped her to see people for who they really are. This was really important during this time because of all the racism and judgment going on. Scouts intelligence, innocence, and friendliness shaped her view of the events in To Kill a Mockingbird. Just because someone is intelligent doesn’t mean that they will always be respected.

However, even with his claims of holiness, he puts on the veil; this is ironic, because the veil symbolizes the opposite of holiness. Also, the Minister shows that he has very limited understanding of true Christianity (Freedman). It is ironic that Parson Hooper tears his face and makes such a big scene about the secret sin we are all hiding. Yes, this sin is bad, and no, we should not hide it. However, true Christianity comes with knowing that we are and never will be perfect, but that God is strong in our weaknesses.

The Alienation of Reverend Hooper It is never fun to be a stranger in one’s community. Some people know this better than others. Reverend Hooper, a character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil,” is one of those unfortunate people. Mr. Hooper wore a black crape over his face. This confused the Puritan community.

“‘On every visage a Black Veil!’” (Hawthorne 188). The majority of people prefers to keep their secrets hidden from others, but they do not mind passing judgment onto someone else. Writers often highlight the values of a society or community by using characters who are alienated because of gender, race, or creed. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Reverend Hooper is subjugated to alienation from his community because of the black veil that covers their minister’s face. In fact, some are more concerned with this piece of fabric that covers his face, than his religious teachings.

In refusing to do so, he called out the corrupted justice system. After he saw what had happened to the previously accused, he found it unfair to sign his name away, saying “I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name, God knows how black my sins are!

Dimmesdale was a devout Puritan, and because of how hard they were on themselves he believed that he can no longer live a life of happiness. His despair was inflicted upon him once he committed adultery with Hester Prynne and decided to keep it secret.“While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul…”(Hawthorne 117). The pain came from deep within Dimmesdale, and he believed that one sin can destroy his whole life. Puritanism is now looked upon as one of the hardest religions because of their strictness in their ways of life. They truly believed that if they sinned they would be looked at as if they were scum in the eyes of the church, and this was exactly how Dimmesdale saw himself.

The major theme in “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is that everyone has sins or sorrows they try to hide but can’t never escape. For instance, Elizabeth claims the Minister “hides his face under the consciousness of secret sin”. This statement shows she’s determined he wears the black veil; to hide his immoral actions. We all have secrets and sins we try to hide from one another, as well as ourselves. Later, the Minister asks to “to not be left alone in the miserable obscurity forever”.

Unlike the townspeople, Atticus doesn’t use discrimination to Tom Robinson for being black. Because Atticus respects Tom Robinson, Atticus strives to bring civil rights to Tom Robinson while people are not respecting Tom. Accordingly, Atticus’s reverence to other people represents that he is respectful. In conclusion, Atticus is stiffly determined, vigorously bold, and extremely respectful. His character traits helps the book called To Kill A Mockingbird to contain what aspects people should emulate atticus about in order to have better personalities.