The Minister’s Black Veil is a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It tells the story of a minister named Parson Hooper. He shows up to church on the Sabbath with a black veil covering his eyes. The townspeople begin to spread rumors about Mr. Hooper. They assume he is wearing the black veil due to sorrow or a secret sin. Hooper tells his girlfriend that the veil is for neither of those reasons; the veil must never come off, not even for her. Hooper continues to do what he always does, such as: preach sermons, greet the children, and chat with the neighbors. The veil gets Hooper some weird looks and the people that once adored him, now avoid him. The only thing seen under the veil is a sad smile that creeps its way in.
Could a simple black veil take on the sins of an entire community? At intervals, veils are often thought to be worn by a bride in a wedding.For some women in the Muslim world, the veil they wear is a symbol of oppression. In The Minister’s Black Veil, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses strong diction, imagery, and details to portray the sacrifice needed to take on the responsibility of sin by Rev. Hooper donning the black veil.
How willing are you to give up your whole life and reputation to help others by proving a point? In “The Minister 's Black Veil” Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a minister named Mr. Hooper who changes his whole life to try to show the people in his congregation that they are living in sin and need to change their ways. The author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born around the time when Puritan life was the norm and everyone was a Puritan. Hawthorne also admired his ancestor’s ways and their lifestyles as much as he felt the need for people to have the freedom to strongly disagree about something (Grant). Grant says, “ It is this rich combination of his ancestral soil, a strong sense of the richness of the American past, and that moral quality” which
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” the black veil affects Mr. Hooper relationship with his community in a negative way because it causes the townspeople to push him away. In the story “The Minister’s Black Veil” Elizabeth Mr. Hooper’s soon to be wife gets into an argument and says “Lift the veil but once, and look at me in the face,” said she. “Never! It cannot be!” replied Mr. Hooper. “Then, farewell!” said Elizabeth.” leaving Mr. Hooper. Due to Mr. Hooper’s actions it causes him to separate from someone who he really cares for and leaving him by himself alone with nothing else just Mr. Hooper and his black veil. Forcing him to feel lonely and isolated from everyone else. In lines 320-330 from the story it states “It grieved him to the very depth
A religious group of protestors originated in 16th century in England. They fled to the New World to receive their demands. They were known as the puritans and demanded the simplification of doctrine and worship with greater strictness in the discipline of religion. Their roles have been critically viewed by many and are of a typical interest for writers.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, we are presented with Reverend Parson Hooper, an admirable Puritan preacher who decides to start wearing a black veil. Mr. Hooper’s decision to cover his face almost entirely, except for the mouth and chin with that “mysterious emblem” (#) agitated the town of Milford. It incited gossip within the community about him and the reason why he chose to wear the black veil in the first place, which the townspeople thought represented the Reverend’s sins. This gossiping and the rumors that the people created could be considered a way of hypocrisy, due to the fact that they are judging someone else’s sins rather than acknowledging their own sins, which is the message that Mr. Hooper is trying to
Wearing a black veil is almost never positive, especially when a minister is the wearer. Why would any minister wear a veil? The reason for Mr. Hooper’s veil goes deeper than just sadness. Hooper conveys a sense of deep regret behind the mysterious black veil. In Hawthorne’s, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne uses the veil to illustrate shame, the “mask” of society, and the fear of past sins.
Country musician, Johnny Cash said, “I wore black because I liked it. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. It's still my symbol of rebellion -- against a stagnant status quo, against our hypocritical houses of God, against people whose minds are closed to others' ideas” (Goodreads). Even though he was highly honored and greatly respected, Cash, a country music legend, was always seen as a rebel bucking against the status quo especially through his use of an all black wardrobe. Cash points out how closed minded people and Christians judge him for his all black attire. Like Johnny Cash, Mr. Hooper an honorable and well-respected man retained the similar problems. Hooper wore a black
Is it fair to judge someone by their looks?. I think it’s not fair because you don’t know what they might be going through. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” people in the village judge Mr. Hooper for the veil he wears by calling him names and looking at him weird. The black veil is a great great example because people judge him because he wear a black veil without knowing his reasons. Also a lot of other people can be judged by other for the mistake of one just like in the 9//11 attack.
What can you expect from a minister from changing persona where people use to see him as a “gentlemanly men, of about thirty, though still a bachelor, was dressed with due clerical neatness.” Then have a change in his appearance where it drastically changes his life. By a piece of cloth over his head accounts reactions of the congregation to it, the veil, a black veil that changed the image and the reactions of the people from Westbury. It is just a man, Mr.Hooper, who Hawthorne is modulating between dramatic incidents involving the black veil and Mr.Hooper approaches dramatic reactions towards it, in the short story the “Minister’s Black Veil”. The key symbol of the short story is the black veil it represented the spiritual isolation between
No matter how hard one tries, one will always carry darkness. This statement is clear in Nathaniel Hawthorne's ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ many times. The first time I felt as if it was clear is when Hooper says to Elizabeth, “Do not desert ment, though this weil must be between use here on earth. Be mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls!” Though it is clear one will always have darkness in their souls, people still believe things can be pure. Despite knowing the Pastor Hooper for a long time, the people of the town turn their backs on him because of the ‘unsightly veil’ that he would wear.” “I don’t like it,” muttered an old woman….”He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.” (Hawthorne). Lastly, when Hawthorne
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil, Hawthorne reveals how sacrifice illuminates a person’s values by allowing Mr.Hooper to lose his dignity to prove a point to his community about his beliefs, through wearing a veil over his eyes to symbolize not only his sin but the sin of his community.
In, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper is involved in a “secret sin”. Although we do not know what this secret sin is, he hides his face behind a black viel. Mr. Hooper says, “There is a black veil on every face.” The veil affects Mr. Hooper’s life in many different ways.
“ We magnify the flaws in others that we secretly see in ourselves” -Baylor Barbee. In “ The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character Reverend Hooper is alienated by his community because he is the wearer of a mysterious black veil. Reverend Hooper is the reverend of his community’s church and has always been well respected by his surrounding peers. One day, Hooper shows up to his church and preaches the sermon wearing a mysterious black veil causing his peers to alienate him. Throughout the story, Hooper’s actions portray just how judgmental our society really is. In the “Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne displays Hooper and the symbol of the veil as a representation of how judgmental society can become when faced with situations they don’t understand even though they have no right to judge.
The Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a tale that may seem dark, but rings with a haunting amount of truth. The dominant symbol that Hawthorne uses in this short story is Minister Hooper’s black veil. In this essay, the veil will be recognized as a symbol for the barrier between an individual and those around them. This barrier works to create fear and distrust in the characters throughout the work and greatly influences their actions and behavior toward Hooper. The symbol of the veil also opens the readers’ eyes to the fact that there is a barrier between themselves and the world around them.