Images And Symbols In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Minister Black Veil

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.

“Thus from beneath the black veil, there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which enveloped the poor minister, so that love or sympathy could never reach him.” (Hawthorne). In the Minister’s Black Veil, Nathaniel Hawthorne evokes the idea there is a dark side of humanity and that humans have secrets and sins hidden away from their nearest and dearest. In the parable, Hawthorne emphasizes the idea of personal sacrifices must be made during one’s lifetime for those you love even if it meant giving up one’s source of happiness. In Milford, a small Puritan town men, women, and children are fancying another Sunday. The peace is interrupted on the Sabbath day when Reverend Hooper, Minister of the Puritan Community appears

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.

During the 17th century, the Puritans crossed the sea to grace America with their presence. In an astounding example of foreshadowing, the Puritans set up a patriarchal, semi-authoritarian society based on strangely unforgiving laws interpreted from the Holy Bible. Generations later, Nathaniel Hawthorne is raised in a post-Salem witch trial society amongst Puritans. Hawthorne is devout; however, the unjustifiable actions of his ancestors disturbs him. Hawthorne grew to have deep criticisms of Puritan society, and this became evident in his works. Hawthorne's strongest criticisms of Puritan society show themselves in "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and The Scarlet Letter.

“The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is full of many different symbols, but the most notable one is the veil itself. Throughout the story, Hawthorne presents many instances where the veil could mean several things. Some may see only one meaning, however, others may see a number of them. Hawthorne may have been the only one who truly knew what the veil symbolized, but at the same time the fact that the story makes the reader think even after reading it is what makes it all the more interesting to analyze. The veil itself could symbolize things such as rebirth, secrecy, ambiguity.

O! You know not how lonely I am, and how frightened, to be alone behind the black veil. Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever!’” (Hawthorne). The minister is passionate about wearing the veil and he refuses to remove it or communicate the reason for wearing the veil to his fiancée.

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

The community then proceeds to treat him as an outcast of society; nobody will talk to him, and everyone avoids him out of fear. However, they continue to talk about him behind his back (Hawthorne 282). They want to know things such as why is he even wearing the veil, what their own minister is trying to hide,

In the community, the townspeople believe that since the minister is wearing this veil he has something to hide. These people don’t want anyone to know their sins, causing them to wear a “mask”. Since they are living in a Puritan community they believe that no one should do anything wrong, and if they do, no one should know about it. When people hide who they really are, they become scared of what will happen when people find out that they have sinned. Being true to yourself and to others is the main theme in this

Similarities of “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are two short stories written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that share many similarities. In his writings, Hawthorne displays a fascination with the Puritanical beliefs and ideals associated with sin and wickedness. Such ideals serve as a common thread that weaves the stories together by using a religious base, symbolism, and a dark mood. First, Hawthorne’s meticulous usage of religion is the foundation of both stories.

Two topics that heavily relate to the outcome of “The Ministers Black Veil” are Secrecy and Forgiveness. Reverend Hopper seeks to teach his congregation a lesson. He uses the secrecy of the veil to teach them this. What they do not realize is what the veil might actually symbolize, the secret sin of behind each person. This secrecy was what the Minister was trying to teach them about.

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were two authors who put a certain focus in their stories. They had a sense of how to craft and shape it that could mirror real life. They focused on creating characters that were not flat and two dimensional, but instead could represent actual issues and struggles that reflected reality. They wrote stories that placed these characters in different, and sometimes unusual, situations that would produce different results. They showed that while bending reality a bit, they could reflect the inside of the mind. Their characters often have to make difficult decisions, presenting a likeness to the types people have to make it real life. For Poe, a lot of his stories were crafted by mirroring the human psyche.

Hooper is sacrificing his life by ruining his reputation of his as a minister and as a person. People start to look at Mr. Hooper as a different and changed person; this is shown when the congregation says, “He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face” (Hawthorne 176). The congregation also mentions “ The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face, throws its whole person, and makes him ghost-like from head to foot” (Hawthorne 178). Mr. Hooper’s veil that he wore was seen as if it took over his whole demeanor and made him into a whole new person. Mr. Hooper’s finance, Elizabeth, knew that people would view him differently and that the veil was not a good look for his reputation.

“In The Minister's Black Veil” his style was more effective even though he got judged on by his appearance. Because people felt like that if he was preacher then why is he wearing this piece of cloth or sheet he had on. ”Mr Hooper fiance had told Mr.Hooper that she wouldn't want to wear it if she was him”. All together they all thought that Mr.Hooper was an awful men because of what he had on. He wasn't really an aggressive men until when he just got tired of everything and everyone turning against

(Hawthorne 8). Mr. Hooper is saying that he is being punished, and as a result, the world has alienated him. Despite becoming separated from the world, he still refuses to remove the veil and is firmly resolved to face penance for his sins, since he is riddled with guilt. The black veil constantly shrouding his face symbolizes that nobody can be pure, and that everyone has the capacity for evil. Moreover, an example of personification in The Wedding Knell is when the bridegroom appears, but it is said that “No garb but that of the grave could have befitted such a deathlike aspect…