Allegory In The Minister's Black Veil

In a community of metaphoric veils only the veil seen by the public eye is known as obstructive or harmful. Throughout the story, Hooper was portrayed as a monster for publicly wearing the veil as a symbol of his sins. “To surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else” (Dictionary.com). “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Reverend Hooper sacrificed his love, his dignity, his own happiness, and his position in the community by wearing a veil, which led to his alienation. One of Hooper's greatest losses was his love and sympathy.

If that is the reason, then he would have to hide that from his church in order to not feel humiliated. The reason why Mr. Hooper has ambiguous sin is because he opens his first sermon about "secret sins". The vindication I think he didn't want his fiancée to find out was

In the “Minister's Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character named Mr. Hooper who wears a black veil. Hawthorne uses symbolism to represent secret sin and shows the theme is death. In the story Hooper wears a black veil which symbolizes hiding sin. “But what if the world will not believe that it is the type of an innocent sorrow?” urged Elizabeth. “Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin.

By attacking Jefferson’s religious ethics in a passive manner, Banneker effectively calls out Jefferson for supporting slavery, Jefferson’s crime against humanity. When Banneker says “You should be found guilty of that most criminal act which you profusely detested in others with respect to yourselves” after referencing Jefferson’s own religious beliefs he is implying that Jefferson is placing himself in a position above God, which is an eye opening statement for any religious American to say the

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

More importantly is what the black veil really symbolizes, which there can be plenty of meanings behind. The meaning that makes the most sense when it comes to the black veil would have to be that the black veil is a symbol of secret sin and the darkness of humanity. This symbol can be seen in the following quote, "in addition to standing for man 's concealment or hypocrisy," (Stibitz 1), and emphasizes the idea that the veil symbolizes how there is darkness in humanity. Mr. Hooper wore this black veil to symbolize the secret sin that we all seem to carry within us, but we are all too afraid to demonstrate and let it out. The black veil has a very deep and suspenseful meaning to it when you take a more in depth view of it, because when we go just go with an interpretation it seems as if he is just wearing it for a funeral.

In “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Dunbar, the poet talks about human sorrow due to racism and it is demonstrated through symbolism, allusions, and personification. “We wear the mask that grins and lies” is symbolism because masks have long been used for deception or protection. In this poem, it is used as symbolism for both. In Dunbar’s poem, he describes everyone as needing these masks to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world and as personal protection from the views of others. “… O great Christ...” in line ten is an allusion to Jesus Christ.

Observing the love and affection between others only increases the effect his own solitude has on him. He is aware of his otherness and knows that he is “shut out from intercourse” (84) with the people he holds so dear. It can be argued that this is the point where the creature’s humanity is the strongest throughout the course of story. He has a basic understanding of human societies, he speaks and reads their language, shows compassion and, most importantly, seeks their company and friendship. In his knowledge that social belonging is the missing component to his own happiness, he confronts the people he secretly observed only to, once again, be met with fear and anger (94-95).

In the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” and the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the stories of two men who keep their sins secret and are hurt deeply. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Dimmesdale does not reveal his sin to the community and experiences far more pain than Hester, whose sin is revealed. Years after the original sin, Hester has healed and is accepted by the community, while Dimmesdale still feels guilty, as can be seen when he mounts the scaffold. Dimmesdale’s experience is similar to that of Reverend Hooper, who covers his face after a secret sin and is eschewed by the community. When we refuse to admit our faults, we will feel guilty

In The Minister’s Black Veil, the veil holds different meanings for the minister and for the people in his congregation. The congregation starts out confused about the meaning, and even though they get hints of the meaning over the years, they never understand it fully, and their obsessive fear of the minister continues even though he remains a good and harmless person. The minister seems to know what the symbolic meaning of the veil is, although he only reveals it slowly in bits and pieces until the climactic scene on his deathbed. He, too, views the veil with fear, because he sees it as a symbol of the secret sin in himself and everyone. In addition to the meaning the veil holds for the congregation and for the minister, it is important to consider the effect of the veil on the relationship between the two.

The Ministers Black Veil, for instance, has accented the fantastic aspect of human experience hence, Mr. Hooper wearing the veil. In the story, Mr. Hooper wears the veil for something like a secret sin. People, in general, wouldn 't go to that extent on wearing a veil for such a long time or like Mr. Hooper, his whole life. That aside, Mr. Hooper exaggerates the sin he may have made, and it adds more of a suspense feeling to the story and to why he is wearing the veil. The Ministers Black Veil also shows a restraint against freedom.

The minister and Hester both fail to let the rest of the colony know that it was the two together who brought a wicked sin into their Puritan lifestyle. Instead of being honest with himself and everyone around, Dimmesdale and Hester cover up their secret until it is physically impossible for him to resist confessing against the wish of his lover. Living a lifestyle of purity and honesty are both very important throughout Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne places heavy emphasis on the fact that living a life away from honesty and purity is hard on not only the body, but also the soul, when one is not honest with the mistakes they have made. Hawthorne’s work is proof that such a lifestyle can cause devastating and even fatal effects.