The Minister's Black Veil Essay

The veil makes its first appearance on the day of her funeral, and Reverend Hooper says that it is a sign of mourning, but mourning who? He is obviously speaking of this young maiden (Hawthorne 5). Some believe that there is even a deeper secret between the young lady and Reverend Hooper and that is that he has received a sexually transmitted disease (Emmett 103). It would be a huge scandal in his church if anyone were to find out and that is why he keeps it very quiet. He then goes on to make a sermon on secret sin only to make it clear that he is hiding something.

He is an antagonist of the story. He is deeply plagued by his consciousness about his immoral affair with Hester. He feels guilty because he is keeping the truth from his congregation and letting Hester suffer alone. He is a round character who is able to change in the end. He decides to redeem himself by confessing to the crowd in his last sermon.

Hooper’s face!” “Something must surely be amiss with Mr. Hooper’s intellects,” observed her husband, the physician of the village. “But the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary, even on a sober-minded man like myself. The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face, throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot. Do you not feel it so?” “Truly do I,” replied the lady; “and I would not be alone with him for the world. I wonder he is not afraid to be alone with himself!” “Men sometimes are so,” said her husband.

This story has a protagonist who wants to break free, this is a common characteristic of Romantic stories. Other characteristics include having a character going against the establishment which can be clearly seen by how Mr. Hooper was made an outcast and harassed by his people. For example, In the story when the narrator says " Old Squire Saunders, doubtless by an accidental lapse of memory, neglected to invite Mr.Hooper to his table..."(Hawthorn 5). This demonstrates how Mr. Hooper is an outcast because he is wearing a black veil. He struggled with his secret sin and was alone most of his life due to everyone being against his beliefs .

The ironies in “The Crucible” When many people think of “The Crucible” they think of the irony in the play. There are many different examples in the play, including the minister, the Puritan religion, and the killing of Salem’s finest people. The minister in the town of Salem, Reverend Parris, is a very egotistical and paranoid person. Parris is always concerned about himself and his reputation around the town. He want’s everyone to like him, for this reason he always seems to be paranoid about what people are thinking of him.

He knows what is right and wrong but one example has been haunting him in his life. Now in a Puritan society, sin had to have been confessed publicly and they must bear their shame. This however goes against what the Word actually says and this is what created Arthur Dimmesdale as a character. He most likely has already repented to God but his guilt will not leave until he confesses it to his congregation and it leads him to other “ways” of repentance. Being reminded of his guilt 24/7 causes his his health to deteriorate to the point of death, possibly alluding to the fact that the wages of sin are death.

Groups of people abandoned of any natural rights merely because of their faith. Due to government actions, mainstream media, and persecution, religious oppression evokes fear and hardship into societies. Religious persecution leaves a gargantuan, angry red mark on the world 's historical timeline. In accordance with The

by the mean and unkind people in the world. While the families were in hiding, Anne, as well as everyone else, was upset by the fact that they had to hide from the Germans, they had to do this, because if they didn’t they would be sent to a concentration camp, and be put to their deaths. Anne was upset about this but she said “Were not the only people that have had to suffer.”(Frank,510) During the holocaust, many people were treated badly based on religion. It all happened because of the unkind people, Hitler, his followers, and the Germans. Peter says in anger “Look at us hiding for 2 years not being able to move.” (Frank, 510) The people that are hiding in the annex are only there because they don’t want to get sent to a concentration camp, or be put to their death.

Concentration camps and inhumane conditions made it difficult for the Jews to practice their faith, so many forgot it in order to survive. The theory of evolution caused Christian communities to shun men like Bertram Cates for believing the theory, making it nearly impossible to go to church. Secondly, the destruction of reputation, persecution of people, and validity of the sacred books also broke people’s faith. Loss of reputation could make it difficult to go to church, while persecuted people often lose their faith because they believe God had abandoned them. On the contrary, many people question the validity of sacred books and scriptures when they in a tough spot, causing most people to distrust the book from then on out.

Another key factor Nathaniel Hawthorne uses to criticize the human nature and hypocrisy of all people is the community of Salem, as a whole. At the meeting that the entirety of Salem seemed to be attending, the Devil says to the holy group, “Ye deemed them holier than yourselves, and shrank from your own sin” (38). Growing up Hawthorne feels like a sinner as he doubts his ancestors for their so called ‘holy’ actions during the Salem Witch Trials. He feels like a hypocrite himself for thinking they went against god, while he, in judging them is doing essentially the same. LIkewise, in the story Goodman Brown feels like a sinner for leaving his wife and betraying his faith only to find out that so has the rest of the town, and he is not as

However, he still has a constant fear of what the public would think of him and the fear of losing his position in the church/society. Another thing we learn about Dimmesdale is that he is quite envious of Hester. Since she gets to wear her scarlet letter in front of everyone and everyone knows of her sins unlike Dimmesdale who is the only one other than God who knows of the