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What Does The Minister's Black Veil Symbolize

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Symbolism in “The Minister’s Black Veil”

How can a single piece of cloth influence and change the expanse of a man’s life? “The Minister’s Black Veil”, a short story that is a perfect representation of this, was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is primarily about a minister who dons a black veil, causing conflict with those around him. Symbolism plays the major role in the story development of “The Minister’s Black Veil, influencing the other elements in the story and enhancing the message being expressed. In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, symbolism is progressively involved in the provocation of conflict. All the problem that occur in the story are a direct result of the main character, Parson Hooper, donning the veil. For example, Hooper’s …show more content…

It is this very point that Hooper is trying to make when he first wears the veil. While on his death-bed, Hooper remarks that he should only be deemed monster for wearing the veil only when man no longer hides his sin. Through this statement, he finally reveals the meaning of the cloth he wears; it represents those evil deeds men have hidden deep inside, away from the visible world. Supporting this, Sarah Wright remarks, “The veil...becomes an emblem of the passion for concealment that afflicts all humans to a greater or lesser degree” (Wright 167). With his last spoken words, Hooper emphasizes that everyone has a form of secret sin. He says, “[He looks]around [him] and lo! on every visage a black veil” (Hawthorne 307). This was Hooper’s legacy, to prove that even though they do not wear a black veil, everyone has done evils of the darkest nature, known only by God and themselves. The symbol of his veil is the focal point of the theme and plays a part in contributing to the Puritan setting. Through the use of symbols, Hawthorne exhibits the Puritan attitude toward change in his story. At this period in time, those belonging to the Puritan religion were not exactly prone to abandoning tradition. An old woman in the story states, “He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face” (Hawthorne 300). Her statement is a perfect example of how behaving in an

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'Symbolism In Minister's Black Veil'

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In Hawthorne’s short story, the minister walks out of the rectory one morning with a black veil covering his face. In this story, it is heavily debated what that black veil actually symbolizes. Could it be a symbol of sin and guilt, or is it rather a barrier between the minister and the rest of society? The story takes place in winter at Milford, Connecticut, where it focuses on Parson Hooper, the town’s minister.

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That’s the way Mr. Hooper wants it to be. The image of Mr. Hooper lying of his deathbed with the black veil over his face symbolizes his time on earth where sin is

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In contrast, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” incorporates a narrative style, with the theme that one cannot hide from their own sins. Hawthorne writes, “There is an hour to come when all of us shall cast aside our veils.” The veil symbolizes sin, so the quote explains that one lives with their sins until death. This is a key line that ties the story’s theme

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Maybe the black veil somewhat mentally feeds him and keeps him going as a sense of persistence to overcome the foreshadows of the real world that he lives in. The symbolization for the black veil doesn't just stick to one topic, it intrigues you to want to keep knowing more and more about this wicked black veil. The black veil can symbolize death, sorrow, and sin. “The motive for Hooper’s wearing of the veil is ambiguous. Hooper tells his fiancé, Elizabeth (the name of both Hawthorne’s mother and sister), “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough . . .

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Examples Of Alienation In The Minister's Black Veil

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Hooper wears the veil for a reason, but it is unknown. Hawthorne describes the veil as mysterious and the talk of the town. He says “that and the mystery concealed behind it, supplied a topic for discussion between acquaintances meeting in the street, and good women, gossipping at their own windows” (Hawthorne, par.15). By Hooper wearing the veil, it causes him to isolate himself because he does not tell the people why he wears it. By Hooper wearing the veil he can not love his fiance because it gets in the way of their love.

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The Minister's Black Veil By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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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

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At the end of the story, as he rest on his deathbed, Reverend Hooper described the purpose of the veil as a secret sin “which I have lived , and die! I look around me and lo! On every visage a Black Veil!” (Hawthorne 242). The black veil is a symbol of secret immorality that people carry in their hearts and are reluctant to confess.

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What Does The Veil Symbolize In The Minister's Black Veil

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Hooper wearing the veil this makes everyone consider him an outcast to society. Before the service and old woman said “I don’t like it” and she hobbled into the meeting-house”(Hawthorne 1). As a result of Hooper wearing the veil he makes this old lady avoid his service because she is scared of him. At the close of the service many people went straight home by themselves and the other huddled in small groups and ignored Mr. Hooper and instead talked about him. Nothing, not the pleas of the elders, nor the nudging of Elizabeth , nor his own loneliness can persuade Hooper to remove the piece of black crape that separates him so dramatically from society (Boone).

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The Minister's Black Veil Analysis

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Hooper understands that in life people sin. Everyone has something in their past, they are not proud of. He placed the veil as a symbol of this. He tried to explain his reasoning behind wearing it to the people, and his Fiancée. They could not see his face any longer and felt there was something wrong with him.

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What Is The Reason In The Minister's Black Veil

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Hooper was wearing the veil to make people that actually did sin feel better about themselves. He was looked at as an idol by everyone so why would he wear a veil for people who did wrong? Mr. Hooper did something someone of his position was sacred to do and he was scared for his fiancée and his church to find out. As a reverend he was not supposed to sin, and that is why everyone looked at him differently and judged him without knowing why he wore the veil. By wearing the veil, he had to commit another sin and lie to his fiancée about why he was wearing it and he broke their vows as a result.

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Shame In The Minister's Black Veil By Nathaniel Hawthorne

660 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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The Minister's Black Veil Symbolism

1158 Words | 5 Pages

The wearing of the veil is a confession of guilt and a suggestion that everyone should do the same. Mr. Hooper really did not understand how much this black veil was going to affect the congregation until raising his glass in a toast for a newlywed couple and catching a glimpse of himself in the looking glass. Right then and there is when Mr. Hooper realized, "the Earth, too, had on her black veil” (Hawthorne 2145). This means that everyone is hiding; most people would not wear a black veil and have no reason in doing so. Is it that the people afraid of what the veil represents to Mr. Hooper or are they afraid of what it represents to themselves?

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Isolation In The Minister's Black Veil

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Mr.Hooper new that throughout his life of trying to get many people to understand why he did such thing like of the black veil. They would never understand why so and/or overpass through the negative reactions of the people towards him for wearing the

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The Minister's Black Veil Literary Analysis

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Nancy L. Bunge is talking on the topic of how the veil was seen to others, Bunge says, “His veil shuts out happiness, giving a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things” (Bunge-19). This quote shows that Hooper’s veil brought darkness and unhappiness to many people. In life, we naturally want to be happy, but if something or someone is making us unhappy then we naturally alienate that someone or something from our lives. The veil’s darkness and unhappiness play a big role in the cause of Hooper’s alienation by his surrounding

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Significance Of The Parable In The Minister's Black Veil

1277 Words | 6 Pages

In the Minister’s Black Veil, the black veil has a great significance to the story. The black veil symbolizes the secret sin in society. The sins of humanity are the greatest sin which society hides and ignores. People do not take account of the bad deeds that are going on every single day. This Parable does an outstanding job of doing that because Mr. Hooper goes on with his day normally, but by having that veil on his face it exemplifies that sin is occurring.

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