A Look Behind The Veil Analysis

Middle-Eastern and North African clothing culture is distinguished from other cultures by the veil, a clothing that provokes many reactions from authors and debates between the Western and Eastern people.

Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that the women wear a veil or hijab, which is a headscarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Qur’an, an Islamic scripture supports, and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “Let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments.” (Qur’an). Muslim women, instead of feeling oppressed, view this as a positive aspect in their lives, influenced by their devotion to Allah. Their acceptance could be influenced by their

One of the most controversial topics concerning Muslim women’s rights is the idea of the veil. It is believed by some Muslims that the veil is an Islamic obligation that all Muslim women must adhere to. But nowadays, the veil can have different meanings that are not necessarily religious. In her article “Reinventing the Veil,” Leila Ahmed addresses some of the different meanings that the veil can have. Marjane Satrapi explores one of those meanings in her animated autobiography Persepolis (2008). In Persepolis, Marjane tells the story of her rebellion against the Iranian Islamist regime that takes over Iran, oppresses women, and forces them to wear the veil. What was interesting to me was seeing Marjane wear the veil without being oppressed, although she does not believe in it, and is being forced to wear it. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi escapes being a subject to the Iranian Islamist ideology by establishing her individual identity through transforming the veil from a means of oppression into a means of feminist rebellion.

Muslim women living in North America and Europe often face scrutiny over their choice to wear the veil, even though many Western people do not fully understand the practice.

“The Hijab limits me from doing certain things. When I have the Hijab on…as a Muslim woman, I consider myself basically representing the whole community” (Ruby 29). Aspects like this set this woman apart from her peers because she is now labeled as just one thing, a Muslim, when in fact she is much more than that. Women who wear the Hijab, Muhajibah, living in the western world, I believe, have it harder than they do living back home. Here, they are subject to a lot more attention when not necessary such as weird looks walking down the street and subject to stereotypes ie. being a terrorist. Islamic women are not the only ones being oppressed by their choice of clothing; in fact every woman around the world is target towards oppression. Islamic women are just targeted more than women of other religions. This is because of the strict faith that they endure from the Qu’ran telling them that they need to dress a certain way. However, it has been debated that the Qu’ran actually doesn’t mention anything about a women needing to wear a Hijab to be a good Muslim. (Kawaji)

What is slavery and where does it stem from. The Webster’s dictionary definition of slavery means “the condition of a slave; the state of entire subjection of one person to the will of another”. The African slave trade started way back in the 1400’s from the west coast of Africa1stAfrica entered into a unique relationship with Europe that led to the devastation and depopulation of Africa, but contributed to the wealth and development of Europe. From then until the end of the 19th century, Europeans began to establish a trade for African captives. Why would people do such a thing what were they to gain from such wickedness? Timothy 6:10”For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

With so many religions, it may be difficult for some to understand what it means for Muslim women to veil. The purpose of veiling is a duty they are called upon and that is to obey their God. Many people believe in something, be it aliens, ghosts, the higher spirit, or their own God, one’s faith should not be judged. In addition, Canada clearly defined that it is unlawful to be a racist to one’s Religious beliefs in order to become a Citizen of Canada. It has been said, Gods and people can look through from one side to the other (Ellwood, Robert S., and Barbara A. McGraw. 5 print). Which could possibly lead for one to show respect to one’s faith and to understand their faith without

"The Minister's Black Veil," does not have just one, but many meanings. The first and most obivious moral is that everyone sins, no one is perfect. The second moral is that you should not focus too much on other's sins, it can distract you from yourself and also if you focus to much on others sins you could build a "barrier" between you and them and miss out on a life full of friendship and community, as the parson did by wearing his black veil. The contextual evidence helped me determine how the towns people actually felt about the veil and Parson Hooper after he began wearing the veil. This helped me determine what the veil represented to the town's people and how it caused them to turn away from him when they saw it because, I believe,

In "The Minister's Black Veil," Parson Hooper wears a black veil that becomes a "barrier" between him and the community. The black veil causes everyone to distance themselves from him and he is not able to form any meaningful relationship or really participate in the community because of this. The veil to Parson Hooper is a representation of the "veils" everyone else wears everyday by not acknowledging their sins and trying to hide the fact that they are not perfect either. This is explained in the final hours of Parson Hooper's life when he is asked to finally remove the veil by Reverend Clark. "When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator,

Society judges people based on matters predetermined by elements of their lifestyle. A demographic approach from birth to death greatly affects the outlook of the world and others on the planet. Understanding the refusal to accept others based on patriotism and ethnocentrism branches into our values and beliefs passing on to children and ultimately the world. The ignorance that fuels each side’s judgments. Western and Eastern worlds’ ignorance exhibit aspects of religion, culture, politics, and status. Disagreements between different peoples regarding religion, culture, politics, and social status will arise, as seen throughout history.

Society tends to judge the people whom are a bit different. In the story of The Minister Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the town preacher decides to wear a black veil. He decided to wear a black veil because he wanted to remind everyone that sins are in everyone. I believe Hooper is self-reliant because he doesn’t care what the people around him think or say. Even his fiancé leaves him because she becomes scared of the veil. Hooper dies with the veil still on. Hooper believed that wearing the black veil is a form of symbolism to show everyone that sin resides on everyone. According to Hawthorne, Father Hooper was judged by the civilians because father Hooper mentioned before dying “Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil?” (Hawthorne 22).

Is humanity conceived with the ability to execute evil tasks? Or are we all created with the love and goodness most people believe that they themselves are born with? Edgar Allan Poe believed that each person had two sides to themselves; a “social self” and a “beast” side. The social self is there to contain the “beast” inside, who inevitably gets out to bring about havoc. While Hawthorne did believe in something relatively close to Poe, the difference is that unlike Poe, Hawthorne believed that humankind might have had good intentions, though you can never escape your sinful nature.

As we read in the in "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne we could for see that this is an interesting story. As we could see by reading this story that the minister is wearing a black veil throughout the story; in this case the black veil means secret sin. So by wearing this veil it indicated that he could have a sin especially wearing it to a wedding. Or it could be the fact that he could just be teaching everyone a lesson by showing everyone that Ministers to Inspirational leaders have flaws and that everyone makes mistakes.

In every country around the world, women's lives are shaped by the influences of both society and by religion. “The Quran, Islam’s holy book, mandates that women have the right to seek education, choose their own mates, work, possess and inherit wealth or property, divorce, and remarry” (Hurley 76). So despite the Quran’s clear support for women’s rights and equality, why do many people feel that Muslim women are oppressed? The hijab head covering worn by Muslim women has been in the news on and off for some time now and has been a topic of many debates. Here in America, one would feel this requirement on women as oppressive, but most Muslim women feel that this is a way to be looked at not for their beauty, but for their minds. The issues here is that people have a hard time differentiating between culture and religion, two things that are completely different but have a huge effect on each other. People also have a hard time understanding things that are different. Just because it is different than how we live, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.

In her autobiographical comic Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi, within the first five pages of the book, tells the reader that she was born with religion. She immediately explains (in regards to the Islamic practice of veiling) that “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde” (Persepolis, 2003, pg. 6). For western feminists, this ambivalence towards the veil has been a common topic of discourse. In secularized western countries, the veil is often viewed as a symbol of patriarchal oppression. In France (where Satrapi currently lives), for example, there have been numerous laws banning different forms of the veil (such as the burka and the niqab) with many critics, such as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, arguing that they are “oppressive” and “not welcome” in France (“The Islamic veil across Europe,” 2014, pg. 1). This is the western view of the veil, but what do Muslim women think of the veil and the fundamentalist values that westerners often associate with it?