The Minister's Black Veil Analysis

Mr. Hooper has an effect on people by wearing the veil and he uses it to express his original purpose. Everyone on Earth has sinned, “for the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil.” This shows that Mr. Hooper believed that sin is a part of nature and it is a natural thing to be sinners. Even Earth, His own creation, is hiding her secret under a black veil. Hawthorne says this to show Mr. Hooper’s point that people have an inborn sinful nature and it is not always represented by literally wearing a black veil. In other words, he says that even people who do not wear a black veil equally have secret sins, “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is a cause enough…and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” People hide their real self to prevent being criticized by society and because they are ashamed of what they have done. He pays a high price in the attempt of teaching society the nature of sins. The people who used to admire him are now afraid and confused so he is forced to live a lonely live. Following this further, he influences people to believe the moral lesson behind his decision of wearing the veil. He wants people to

In The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author seeks to convey that although all individuals are sinners, members of society will condemn those who seek to confront their own faults. This conclusion was drawn from the many motifs which relate to Puritan society, particularly the superstitions and Christian ideologies of many New Englanders during the 18th century. In this tale, Mr. Hooper’s donning of the black veil is viewed as a change which alters his countenance indefinitely; from the moment it is introduced, those who view it are awestruck. The mere sight of Mr. Hooper even acts as a “signal for the bell to cease its summons”. As murmurs spread throughout the congregation, Mr. Hooper preaches of “secret sin, and those

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,

Upon learning that this writing assignment could be about any of the numerous works contained in either Norton Volume A or Volume B, I had little doubt which author I would choose. No other stories I have read this semester have appealed to me as much as those written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Many of his works seem to have a deep meaning that the reader has to dig up and discover for himself as he reads along. This challenge presented by Hawthorne is one I enjoy taking on.

To the people the veil is an outward symbol of a sinful action that was committed, although they wanted to blame Hooper for commiting a grave sin, they were reminded of their own sin that they did not want admit. On the other hand, the veil could also symbolize the shallowness of the puritan religion at the time. Based upon this, the reader can conclude that the veil in fact symbolizes the denial of sin before God. This explains why the townspeople were so off-guard when they first saw Reverend Hooper with the veil, most people are not open about their sin but when they are it is easier for others to open up and make personal connections with them. Furthermore, when Hooper is on his deathbed and expresses that he does not want anyone to remove his veil until he is heaven that can also be connected to the judgement day when all of our sins will be exposed to

In the short story The Minister's Black Veil Nathaniel Hawthorne is explaining how mankind is afflicted by the seven sins. The officer of the church is ring the town bell calling all the people of the village to church, when the church sexton sees Mr. Hooper leave his house he stops ring the bell. The people of the town don't like the Hoopers change in appearance they think that he has lost his sanity and no one walks on the side of the street he lives on. Later in the story the their is a funeral for a young woman and the town people think that's why Hooper is wearing the Black veil “for his own secret sins”. The young minister asks Hooper to remove the veil as Hooper is dying. Hooper is brought to his grave, “Many years pass, and grass

Whatever his reason for his odd clothing, Reverend Hooper's veil caused more than a physical separation from the people of his town. The people felt the veil was "the symbol of a fearful secret between him and them" (Hawthorne 256). Their fear and confusion of the minister's motives caused strange behavior and unnatural withdrawal from their spiritual leader.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil," Mr. Hooper, a Reverend in the town of Milford, surprises his parishioners by donning a conspicuous black veil one Sunday. The town is visibly spooked, yet still curious, about his eerie appearance and profoundly affected by his sermon on secret sin. "A subtle power was breathed into his words. Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought" (2432). The parishioner's expect that Hooper will only don the veil for one day and then remove it, having used the visage to make his point on secret sin, but they are taken aback to

However there is no specification about what happened to Mr. Hooper in The Black Veil, which affected on his decision to wear the black veil. I interpret the veil as a wall that separates minister from the rest of the real world. Mr. Hooper did something and now he awfully repents about that. To wear this veil is the only valid way to be on his own and be able to sink deeply in his concerns and thoughts. Mr. Hooper’s desire is to be separated from community mentally, but not physically.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" embodies the hidden sins that we all hide and that in turn distance us from the ones we love most. Reverend Hooper dons a black veil throughout this story, and never takes it off. He has discerned in everyone a dark, hidden self of secret sin. In wearing the veil Hooper dramatizes the isolation that each person experiences when they are chained down by their own sinful deeds. He has realizes that symbolically everyone can be found in the shadow of their own dark veil. Hooper in wearing this shroud across his face is only amplifying the dark side of people and the truth of human existence and nature.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” there are many unknown secrets, and because of this, there are many dark mysteries in the story, whether literally or metaphorically. These secretive aspects are not only centered around just the minister himself but on all persons in the town that attend the church. Therefore is notable that the veil is a symbol to say that the world is not perfect and it is filled with many flaws, and there sins that people withhold on the inside of them deeply.

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).

The black veil brings up confusion and interest to the Puritan society because everyone has a different view as to why Mr. Hooper is walking around with his face covered with a veil. To the townspeople, Hooper’s veil is a clear sign that he is trying to atone for a grave sin. “There was but one thing remarkable about his appearance. Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things” (Hawthorne 369). Although Hooper identifies the veil in a different manner, the townspeople use the veil to focus exclusively on Hooper’s sinfulness because, deep

Hardly anyone would have sympathy for Mr. Hooper because it seems crazy to be wearing a veil especially for a man or a parson. And it is hard to get some logical reasons why Mr. Hooper got a veil on his face. One couple seeing the veil judged: “’How strange,’ said a lady, ‘that a simple black veil, such as any woman might wear on her bonnet, should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper’s face!’”. People in the town could not find out why Mr. Hooper is covering up his face. Goodman Gray of the sexton when saw Parson Hooper said: “’Are you sure it is our parson?’”. The story tell us what the people think about the veil: “But that piece of crap, to their imagination, seemed to hang down before his heart, the symbol of a fearful secret between him and

"He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face." – Line 40. Mr. Hooper is unexpectedly wearing a black veil everywhere he goes. Everyone seems to be afraid of this unusual behavior recently from Mr. Hooper. I believe Mr. Hawthorne’s character, Mr. Hooper, is hiding his own sin due to why he wears the black veil on behalf of his face. No one knows for sure why, but I’m here to tell you.