The Minster's Black Veil Essay

In New England Men of Letters Wilson Sullivan relates the purpose of Hawthorne’s veiled image:

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 “ The Minister's Black Veil”, Hawthorne uses plain descriptions that don't confuse readers, which helped explain his meaning of his story shown. “The Minister’s Black Veil” had a strong meaning showing that everyone has a sin that they don't want anyone to know about it. This meant everyone was a sinner and nobody was really a good man. Hawthorne was trying to tell the people that God could see the sins of everyone as he says here “loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!"” (4) , so he wanted Christians to be more orthodox and become more pure to prevent these secret sins.

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.

During the period of American Gothic literature, authors, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, incorporated the sinister perspective of the human nature in their writings. Both Hawthorne’s symbolic short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, and Poe’s violent fiction, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, demonstrate separation and symbolism throughout the course of each story. In Hawthorne’s story, the protagonist, Minister Hooper, decides to wear a black veil over his face and vows to never remove it. This vow continues to the point of his death. Mr. Hooper’s decision to wear the black veil consequently separates him from society. Hawthorne uses the veil to symbolize the human psyche and efforts to hide sins. In Poe’s story, the narrator is the caretaker of an old man with a blind eye. He describes his internal discomfort when he sees the eye, and later devises a plan to murder the old man. His separation from humanity due to the uneasy feeling of the old man’s pale, blind eye are shown through his efforts to commit murder.

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

Symbolism plays a major role in the “Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It influences the setting of the story and it complements the moral message. The minister, Mr. Hooper, has a lot of faith and is very committed to helping the society to be more faithful and closer to God. He lives a very harsh live being rejected by society and goes through unpleasant moments to achieve his original goal. When he decides to wear the black veil, he was not trying to be mysterious and create a gloomy environment like he did; he had much more than that in mind. The Black Veil represents the thought of the puritans that sin was an inexcusable mistake, the secret sin and dark side in each individual, and he uses

Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes the color of the veil, Mr Hooper’s speech to the townspeople, and the contrast of the bad veil in good events to once again showcase his views on the everlasting effect of guilt and sin. While it may be a harsh concept to comprehend, when one comes to terms with this, it leaves a feeling of ease. Once one knows that there is no time of the day where they can be freed of the feeling of guilt is when they can truly love themselves. Remember that sin is like a convenience store, it is open 24/7, and everyone has to take a trip there once in awhile, so there is no reason to be

In reality the veil represents the secrets everyone is hiding within themselves. The unifying theme is the conflict between the dark, hidden side of man and the standards imposed by his puritanical heritage. Hawthorne brings evil and unauthorized desire into the way of puritan life, and in so doing suggests a insightful truth that is disturbing in its implication, that is to say that we can never hope to know each other's true selves. The themes in the story are suggested by the veil-symbol, the tension between the minister and the community. Every person has something to hide from the world. The veil is symbolic for the cover up of peoples secrets. Although most people would not wear a veil, the minister is proving a point. By wearing a simple black veil Mr. Hooper is making all the villagers evaluate their everyday actions in life. The symbolic value of the black veil lies in the physical and mental dilemma that it creates between the minister and his environment, and the guilt it conveys. Many people believe that the face provides information about a person's primary characteristics, therefore, predicting a persons possible behavior. As a result, by

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

The main character of “Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a thirty-years-old parson Hooper who is wearing a black veil on his face. It does not seem much fun but more like it is strange and revolting to people in the story that parson Hooper is having a veil on the face. Why would the parson wear a veil?

In Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil the main theme is the horror and the power found in mystery. As displayed in the story, the unknown is a great source of fear. In the beginning you start by seeing the town in its safe place, and when the minister arrives, different than usual, the energy of the story quickly takes a gloomy turn. Though only a piece of cloth, the minister’s black veil symbolizes the fear and darkness that accompanies the unknown for the villagers.

   Based on the evaluations of literary critics, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” contains both an external and an internal conflict, about equally treated in the tale. It is the intent of this essay to explore both types of conflict as presented in the story.

Hawthorne’s writing style in the “Ministers Black Veil” reveals his view on humans nature through symbolism of the black veil. Reverend clark and other men encircle the minister and question why he must never take off the vail. Right before the ministers death he gets aburst of energy and proclaims, “When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend…, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a black veil!”(Hawthorne 882). Everyone has secrets that they do not want to tell even their closest companions because they feel guilty and ashamed. The minister tells the clergyman that everyone wears a black veil over their face. Hawthorne writes this intending for the veil to be a symbol of man’s secret sin therefore showing that his outlook on humanity is that people are secretly sinful.

If we take “The Minister’s Black Veil” as a horror story, it leads us to certain conclusions about the nature of the veil and Hooper’s refusal to take it off. If horror is something that centers upon the horrifying or macabre, especially concerning the supernatural, one can see that this story could belong. Hooper never divulges the exact nature of the veil, and we are left to speculate about what it could possibly mean. Several possibilities present themselves if we think of this story as a horror story; it could be that the veil is covering Hooper’s face to be a constant reminder to his congregation and all who see him of secret sin. It seems that the idea that he could possibly know someone’s secret sin is terrifying to the townspeople. Indeed, this veil does give Hooper “awful power over souls that were in agony for sin” (943). Sinners fear him, because they feel that the black veil is a reference to their own personal secret sins. And the veil gives him an association with the dead and ghostly qualities; after the girl’s funeral at the beginning of the story, one woman remarks that she thought she saw Hooper walking hand in hand with the ghost of the dead girl. Such things would not have been imagined if he had never donned the veil.