The Minister’s Black Veil, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1836, is a parable about a minister, Mr. Hooper, who constantly wears a mysterious black veil over his face. The people in the town of Milford, are perplexed by the minister’s veil and cannot figure out why he insists on wearing it all of the time. The veil tends to create a dark atmosphere where ever the minister goes, and the minister cannot even stand to look at his own reflection. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's literary work, The Minister 's Black Veil, the ambiance of the veil, separation from happiness that it creates, and the permanency of the black veil symbolize sin in people’s lives. In the beginning of the parable, Mr. Hooper walks into church with a black veil covering his …show more content…
Hooper’s black veil also creates separation between him and happiness. “All through life that piece of crape had hung between him and the world: it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and woman’s love, and kept him in that saddest of all prisons his own heart; and still it lay upon his face, as if to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber, and shade him from the sunshine of eternity” (Hawthorne 417). He can never receive sympathy or have conversations with people because they are always perplexed by the veil. Children in the town run from him because of his appearance. Even his wife, Elizabeth, leaves him because she does not understand the meaning of the black veil and she cannot bear to look at it for the rest of her life. The separation that the veil causes between Mr. Hooper and happiness symbolizes how sin can easily separate people from good things in life. Just like the black veil, some sins can even destroy relationships or a person’s dreams. Sin can overall control an individual’s happiness like the veil did to Mr. …show more content…
Hooper’s face as long as his body is on earth. He refuses to lift the veil and he cannot escape from it until he dies and his soul goes to Heaven. Mr. Hooper explains to his wife, “‘Do not desert me, though this veil must be between us here on earth. Be mine, and here-after there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls! It is but a mortal veil-it is not for eternity!’” (Hawthorne 415). Similarly to the black veil, sin is ever-present on earth, but when an individual goes to Heaven they are no longer in contact with sin. On earth people are repeatedly sinning and facing the consequences, but when people pass away and go to Heaven, they can be completely free from the darkness and strife that sin creates. Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne 's literary work, The Minister 's Black Veil, the sensation of the veil, the separation it creates from good things in life, and the persistence of the black veil on earth symbolize sin in mankind. During the whole parable, Mr. Hooper is restrained by the black veil and cannot live a free, enjoyable life. Also, people around him cannot tolerate the overwhelming, dark feeling that the black veil generates. Similarly, sin can take over people’s lives and create a feeling of hopelessness and gloom. Hawthorne’s parable overall demonstrates power and impact of sin on
In reality the black veil was worn to teach a lesson. The lesson was to show how easily people are judged when unaware of one’s true intentions. This being said, Hooper is explaining how he was judged and his life changed for the worst just because he was wearing the black veil; he was hated for something that his friends and family had no clue about, but believed it was for the
Mr. Hooper the minister’s is perceived to be a “self-disciplined man”. When he was wearing the veil people in his village believed that he went insane and is guilty of a dark and terrible sin. “He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face” (1253).The author explains how Mr.Hooper would wear a mask to hide his sins and face which cause people to believe he was awful. The veil becomes the center of discussion for all of those in the congregate the mask all the people wore around others to hide their sins and embraces there guilty. Elizabeth in the story ends her relationship with Mr. Hooper because he will not remove the veil that he's wearing. The veil actually symbolize for the puritans belief that all people souls are black from
In the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, fear of the unknown is used by the main character, Mr. Hooper, to draw attention to what he believed was a necessary in order to achieve salvation. He believed people should be honest and forward with God, and should avoid wearing a “veil” to hide their true faces when speaking with God. He wore the veil to symbolize the indirectness most people use to cover themselves when speaking to God. Hooper refused to remove his veil, saying he would cast aside his veil once everyone else did, Unfortunately, Hooper never explained why he choose to wear his veil, which led to an uproar of confusion in the community. The community members looked for a simple explanation for his actions. For instance, some believed he had relations with a young girl who recently died, and he was in mourning, or committed a sin so severe he refused to show his face. The community began to avoid Hooper and fear the Reverend they once respected, just because of his one unexplained action. The community began to fear him in such a way that he losses almost all the respect he held within the community, and dies without his betrothed by his side. Even upon his deathbed he refuses to share, with the community, why he chose to wear his veil. Hawthorne reveals in this short story how people crave an explanation for the abnormal, and when they fail to find a satisfactory answer, they will reject and fear the
The story “The Minister’s Black Veil” is symbolic of the hidden sins that we hide and separate ourselves from the ones we love most. In wearing the veil Hooper presents the isolation that everybody experiences when they are chained down by their own sins. He has realized that everybody symbolically can be found in the shadow of their own veil. By Hooper wearing this shroud across his face is only showing the dark side of people and the truth of human existence and nature.
In “The minister’s black veil” The black veil Mr.hooper puts on is to prevent people from spying on his private life. The veil symbolized that human nature is blinded by sins and they way the town treated him after he started wearing the veil shows that there faith is blind they couldn't understand where he was coming from. “ Mr. Hooper's conscience tortured him for some great crime too horrible to be entirely concealed, or otherwise than so obscurely intimated. Thus, from beneath the black veil, there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which
There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”; this essay hopes to explore this problem within the tale.
From the beginning of the story, Mr. Hooper comes out wearing a black veil, which represents sins that he cannot tell to anyone. Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, Mr. Hooper has on a black veil. Elizabeth urged, “Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hid your face under the consciousness of secret sin” (Hawthorne 269). His fiancé says that in the black veil there may be has a consciousness of secret sin. Also, he is a parson in Milford meeting-house and a gentlemanly person, so without the veil, Hooper would be a just typical minister, “guilty of the typical sins of every human, but holier than most” (Boone par.7). He would be a typical minister who is guilty of the typical sins of every human without the black veil. Also, Boone said, “If he confesses his sin, the community can occur” (Boone par.16). If he confesses his sin about the black veil, all of the neighbors will hate him. Last, he said, “so, the veil is a saying: it is constantly signifying, constantly speaking to the people of the possibility of Hooper’s sin” (Boone par.11). Mr. Hooper’s veil says that he is trying to not tell the sins about the black veil. In conclusion, every people have sins that cannot tell to anyone like Mr. Hooper.
The story of the black veil is about a man with is the minister of a the village of gives speeches in their church. On a horrible day a maiden had died and mr hooper, the minister had to give a speech to the departed but to every ones surprise he was wearing a black veil covering his face expect is lower chain. After that mr. hopper added more by talking to the people about secret sin and that each and every one of them has one.
One of the themes that the black veil conveys is hidden sin. In the story, Reverend Hooper says”..deem me a monster for the symbol beneath which and lived and die!.. on every visage a black veil,” after people shun him and set him out to be a monster. Before the black veil, Hooper was well liked and was often invited to eat dinner with people from his congregation. As he began to wear the black veil, people’s perception of him changed. “Men avoided me and women show no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil,” Hooper states. Though it is only an accessory, the black veil has a great significance. It depicts sin mankind hides within. Although people may argue the veil covers a major sin Hooper has done, I believe the black veil teaches a moral lesson, which man and woman can interpret for themselves. For ...
He was brave enough to finally say that we all wear masks. That is to say, we all hide our sins from lots of people. I know its days for me where I haven’t done the best things, but I don’t want everyone to know what those things are so I hold it in, I sponsor a veil as well. These veils aren’t just for certain people, I’m sure its plenty of people that have them. In other words, this veil may not be physically visible, its visible in our minds we know that everyone has one. Nathaniel Hawthorne in, “Minister’s Black Veil” made everyone realize that. I thought this was a very well written story. Truly, I enjoyed it, especially the meaning behind the black
Hawthorne demonstrates the severity of isolation caused by just the physical black veil alone when he writes that “only a material emblem” (642) keeps Mr. Hooper from happiness and that the black veil separates Mr. Hooper “from cheerful brotherhood and woman’s love” (643). In revealing how people treat Mr. Hooper simply for wearing a black veil, Hawthorne gives the audience a small taste of how isolated Mr. Hooper feels. However, if people treat him like this for not even transgressing, then one can only imagine how much worse they would treat someone who did commit a sin that everyone knew about. Additionally, Hawthorne begins to hint at the hypocrisy when Mr. Hooper inquires “Why do you tremble at me alone?” and then exclaims “Tremble also at each other!” (644). In this quote Hawthorne employs Mr. Hooper to project the theme almost directly, since Mr. Hooper tells those present that everyone wears a black veil, not just him, and that if they fear him, then they should fear everyone. At last, Hawthorne exploits the black veil as a symbol of isolation caused by wrongdoing in combination with the fact that everyone transgresses in order to display the hypocrisy in acting sanctimonious over others due to their
This black veil of Hooper’s was not only a symbol of his own sin, but a reminder to each person in his village of their own individual sins. Near the end of the short story, Hooper cries “Lo! On every visage, a black veil,” (248) Which referred to everyone around him, as they are all sinners just the same. It was the point Hooper truly wanted to make with his veil. However, no one wanted to admit it as Hooper had, as it was unorthodox. “You know not how lonely I am, and how frightened to be alone behind my black veil.” (245) Up until Hooper’s death, no one ever worked up the courage to stand with him and admit their own sins. As a whole the Puritans were more willing to leave him isolated than try to understand
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a world renowned author of the 19th century. He is known for his pessimistic attitude which consequently added a certain symbolism to his short story called The Ministers Black Veil. This story tells of a small Puritan town in the 1600's whose minister decides to don a black veil that covers his eyes. Hawthorn’s depiction of the black veil worn by the minister is a mysterious symbol to the reader and the audience in the story. The veil represents secret sin which plays on to reveal the townsfolks’ raw human nature.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not within us. (1 John 1:7-9) All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6) The conscience is the eyes to the truth. You carry the load of someone’s misconduct, misbehavior, someone’s iniquity, and Mr. Hooper and his veil is symbolic for mankind keeping their sins veiled.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper is the Puritan minister of a village in 19th century America. The minister unexplainably put a black veil over his face one day, confusing his parishioners, friends and family. He later explained to his fiancée, Elizabeth that he wore the veil to conceal the sins and failures of his life. He was ashamed of his sorrows in life because he was living in a time where there was so much opportunity, that if one were to fail, they were a horrible individual, which Zwieg tried to state in his comments about Poe’s writing. His comments apply to Hooper in Hawthorne’s story when Hooper told Elizabeth that all people have their own black veils and “there is an hour to come when all of us