Black Veil

The corruption of hidden sin and guilt is exemplified by the late Gilbert Parker who once said, “In all secrets there is a kind of guilt… Secrecy means evasion, and evasion means a problem to the mortal mind.” Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America’s major authors, often wrote about the harsh realities of human existence such as sin, redemption, and morality. In “Minister’s Black Veil,” the main character, Reverend Hooper, wears a veil over his face during his sermons. Though his sermons are very powerful, a feeling of fear and mystery is evoked in the congregation and often in everyday life due to the strange veil that he refuses to remove. On his deathbed, miraculously, Hooper still has enough strength to resist his veil being lifted; his eyes forever covered, he dies with the veil. Hawthorne uses symbols of the black veil to portray hidden sin, guilt, and peculiar shame attaching to sin in Puritan beliefs.

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 ...

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...e parable “Minister’s Black Veil” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbols were often used to represent many themes that are still relevant in society and religion now. Hidden sin, guilt, and the shame attached to sin in Puritan beliefs are amongst some of the themes symbolized in the story. Known for playing with the dark side of human nature, in this parable, Hawthorne writes in an intentionally ambivalent tone that leaves endless speculation of Hooper’s actions. This parable is important to today’s life because it teaches the readers to not shudder away from darkness and sin that we often pretend do not exist. It also emphasizes that, in death, everything that is owned and use to cover up transgressions will be stripped and all pretense will be no longer. The themes represented in “Minister’s Black Veil” are timeless and will always be a big problem in society.