Devon Greene Naomi West January 23, 2015 Seventh Period The Minister’s Black Veil Essay The Minister’s Black Veil is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The main character in this short story is Minister Hooper who is around 30 years old. One day, Mr. Hooper began to wear a black veil with no definite explanation. The veil made the people in his community uncomfortable and they disliked the veil immensely. Mr. Hooper wore this veil to expose and raise awareness on everyone in his community’s sins. The first example as to why Mr. Hooper is wearing the veil was the reference to secret sin that he addressed the day he began to wear it. Secret sin is sin that we hide from our loved ones and our closest friends. This sermon in particular captivated the audience because of the mystery surrounding the veil but it also made them extremely uncomfortable. For example, Hawthorne states “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 thought.” This passage from Hawthorne displays the amount of discomfort from the congregation, they felt violated, the response from Mr. Hooper wearing the veil was outright fear and it was almost as if he looked inside them and discovered their innermost thoughts and sins. …show more content…
The second example as to why Mr.
Hooper is wearing the veil is seen in his conversation with his plighted wife, Elizabeth. In the discussion with Elizabeth Mr. Hooper states “There is an hour to come, when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crape until then.” This declaration from Mr. Hooper leads to the inference that he believes that everyone is concealing something from one another. This stance from Mr. Hooper leads Elizabeth to believe that something scandalous is going on with Mr. Hooper although he is simply attempting to display the wrongdoing of
others. The final example explaining why Mr. Hooper is wearing the veil is his speech in the final passage in the story. As Mr. Hooper is lying on his death bed a young, zealous man, Reverend Mr. Clark tried to convince Mr. Hooper to remove his veil and Mr. Hooper put up a grand struggle to prevent him from removing his veil. In the aftermath of the struggle between Mr. Hooper and Reverend Mr. Clark, Mr. Hooper proclaimed, "Why do you tremble at me alone? Tremble also at each other!” This statement from Mr. Hooper displays that the people are being hypocritical only because Mr. Hooper decided to physically illustrate what most of the members of his church and the community are harboring inside themselves. The veil worn by Mr. Hooper was a representation of the sin that those people constantly hide within themselves. As Mr. Hooper began to perish, he bellows, “I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil!” The real reason behind Mr. Hooper wearing the veil was revealed in that final statement from himself. Mr. Hooper saw that everyone in the community was hiding secrets and sins but when he began to wear a veil and alter his physical appearance, people became frightened and did not want to associate with the preacher again. Mr. Hooper wanted to prove that there should be fear among one another because they are all hiding something, whether it be secrets or their own face, they do not truly know one another to the extent as they had previously believed. Mr. Hooper wanted to start to better his society and wanted people to begin to look within themselves to see their own sins and become better people. The veil was simply a representation and a symbol of what he saw in his community. Mr. Hooper took a vow to raise awareness and make it visible that everyone was a sinner and he displayed that through wearing the veil.
Hooper was an all-round good minister, the type people looked up to and “had a reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences rather than thither by the thunders of the Word” (Monteiro 2). The morning he decided to wear the veil, the towns people believed there was a change in his behavior. “But there was something…it was tinged, rather more darkly than usual, with the gentle gloom of Mr. Hooper’s temperament” (Monteiro 2). His fiancé leaves the engagement, leaving him to become emotionally and physically insane. At the end of the story, he is on his death bed where he reveals the veils
Minister Hooper is a very good man, believes solely in Christ, and throughout the story we come to see how his views on religion reflect his humanity and humility. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Minister Hooper dons a black veil that causes an eruption of gossip in his community. The townspeople do not have any clue as to why he is wearing this black veil and see it as scary and devilish. The people in the community believe that Minister Hooper is wearing the veil to cover up a horrible sin. This may not be the case, however, because he may be wearing it as a symbol of his faith.
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
Mr. Hooper in “The Minister’s Black Veil” puts on a veil to symbolize “those sad mysteries which we hid[e] from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them” (Hawthorne 310). From the moment the townsfolk see the black veil they become very frightened and intimidated by Mr. Hooper, the citizens felt that “the black veil seemed to hang down before his heart” (Hawthorne 308). People became very frightened even the “most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast” (Hawthorne 312) Mr. Hooper puts this crape on as a “symbol of a fearful secret between him and them” and because of this society chastises him and makes him out to be a...
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
Father Hooper wears a black veil over his eyes and nose, never revealing the reason of the veil to a soul. At times the sexton would insinuate a reason behind the veil but never revealing the answer to the mystery. Father Hooper is a very imaginative and creative individual to innovate the idea of wearing a black veil to express an idea. He is angry towards the response of the veil to his parishioners, since they treated him differently with the veil compared to without it. Most of the parishioners are clueless to why he wears it and some try to imagine why he would ever want to wear it, but there are only ideas and arguments to why a minister would wear it.
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper shocks his townspeople by putting a veil permanently on his face. The veil is a paradox of concealment and revelation (Carnochan 186). Although it is concealing Mr. Hooper’s face, it is made to reveal the sins in society. The townspeople first believed that the veil was being used to hide a sin that Mr. Hooper had committed. Mr. Hooper says that the veil is supposed to be a symbol of sins in general, however the townspeople ignore the message and still focus on his sinfulness. The townspeople know that they have sinned, but they use Mr. Hooper as their own “veil” to hide their sins. Because the townspeople are so caught up on his sins, they fail to figure on the message behind Mr. Hooper’s action and
Mr. Hooper’s veil is very sentimental to him. His veil is looked at in different ways, it can symbolize the confession of his sins or a way to hide his sins. Mr. Hooper showed honesty toward his veil. He didn’t take it off even when people tempted him to take it off, specifically when his soon to be wife debated with him to take the veil off who was pretty much the only person who had the courage to go up and talk to him about the veil, he then rebuttled and told her he can not take it off. People around were thinking he was hiding secret sin, but we really don’t know why Mr. Hooper wore that veil, but for whatever the reason was, Mr.Hooper was being honest in whatever the reason was he wore that veil, to either show he is confessing his sins and showing that he is a sinner or a symbolic way to show that we are all sinners and we all have masks but the only difference is that his veil is
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 minister replies that the veil could be a “sign of mourning.” Elizabeth contends that the veil could be construed as a sign of “secret sin” and should be removed for “the sake of your holy office.” This dialogue, the longest in the entire story, add layers of information regarding the temperament and motivation of the main character. Mr. Hooper responds with the comment that “if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?'' This answer supports the earlier rationale of spiritual-moral motives behind the veil.
By Mr. Hooper being a worshiper of god he should be a representative of god that swears, to tell the truth, and honesty than a lie. Also, Mr. Hooper tells Elizabeth that everyone hides their sin; in a way, by this saying it can be suggested that someone that believes in God should not hide their sin, so what makes Mr. Hooper any less since his a worships of god and is a person. The word “cover” can be used to convey hiding the truth and what is being hidden is a secret sin that will not be exposed to the public. The author states that “ for the symbol beneath the lie, and die! I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil!”(lines 454-455) By the same token, the black veil is a symbol of meaning as in lonely, death, hidden, and pain. With the idea to know how the black veil is being used can impact how someone can be hiding something that they have done. When the use of the word “beneath” can suggest that a hidden secret of a sin to not be shown and left seal under anyone's conscience. A black veil is an act of hiding someone's visage that wants to hide a sin. The community that Mr. Hooper lives in they judge Mr. Hooper by him wearing the black veil he has done wrong and that does not prove but Mr. Hooper tells the people around his
In the afternoon, a funeral for a young woman initiates the rumor that Hooper is wearing the veil because of his own secret sin, one he had committed with the young
Hooper and his plighted wife, Elizabeth, portrays how serious he is about the matter of his veil. He wants people to understand why he is wearing the veil, and not even his fiancé understands the symbolism. “Oh! You know not how lonely I am, and how frightened to be alone behind my black veil”(71). After Elizabeth’s departure he fears that no one will comprehend the meaning of the veil while he is on earth. If his lover does not show empathy and try to understand the purpose of the veil there is little hope for the rest. He is alone, masked behind his veil, until his death. “In this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved and dimly feared; a man apart from men, shunned in their health and joy, but ever summoned to their aid in mortal anguish” (72). Mr. Hooper spent most of his life alone, but was called upon at the time of someone’s death because the people felt they could not rest in peace until they confessed to him and he gave them a final blessing. They felt confident after this because they trusted what was behind the black veil only until moments before their
He knows that everyone else should be wearing a black veil because they are all hiding their secret sin as well. Mr. Hooper feels that his secret sin is a very evil thing and he doesn't want anyone else to know about it. The people in his congregation don't understand why he has to cover his face like that and they treat him a lot differently now just because he has the veil over his face. Mr. Hooper doesn't understand why his people would treat him any differently because he hasn't changed at all as a person, he has just changed his appearance somewhat and people shouldn't judge one another on their appearance, they should be judged on their inward qualities. Mr. Hooper feels that he is doing what is good by shielding the world of his sin and part of the problem his congregation has is that they too have a secret sin and they don't want to own up to the fact that they do and admit it.
Hooper by the people of Milford’ as well as how I might have reacted had this happened to my clergyman. I felt that the townspeople acted in a terribly inappropriate manner towards Mr. Hooper’s emblem; regrettably I also realized that I am guilty of acting in the same manner. I travel frequently and I find myself, like the people of Milford, become uneasy when faced with fellow travelers who are wearing turbans or veils. It is amazing how a piece of cloth seems to change fellow humans “into something awful… (this) the effect of a simple piece of cloth” (The Minister’s Black Veil). Mr. Hooper says it best when he cries out on his death bed “What has made this piece of cloth so awful?” (The Minister’s Black Veil). I may brush it up to modern society, but the fact of the matter is that a folded piece of cloth does not change who that person is. As cliché as it is we judge books by their covers, change the cloth and you change the perception of that person to