Hiding Behind the Veil
Have you ever done something you regret very deeply? One may want to hide behind something; maybe something that creates comfort? A black cloth to cover most of the face can shield you from reality, making it easier to hide from the guilt, the shame, and the sins one may have committed. There is a story that stood out beyond belief with it’s dark areas of both metaphorical and literal aspects. The guilt does not just focus on the main character but even his friends and family in this story. Connecting to anyone who may be hiding behind this black veil. “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is, in this writer's opinion, a better story than “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving because of it’s tone, symbolism,
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plot and theme. Hawthorne created a tone for this story that made his audience shiver with it’s mysteriously gloomy feeling that leaves you wanting more. This feeling can be found in many parts of the story with Hawthorns quotation as an example: “It had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and womans love, and kept him in the saddest of all prisons, his own heart; and still lay it upon his face as it to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber and shade him from the sunshine of eternity.” This passage shows that his sins are holding him prisoner, that his wife can’t even see past what Hooper has done, even though in the beginning she had no fear of him.
That a black crape could separate loved ones and turn an entire town against him. They shun him, only because of a simple piece of cloth, and them doing this demonstrates how shallow their faith truly is. This is relevant because it shows how if you change something about yourself that people do not necessarily agree upon they will turn against you even if they have committed the same wrong that you have. In “Rip Van Winkle” the author's tone was meant to be as eerie and depressing as “The Minister's Black Veil,” but this story has more humor than horror. Rip wanders out in the forest, and goes bowling with leprechauns while consuming alcohol, showing that this story has humor and no gothic sense of sadness. The black veil that Reverend Hooper wears is a symbol of sin and gives off a darker, gloomy feeling unlike the losing story; Rip loses his wife. Having no sympathy for him, showing he only complained about how much she nagged to him, which is a common stereotypical trait. Hooper explained how lonely he has been and how one piece of cloth can affect his life, just like one wrong can change your life …show more content…
forever. Hawthorne uses many complex symbols to display the dark horror that Hooper experiences. The most important symbol in this story is the veil itself that Hooper wears over his face to prove a point to the townspeople of Milford. To the people in the town they see him wearing it as a sin but nobody asks him why he wears it. Hooper implies that he wears the veil to be a symbol of humanity's sins. The townspeople focus only on Hooper’s sins because, deep down, they see their own that they have committed, and don’t want to accept it themselves, while he preaches. Although the veil could symbolize his pride, he is hiding himself arrogantly. A thin crape of clothing is a symbol of the Puritan society. The townspeople of Milford judge Hooper on his appearence but not who he is as a person. They do not realize that he does not change at all after putting on his veil other than he seems more gloomy and sad. People today judge without even realizing it, in result, most judgments of others are ego strategies to avoid uncomfortable feelings one may have. However, if you lack the awareness of where they come from, they can lead to even more discomfort down the line in life. In Hawthorne's story the people judge Hooper because as he preaches, they think he is directly talking to one person individually; themselves. Others are scared of him because he is dressed different than usual, meaning they are afraid of change and what it will bring in the future. Every story has to have a plot or there is no story to be told, especially if you want to keep it interesting to hold the reader in. In “The Minister's Black Veil” Hooper goes through many different events in just one day. In the beginning of the story Hooper goes up in front of his congregation and preached with this black veil, as the townspeople start to leave the meeting house because they are afraid and in terror of him all because of a piece of cloth. After this he must perform a funeral where his veil is accepted until the corpse shuttered when she saw Hooper's face behind the veil. He then goes to perform a wedding and when he sees himself in a glass, scares him to the point to where he must flee. This by itself makes people wonder why he never took off his veil, but this is not the focal point of the story. The answer is in the text of the scene with Hooper on his deathbed: “”What, but the mystery which is obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best-beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from eye of his Creator, 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!”” Hooper makes an open accusation to every hypocritical man or woman in society, reminding them that everybody wears a veil of lies and secrets; showing how terrible human nature can and always be. Lastly, a theme of the story is one of the most important parts because when you read a story; you want it to be relevant and to have a purpose but also be pulled into it and have a reason for reading it.
Both of these stories have a theme of relevance but the winning story stood out because of how much the theme can give you an eerie feeling. We are all hiding something and all of us have committed our own sins that we do not want to reveal to others in fear of being judged. Hooper wears a black veil to prove a point to the townspeople that we all have something to hide from. Unlike the losing story the theme is less interesting in the opinion of this writer. To escape from reality, but when you come back you better be ready to face the consequences and events you have missed out on. Like Rip coming back after twenty years to find he missed out on his daughter's life and his wife passed away when he was asleep. The element of theme was definitely won by “The Minister's Black Veil” because it has a meaning that can relate to anyone. Everyone in this cruel world wears a black veil, hiding our wrong doings with a fake smile but no one can escape sin.
In conclusion, both of these stories are two classic pieces of American Literature written by two very famous writers. They both contain great tones, symbols, plots and especially themes, but when it all comes down to it, nothing is better than a story one can relate to that touches your soul in a deep, dark, and gothic way as showing
that you’re not the only one going through hardships. At the end of the day we all are wearing a black veil, but not all of us have the strength Hooper had to admit to our sins and face a hypocritical crowd of people we once called loved ones and friends.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the reader is introduced to Parson Hooper, the reverend of a small Puritan village. One Sunday morning, Hooper arrived to mass with a black veil over his impassive face. The townspeople began to feel uneasy due to their minister’s unusual behavior. When Parson appeared, “Few could refrain from twisting their heads towards the door; many stood upright….” (Monteiro 2). Throughout the story Hooper does not take off the black veil and the townspeople, including Reverend Clark from a nearby village, treat him as if he were contagious disease. A veil typically is used to represent sorrow, but in this story it is used to represent hidden sins. No one exactly knows why he
Both stories move with small biting twists . Both stories lead up to an extremely ironic, and arguably comical, conclusion. The two stories are gut wrenchingly suspenseful at times, from escaping a serial killer deep in a foreboding jungle, to planning to fight to the death as a result of a family feud. Both stories fill the reader with anxious, gut wrenching, edge of the seat, excitement. The other similarities are the foreshadowing contents within both stories that keep the reader guessing. Other times in both stories, the suspense is thickening within the paragraphs. ex; “ Rainsford had fought his way through the bush for two hours. ‘I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve,’ he said through tight teeth.” (Most Dangerous Game)
works of literature have tremendous amounts of similarity especially in the characters. Each character is usually unique and symbolizes the quality of a person in the real world. But in both stories, each character was alike, they represented honor, loyalty, chivalry, strength and wisdom. Each character is faced with a difficult decision as well as a journey in which they have to determine how to save their own lives. Both these pieces of literatures are exquisite and extremely interesting in their own ways.
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.
The gothic characteristics that are found in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” delve into the dark side of the human mind where secret sin shrouds the main characters in self anguish and insanity. Both Poe and Hawthorne focus on how much of a burden hiding sins from people can be, and how the human mind grows weak and tired from carrying such a burden. Poe illustrates that with his perturbed character Roderick Usher who was rotting from the inside like his “mansion of gloom” (Poe 323). Hawthorne dives deep into the mind of one Mr. Hooper, a minister, a man admired by all, until he starts wearing a black veil to conceal his face because “ The subject had reference to secret sin” (Hawthorne 311) . An analysis of both Mr. Hooper and Roderick Usher show through their speech, actions, behaviors, and interaction with other humans, the daily strain of hiding sin from one another.
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the idea that sin, whether it be your sin, secret sin, or a known sin, can sometimes lead to isolation and gives insight into people’s true character. The main character Parson Hooper was met with many confrontations in his literal representation of secret sin by wearing a black veil. In the beginning of the story, as Hooper leaves the church he dreadfully realizes the darkness and effect of the black veil which would soon lead to his own isolation. Hawthorne writes, “catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking-glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others.” Parson Hooper was so hurt by the people’s reaction and afraid of the black
Finally, both authors do a good job of holding back and letting the stories unfold slowly. You know the conclusion in the first story and in the second you must decide the ending for yourself. The stories, therefore, showed some similar aspects as well as some major differences. The stories were very enjoyable to read.
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.
similarities that are inevitably beyond mere coincidence. One could surmise that both of these stories might have a basis in common historical occurrence. However, despite the fact that both of these works discuss a common topic, the portrayal of this event is quite different. Like identical twins raised in different cultures, the expressions of these works are products of their environment.
The killer’s plan in the “Tell-Tale Heart” actually works and is able to hide his actions for a long time. While in “The Lottery” the town is peaceful and everyone is going through their daily lives. People seem excited for the lottery and seems that something positive will occur. But in the end for both of these stories bad things happen towards the people in the story. The killer has guilt get to him and he confesses that he is a murder. While in the lottery is actually a dark event that makes whoever wins becomes a sacrifice. The 2 themes both tell the story of death. They are both terrible stories, but tell people important themes. One is that you shouldn’t do something without understanding why you are doing it. Secondly is that guilt will always come back to haunt
In the short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the Mr. Hooper’s black veil and the words that can describe between him and the veil. Hawthorne demonstrates how a black veil can describe as many words. Through the story, Hawthorne introduces the reader to Mr. Hooper, a parson in Milford meeting-house and a gentlemanly person, who wears a black veil. Therefore, Mr. Hooper rejects from his finance and his people, because they ask him to move the veil, but he does not want to do it. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper’s black veil symbolizes sins, darkness, and secrecy in order to determine sins that he cannot tell to anyone, darkness around his face and neighbors, and secrecy about the black veil.
"The Minister's Black Veil" is an allegorical narrative in which the agents of setting, symbols, characters, and actions come in a coherent way to represent non-literal and metaphorical meanings about the human character. The black veil is without doubt the most important symbol used in the story. It comes to represent the darkness and duality of human nature, adding thereby a certain undeniable psychoanalytical angle to the short story. The black veil represents the sin that all men carry secretively within their heart as M...
The same thing happens in “The Minister’s Black Veil,” except the reader does not know exactly what secret sin makes Reverend Hooper begin to don the black veil. Many scholars believe that this has something to do with the funeral of the young lady at the beginning of the story. The opinions range from believing that Reverend Hooper loved the girl in secret, to Poe’s believe that Reverend Hooper may have actually been the cause of the girl’s death (Newman 204). Whatever the reason, the minister’s wearing of the veil taints his view of everyone else around him, making all of them look like they are wearing veils as well (Hawthorne 107).
416), while it gave Hooper a more intimidating, enigmatic and somewhat inhuman demeanor that isolated him from the community his services were still available for his community. The book even says that it “enabled him to sympathize with all dark affections” (pg. 416) as many people, particularly the ones who were guilty of ‘secret sin’ felt comfortable and/or compelled by Hooper into confessing their sins. The people felt that they could tell him everything they kept secret, because the veil’s “gloom” and foreboding aura gave him the same aura of mystery. The black veil kind of symbolizes a cover-up that humans use every day to hide their real feelings and thoughts, as many people are never truly honest with others and each convey some sort of secret. It appears that the idea in this story is that humans by nature are sinful and are all guilty of some hidden sin that they try to keep in the dark because having sins is not considered human or moral. It’s not a very positive outlook on humans, but the book does seem to convey that idea, as Reverend Hooper himself is a flawed man guilty of secret sin as revealed in the end, making him no different from the rest of the townsfolk who have their own sins that they hide. However, it also shows that humans are hypocritical by nature because they are so flawed as in the end Hooper proved that he did exactly practice what he
Mr. Hooper is a man of many words. He was the minister of the town and he was loved. That was until he came in the church one day with a Midnight black veil on his face. The whole congregation didn’t know what to do when they saw what they saw. Everyone was uncomfortable