The Minister's Black Veil Essay

Kira Ginter
Ricketts
English 10 Honors
19 January 2017
Literary Analysis: The Minister’s Black Veil
Sins are a part of life and even if one would not like to admit it, everybody commits them. The more sins one commits, the more guilt they secretly feel. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Reverend Hooper wears a black veil to signify sins. Hooper was a living analogy in the story. The use of the veil to represent sin is successful because it has the whole parish feeling uncomfortable in the same way that sins do. Sins are something that everyone commits, and it is intriguing to see how others react to the physical representation of sin.
Sins are mostly viewed as a bad thing, so others thinking that someone else is committing sins can be considered a great insult. Reverend Hooper began to wear a black veil that covers his face to represent sin to his parishioners. The veil perfectly represents sin because people who are around it are generally judgemental of it and feel uncomfortable around it. “‘I don't like it,’ muttered an old woman, as she hobbled into the meeting-house. ‘He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face’” (Hawthorne 460). The veil is a good representation of sin because as soon as people see it

they feel violated and ashamed. Some people, like the old woman, are even fearful. Sin is viewed as a bad thing, and the old lady already views the Reverend Hooper poorly after one day of wearing the veil. The old woman is viewing the Reverend the way most people view others committing sins; poorly. Most people are afraid of sin, one fears that they may be condemned for the things that they have done. The minister is now viewed badly just because of a veil, which is the literal representation of sin. People are afraid of their sins, but sometimes the thought of others knowing the sins that one has committed is even worse.
Sometimes people act suspicious after hearing things that they assume pertains to them (in this way, people are very self-centered). “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. Many spread their clasped hands on their bosoms. There was nothing terrible in what Mr.
Hooper said, at least, no violence; and yet, with every tremor of his melancholy voice, the hearers
quaked. An unsought pathos came hand in hand with awe. So sensible were the audience of some
unwonted attribute in their minister, that they longed for a breath of wind to blow aside the veil, almost
believing that a stranger's visage would be discovered, though the form, gesture, and voice were those of Mr.

Hooper” (Hawthorne 461). When the Reverend gives his sermon about the veil, everyone feels that each word is being spoken directly to them. This shows how they all have committed sins and that some may even be feeling guilty for what they have done. The Reverend used the veil to represent what sins can do to people. The people listening to the sermon had a feeling that he was talking directly to them, showing how the Reverend is not the only one who should be being judged. Everyone commits sins and they are a very well known subject, but some people feel that their sins are a private

matter.
People view their sins as their own private thing, so when the minister puts on the veil everyone thinks that he has just committed a sin. “‘Elizabeth, I will,’ said he, ‘so far as my vow may suffer me. Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends. No mortal eye will see it withdrawn. This dismal shade must separate me from the world: even you, Elizabeth, can never come behind it!’” (Hawthorne 465). Elizabeth, the Reverend’s fiancee is implying to the Reverend how all of the townspeople are assuming that he has been unfaithful. The use of the veil to represent sin is a very good decision because after only having it for one day, everyone in the parish is already accusing the Reverend of committing sins. Everyone commits sins, what really matters is how each individual reacts to the sins that they have already committed.
Sins are really and truly just a part of life. The only variations with sins are the different ways that the sinners react to them. The black veil is a perfect representation of sin because of the way it makes people react. Sins make people feel awkward and uncomfortable in the same way that the veil makes the parishioners feel. The Reverend is a living representation of sin to the parish, that never fails, not even when it is on the death bed. The Reverend represents sins by embodying them to the very core and deciding to be dedicated enough to live his life in a way that represents sins without necessarily being sinful.