The Minister's Black Veil Rhetorical Analysis

Humans require some sort of social interaction in order to thrive, whether it is another individual or a divine being that happens to be in the core of their belief system. The relationship between an individual and their God is known to be potentially life changing and intimate. What if their relationship, based on faith, were challenged and ultimately changed permanently in a way that creates insecurity? How is their attitude compromised? In what way would the individual be able handle the isolation bestowed upon them? Minister Hooper, the protagonist in Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, is deposited into a situation where he is ultimately socially alienated by his congregation and the town in which he lives. Minister Hooper is

Thus, giving Timothy Montbriant secure grounds for exploring his faith and attitude in his article entitled “An overview of “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Montbriant believes that Hooper is “struggling with doubts about his own salvation” (Montbriant n.p.) once he realizes the meaning of what he preaches. According to predestination, or Calvinist Theology, “confessing one’s sins does not affect one’s predestined course”(n.p.). To Montbriant, Hooper’s veil represents his isolation, but does not actually cause it. On the contrary, the veil causes Hooper to experience his isolation in agony while he still remains with his congregation. Even though all his efforts to save their souls from damnation will be in vain, Hooper diligently carries

Only God will be able to enlighten Hooper on where his soul will spend eternity. By wearing the veil Hooper is acknowledges the presence of secret sin in himself. Hooper is said to of had a temperament described as a “gentle gloom”(Hawthorne n.p.) that would stay with him even on the death bed. If his veil were to inform his congregation of an important, lesson he would not of waited until he was weak and on his death bed. In comparison of each other, Montbriant’s analysis could not have been more appropriate and factual. Montbriant uses information from Hawthorne’s short story without attempting to stretch it out of proportion, unlike Paul. For example, “two laid corpses…two suggestions of death..two o’s in Hooper” (Paul n.p.) Paul uses anything he can get his hands on in order to try to pin Hooper with being involved with the young maiden’s death, in this case he claims Hawthorne is telling the reader this through his