Two Tales of Secret Sin

750 Words2 Pages

As children, we were often told not to steal cookies from the cookie jar because it would result in our names being put on Santa’s “naughty” list. Although minor, the theft of a single cookie is an example of a sin. According to the dictionary, a sin is defined as a “violation of divine law”, but does a child’s desire for a chocolate chip sugary treat really fall under that category? Sin can be blatantly obvious or it can be secret. One of the most often reoccurring themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works is the idea of secret sin. The short stories “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are no exception to this common motif; despite the differences in the way sin is presented in both of these tales. The symbol of secret sin is represented both spiritually and physically in Hawthorne’s works allowing for his distaste of human hypocrisy to become evident.
One of Hawthorne’s very literal symbols of secret sin is the veil in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. The story describes a man, named Reverend Hooper, who one day appears before the congregation on a Sunday morning wearing a mysterious black veil that covers his entire face, excluding his chin. Members of the congregation begin to suspect that Hooper is hiding something behind his black veil. “The whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hooper's black veil. That, and the mystery concealed behind it,” Hooper’s veil is a physical representation of human sin. In one of his sermons he preaches about secret sin, causing everyone in the room to feel uncomfortable while reciting their secret sins inside their heads. One of the Reverend’s thoughts is that, “those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from o...

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...is trait of human nature.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are interwoven into the plots of both “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown”. Hawthorne teaches us that sin can take both a physical and spiritual form, as seen in the dark veil Reverend Hooper wears on his face. The story of Goodman Brown creates an idea that no one is exempt from sin and believing the opposite could potentially cause your destruction. Hawthorne’s view of human nature is clearly seen in the way he presents both of these stories. Both the congregation in Milford and the people of Salem share the same hypocritical traits that Hawthorne negates severely by causing those people to lead to the main character’s destruction. Hawthorne’s ultimate lesson, however, is that no one, not even the most innocent of children, will ever be able to secretly steal the cookie from the cookie jar.

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