What Is The Difference Between The Scarlet Letter And The Minister's Black Veil

593 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Moralityin the scarlet letter

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Minister’s Black Veil” minister Arthur Dimmesdale and minister Reverend Hooper have quite a lot in common they deal with a great deal of sorrow and grief. Both men have something that weighs them down and affects them in ways more than one In these two stories. They are both well respected puritan men who were looked up upon by their communities until they revealed that they had committed a sin. Before Hooper began wearing the veil the community held great respect for him. It was a tradition that he be invited to dinner after each sermon. After a sermon there were many who were also ready to offer their praises. He was always welcome at any celebration, especially weddings. One day he steps …show more content…

His sermons became more powerful.The children who used to greet him when they passed him on the street all happy and excited “Children, with bright faces, tripped merrily besides their parents, or mimicked a graver gait.” (MBV Pg1) The children that would pass by him so happy would now run away in fear as if he were some kind of monster at the site of his black veil. The community treats him like he is some kind of unworthy and bad person. Even Though no one knows why he’s wearing the his vaile. **(indent?)***Dimmesdale throughout the book is viewed as an holy righteous minister that would never be suspected to doing anything wrong. He is seen as a holy powerful man. during one of the scaffold scenes while hester is on the scaffold a Townsman says ,"You must needs be a stranger in this region, friend....else you would surely have hear of Mistress Hester Prynne and her evil doings. She hath raised a great scandal, I promise you, in godly Master Dimmesdale's church. (SC Ch.3) the Townsman calls dimmesdale “godly Master Dimmesdale's” he is speaking about him as if he is a god and that shows how big of an influence and what kind of person dimmesdale is

Show More
Related

  • Characterism In 'The Minister's Black Veil'

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting the Protagonists in Flannery O’Connor’s Good Country People and Hawthorne's The Minister’s Black Veil

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Free Essay: Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    The town is all out to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne some of the women are suggesting other punishments and the women are telling us about Hester and Dimmesdale. People say," said another, "that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation." (Page 49) Reverend Dimmesdale is seen as a godly man. A man who does not commit sin and in his own mind at this point he feels fine and does not have any guilt. Dimmesdale at this point in the novel is seen as godly and throughout the novel is seen as godly even at the end after the last scaffold scene. Consequently enough, Dimmesdale is trying to convince Hester to reveal the man who has sinned along with her , so the man can be relieved of his guilt, some what ironic because he is the man who has sinned along side with her. "What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to him--who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself--the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!" (Page 65) This is the first scaffold scene Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not showing any signs of guilt at this point, he is still fairly the same and has not began to inflict punishment on himself or so it appears. Dimmesdale in the first scaffold scene seems fairly normal and has not begun to transform himself but by the next time we see him at the scaffold he is taken a turn for the worst.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Scarlet Letter and Long Black Veil

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    The song, "Long Black Veil", written by Johnny Cash has many similar elements to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both have to do with the sin of adultery that ends up hurting the characters in the stories. In "Long Black Veil" a man is convicted of a murder because he cannot provide an alibi for the night that another man was killed. It turns out that the night of the murder, this man had been "in the arms of his best friend's wife." The man ends up being executed while the woman punishes herself for not saving his life by wearing a long black veil. "Long Black Veil" and The Scarlet Letter both demonstrate how secrets can destroy one's life. This theme is shown through the sin of adultery, the punishments that the characters go through and the symbolism of the long black veil and the scarlet letter.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Dishonesty In The Scarlet Letter By Arthur Dimmesdale

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sky is a canvas to the eyes of Arthur Dimmesdale, filled with the faint, twinkling light of the stars. The slight glow is enough spotlight for the guilty man to handle, and the extra light that appears from an approaching town member is too much for the stricken pastor to handle. Cowering over the confession that dwells on the edge of his tongue, he misses the chance to free himself from the inner shame that binds him and sets his degenerating heart apart from the healthily-beating one of his past lover that is free from the weight of a scandalous secret. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne develops the character of Arthur Dimmesdale by way of his ill-defined sermons and public interactions with the Puritan townspeople that contrast with his deep talks with Hester and

    Read More

  • A Comparison of "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Minister's Black Veil"

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...t to acknowledge that fact than to live your life a lie. By keeping sin secret from the world like Dimmesdale, your conscience eats at your spirit until you are no longer able to live a healthy, normal life. Hooper's demeanor and sermons scared everyone into seeing their own sins and when looking at his black veil, they saw their own faults, which petrified them for they knew they were pretending to be one of the elect, and that none of them could be perfectly sinless. The horror and the hate people felt towards both the black veil and the scarlet letter was an outward manifestation of the horror and hate they all had for their own sins. Thus it brings us back to the theme that Hawthorne makes so clear in both the Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil," that though manifested sin will ostracize a person from society, un-confessed sin will destroy the soul.

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Hypocrisy Quotes

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arthur Dimmesdale's character is the epitome of hypocrisy as his admirable outward appearance is completely different from the reality of his sinfulness. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the development of appearance versus reality through the character Arthur Dimmesdale reveals the theme of the omnipresence of hypocrisy throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Veil And The Minister's Black Veil

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Minister Who Commits Adultery in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    “And be the stern and sad truth spoken, that the breach which guilt has once made into the human soul is never, in this mortal state, repaired” (158). Arthur Dimmesdale confesses his sin, but it makes such a big impact on him that he will always be reminded of it. The sin leaves a “breach,” or a hole, in him which cannot be fixed. Living in a Puritan community also makes it that much harder for Dimmesdale to keep his secret. Since the religion is completely strict and absolutely prohibits sins like adultery, he has no choice but to feel guilt and regret. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel of gothic romanticism. It was written in the 1800s, but takes place in the 17th century. Hester Prynne lives in Boston, Massachusetts and commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is punished by the town and has to wear a beautifully embroidered scarlet “A” on all of her clothes, which stands for “Adulterer.” The Reverend keeps his secret for many years while Hester’s husband, Roger Chillngworth, comes back to town and seeks revenge. Reverend Dimmesdale confesses his sin and ends up dying. The character Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the novel he is a healthy and intelligent minister, but towards the end, he becomes very guilty and emaciated.

    Read More

  • Mr. Dimmesdale's Feelings of Guilt and Shame in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "The Scarlet Letter"

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of his society

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Redemption In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in a 1600’s, religious town in Massachusetts. Due to the strict religious code of this town, Reverend Dimmesdale, the well-respected priest in the town, can not find the courage to reveal his adultery to the townspeople. Roger Chillingworth is angry about Hester and Dimmesdale’s affair and seeks to take revenge on the Reverend. Although they suffer the effects of different sins, they both struggle to find absolution for their sins. Hawthorne's diction and internal conflict show that no matter the negative effects of one sins one can still find redemption in oneself and the world around them.

    Read More

  • Ambiguity of The Minister’s Black Veil

    3124 Words  | 7 Pages

    There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”; this essay hopes to explore this problem within the tale.

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy In The Scarlet Letter And The Minister's Black Veil

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    But, they do not judge themselves or other respected members of the community. In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover, finally admits that Pearl is his child and that he also committed adultery in front of the entire community. “Without disputing a truth so momentous, we must be allowed to consider this version of Mr.Dimmesdale’s story as only an instance of that stubborn fidelity with which a man’s friends-and especially a clergyman’s-will sometimes uphold his character, when proofs, clear as the mid-day sunshine on the scarlet letter, establish him a false and sin-stained creature of the dust.” (Hawthorne 311) Despite committing the same sin as Hester, Dimmesdale is given a free pass because of who he is and what he does for a living. Hester was ostracized from the community and perhaps is still being ostracized. In The Minister’s Black Veil, Mr.Hooper just entered the room with a black veil covering his face. ‘ “Our parson has gone mad!” cried Goodman Gray, following the across a threshold.” (Hawthorne 2) This man is judging Mr.Hooper based his appearance. Somehow his personality has changed and he is no longer the same Mr. Hooper in the eyes of his followers. Instead of addressing their own secret sins, they focus on discovering what Mr.Hooper’s is and why he wears the mask. These townspeople

    Read More

  • Theme Of Death In The Scarlet Letter

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said, “Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.” This quote truly captures Dimmesdale’s death and journey to death, it is guilt that drives him to the grave and it accompanies him throughout all five grieving stages. Dimmesdale is one of many characters in The Scarlet Letter that is faced with problems both personally and spiritually. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a romantic novel about a young woman, Hester Prynne, who is permanently marked with her sin by a scarlet A she must bare on her chest and also by her daughter Pearl. Hester committed adultery with the young minister of Boston, Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester, and her beloved child Pearl, learn to over come the A and change the meaning of it from adulterer to able, while they are changing the way society views them, Dimmesdale is withering away under the “care” of Rodger Chillingworth, Hester’s past husband. Chillingworth knows about the sin and seeks revenge on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is helpless and in a downward spiral. He let the sin become who he is, even though the towns people don’t know of his adultery until his dying breath. The Scarlet Letter is a story about overcoming the darkness that hangs above you and stepping out of the sin or gloom that controls you. For characters like Hester this is a fairly easy thing to handle, but on the flip side characters like Dimmesdale struggle and can not seem to escape their heinous acts and don’t find peace of mind until they die. The Scarlet Letter mainly focuses on the process of overcoming these troubling times and how each individual character handles the pressure, stress, and guilt that come along with it differently. Arthur Dimmesdale is a lost soul after his sin, he expe...

    Read More

  • Arthur Dimmesdale Hypocrisy

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hypocrisy is an immense apprehension in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. One of the main characters, Arthur Dimmesdale, who is a highly respected priest, preaches all day about sin and is seen as a holy person, but he commits a sin that is rooted in the town of Boston for seven years. This sin is the cause of much anguish for all of the main characters in the novel which makes Dimmesdale an important source of hypocrisy. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale, a highly respected religious official, as a source of hypocrisy to show that followers of the Puritan religion will idolize their leader without knowing their leader’s true background.

    Read More

More about What Is The Difference Between The Scarlet Letter And The Minister's Black Veil

Open Document