The Minister 's Black Veil

During the period of American Gothic literature, authors, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, incorporated the sinister perspective of the human nature in their writings. Both Hawthorne’s symbolic short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, and Poe’s violent fiction, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, demonstrate separation and symbolism throughout the course of each story. In Hawthorne’s story, the protagonist, Minister Hooper, decides to wear a black veil over his face and vows to never remove it. This vow continues to the point of his death. Mr. Hooper’s decision to wear the black veil consequently separates him from society. Hawthorne uses the veil to symbolize the human psyche and efforts to hide sins. In Poe’s story, the narrator is the caretaker of an old man with a blind eye. He describes his internal discomfort when he sees the eye, and later devises a plan to murder the old man. His separation from humanity due to the uneasy feeling of the old man’s pale, blind eye are shown through his efforts to commit murder.

There are two areas where I can find a connection between “The Minister’s Black Veil” and American Romanticism. One is the importance of individual freedom in the sense that each person has the right to choose for himself. In the short story, Reverend Hooper chooses ro wear a black veil over his face for the rest of his life.

The Black veil could symbolize three things which are adultery, a secret sin, or the darkness of humanity. The reason the black veil could symbolize adultery is because he might have had a secret encounter with a women that he wasn't with. The reason it could symbolize this is because he has a wife named Elizabeth and he might have cheated on her and he doesn't want her to know. During the story the wife asks Mr. Hooper to take the veil off or they are going to split and he didn't take it off so he might have felt so guilty about cheating on her that he wants her to leave.

It has brought more in depth thoughts of the text and American Romanticism. I have learned that everyone has secret sins but not everyone is willing to show them. Everyone is so quick to judge others but won't look at themselves. "The Minister's Black Veil" has introduced me to the American Romanticism literature and has a very deep meaning. It is a great example of all society's now and then. Nowadays, most people are quick to judge others and everything wrong with them, without first looking at themselves. Mr Hooper was doing nothing wrong, only revealing his secrets to his friends and loved ones. Although it might not be the theme, I also learned that if you don’t live to the social norms of society, you will be judged, shunned, looked at like a monster, even if you are doing it for yourself, and for your heart. It just proves to me, that our society is messed up. That we live in a world, where we cannot truly do things for ourselves and live our lives the way we want because the people usually stop and judge, why can’t we just be happy? Why don’t the people just live their lives happily and let everyone do what they’d like without being judged? Our society seems to only care about what the rest of the world is doing, more than they care about themselves. In conclusion, I have learned much about our society and the secrets that we all hide

"The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The setting of the story is a town in Puritan New England. Much of the story focuses on the black veil. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to teach a lesson in his short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil”.

The veil become appropriate because the townspeople and Father Hooper are to attend the funeral of a youth woman.

In Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil the main theme is the horror and the power found in mystery. As displayed in the story, the unknown is a great source of fear. In the beginning you start by seeing the town in its safe place, and when the minister arrives, different than usual, the energy of the story quickly takes a gloomy turn. Though only a piece of cloth, the minister’s black veil symbolizes the fear and darkness that accompanies the unknown for the villagers.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil," Mr. Hooper, a Reverend in the town of Milford, surprises his parishioners by donning a conspicuous black veil one Sunday. The town is visibly spooked, yet still curious, about his eerie appearance and profoundly affected by his sermon on secret sin. "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" (2432). The parishioner's expect that Hooper will only don the veil for one day and then remove it, having used the visage to make his point on secret sin, but they are taken aback to

When one has to grope for, and fumble for, the meaning of a tale, then there is “failure” in the work, as Henry James says. This unfortunately is the case of “The Minister’s Black Veil.” It is so ambiguous in so many occasions in the tale that a blur rather than a distinct image forms in the mind of the reader. The Norton Anthology: American Literature states in “Nathaniel Hawthorne”:

Intro/Thesis statement: Mr. Hawthorne’s works of fiction “The Minister’s Black Veil,” “Young Goodman Brown,” and THE SCARLET LETTER contributed discussion amongst people. It planted questions in our heads about what humanities’ sinful nature means and how it is perceived. These literature pieces are all connected because of their theme being about secret sin. This is because we all yearn for things that are wrong, that could even be considered immoral. People don’t read these literature pieces for the entertainment value but the constant “brain food” it gives the readers questions they never thought to ask themselves. That’s why it’s so important to read them and also understand them. This is why we must focus on their intertwining themes and what makes them “tick”. There are other themes revolving around all three of these works, but they focus on the theme that predominates and unifies them, which is secret sin. This makes it an engaging topic that takes hold of their viewers.

Symbols of a secret sin that everyone has committed and how terrible human nature can be in "The Minister's Black Veil" By Nathaniel Hawthorne is seen through symbolism with the use of the black veil. The theme is obvious due to the conflict of person vs society and this is seen from transformation, obstacles and the epiphany.

The symbolism in this short story involves the black veil on the minister’s head states that Mr. Hooper is hiding a horrible sin. Although the minister wears a black veil; Mr. Hooper is trying to make amends of his own sin. “The subject had reference to a secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would conceal from our own consciousness” (Hawthorne 1). Although Mr. Hooper wears the black veil he is being recognized and gives a sort of power over the people. “The black veil had one effect; he becomes a man of awful power over souls that were in agony

“The Minister’s Black Veil” seems like a moral allegory. Not just the veil but the act of wearing it is important. The veil also alienates the parson from people.

In reality the veil represents the secrets everyone is hiding within themselves. The unifying theme is the conflict between the dark, hidden side of man and the standards imposed by his puritanical heritage. Hawthorne brings evil and unauthorized desire into the way of puritan life, and in so doing suggests a insightful truth that is disturbing in its implication, that is to say that we can never hope to know each other's true selves. The themes in the story are suggested by the veil-symbol, the tension between the minister and the community. Every person has something to hide from the world. The veil is symbolic for the cover up of peoples secrets. Although most people would not wear a veil, the minister is proving a point. By wearing a simple black veil Mr. Hooper is making all the villagers evaluate their everyday actions in life. The symbolic value of the black veil lies in the physical and mental dilemma that it creates between the minister and his environment, and the guilt it conveys. Many people believe that the face provides information about a person's primary characteristics, therefore, predicting a persons possible behavior. As a result, by

In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” the obvious symbol is the veil. It represents isolation and how Mr. Hooper is shunned by nearly his entire congregation because he wears the veil. The veil becomes part of Hooper, and he wants people to know that, so he keeps it on as he dies. Nathaniel Hawthorne creates these strong images to influence readers to accept and love, and to not take things for granted. Despite the fact that much of his work seems dark and gloomy, his messages are always simple and constant. The only differences between the symbols are that one was chosen by the owner, the black veil; one was given to the owner, the rose; and the other was there by no choice of the owner, the birthmark. The ways the symbols found the owners are different, but the importance of each is similar. They help drive the stories and represent a key element found in the work of author Nathaniel Hawthorne.