...The Minister’s Black Veil In literature, a symbol is something used to represent something else. The textbook defines a symbol as “a further use of metaphor” (194). However, unlike the metaphor, a symbol does not clearly state what it is being compared with. Instead, it “implies rather than explicitly states meaning” (194). Symbols need to be seen within context for the reader to truly understand their meanings. At times, symbols may hold more than one meaning. Their meaning may also change throughout the story. An example of a piece of literature that successfully uses symbols to create a plot is the short story The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Minister’s Black Veil is a parable published in 1832. It was inspired by Mr. Joseph Moody, a clergyman in New England that wore a handkerchief on his face. Earlier in his life, Mr. Joseph Moody had accidentally killed one of his friends. From that day until the day of his death, he hid his face from everyone. Similarly, The Minister’s Black Veil is about Reverend Mr. Hooper’s decision to wear a black...
Words: 693 - Pages: 3
...“The Minister’s Black Veil" is about Mr. Hooper the minister in a town and starts to wear a mysterious black veil over his head, but his people are left to be questioned. At first, his people think of the veil as a prop for his sermon. His people then start assuming he wears the black veil because of the sins he may have committed, and he's embarrassed to prove to the world what he has done. There are different thoughts in his people, such as the minister being an awful person. "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." (10)...
Words: 1012 - Pages: 5
...“The Minister’s Black Veil:” Confidential Sin The question about the minister’s black veil runs through everyone’s mind when he enters the scene, on a Sunday morning church day. No one dares to ask him why he wears it, instead they choose to spread a rumor. “It was remarkable that of all the busybodies and impertinent people in parish, not one ventured to put the plain question to Mr. Hooper (Pg. 240).” The narrator uses curiosity to make the reader more entide to the basic situation. The story, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an enticing American Romanticism that conveys an interesting life learning lesson to everyone. The most well known American Romanticism characteristic of a story is love. However,...
Words: 1156 - Pages: 5
...his essay discusses how The Minister's Black Veil, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is considered a part of American Romanticism. There are certain characteristics, symbols, themes and characters that make it a part of American Romanticism literature. Those characteristics and parts that make up an American Romanticism piece, those items are presented in this essay. So, in this parable, there are only a few examples of specific characteristics which make a story or piece of literature a part of American Romanticism. The typical characteristics of American Romanticism stories, are the value of feeling and intuition over reason, the value of the imagination over reality, civilization is bad Nature is good, educated sophistication is bad, youthful innocence is good, individual freedom is important,nature is the way to find God, the idea that progress is bad, also, most settings are in exotic locales or the supernatural. Some examples from the text are,However, in The Minister's Black Veil, the characteristics of American Romanticism present are, the connection to the supernatural, the belief that individual freedom is important, and the value of feelings and intuition over reason....
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...In both The Minister’s Black Veil and The Scarlet Letter, there are many similarities between the two, portraying the views of Mr. Hawthorne. The stories are both centered around Puritan societies and how they view sins. In both stories the main characters, Hester in The Scarlet Letter and Mr. Hooper in The Minister’s Black Veil, wore symbols to show they committed sins. In The Scarlet Letter Hester was forced to wear a red A to show that she had committed the sin of adultery. “The scarlet letter burned on Hester Prynne's bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her” (14.9). Which is very similar to that of The Minister’s Black Veil, where Mr. Hooper voluntarily dons a black veil. In the story he tells his wife Elizabeth, "If it be a sign of mourning,...I, perhaps, like most other mortals, have sorrows dark enough to...
Words: 385 - Pages: 2
...In the parable, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses characteristics to show American Romanticism. Throughout the parable, Hathorne continues to use symbols to create the theme. Hawthorne portrays romanticism by utilizing Mr. Hooper who chooses to wear a veil until death. The most important symbol in “The Minister’s Black Veil,” is the veil itself. The Puritan community feels uncomfortable seeing Mr. Hooper wearing the black veil, but Mr. Hooper believes everyone should wear one, thus creating American Romanticism. Throughout Hawthorne’s parable “The Minister's Black Veil,” he shows romanticism by addressing the reactions of the whole Puritan community and their concern about the wickedness of the black veil. Although the Puritan...
Words: 1147 - Pages: 5
...“The Minister’s Black Veil” Appendix Paragraph 1 Ex: Black veil Deconstruct: Words: Phrases: Astonishment towards Hooper? What does that mean? The Sexton was shocked while the townspeople were either suspicious or confused to why Reverend Hooper had a veil on a his face. He never wore something like this before, so it left many people to wonder what was going on. How is the church community like at this time? Think of sexton. What does a black veil represent? Black is a symbol for? Think of the way Hooper lectures. Persuasive and not through the thunder of words. 7 thunders of revelation (Word of God) Elizabeth as a character, what does she represent? Think of Groom and Bride? Deconstruct the fact Hooper hides are eyes. What does eyes mean? Why only show your mouth and chin? With a gloomy shade before him. What does this mean?...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
...A pastor in a small town in Connecticut delivers a speech of a secret sin wearing a black veil. The townspeople immediately begin to gossip. Some people say he's mad while others say he's covering his shameful sin. After the sermon, a funeral is held for a young lady who recently passed away. Mr. Hooper decided to stay for the funeral and continues to wear the black veil . The people then begin to judge him for wearing this mysterious black veil. Even though most of the townspeople start making assumptions about Mr. Hooper and his black veil, he doesn't want others to question why he wears it. The only person who has the ¨right¨ to ask about the black veil was his fiance Elizabeth. Even though Elizabeth tries her best to find out the reason why Mr. Hooper never takes off his veil, she gives up and...
Words: 1131 - Pages: 5
...Do things you can’t see or understand make you distrusting or afraid? Some people fear the unknown. In fact, the unexplainable often puts irrational fear into the hearts of many. In “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Reverend Hooper causes discord by wearing a veil in front of his congregation. Never explaining his reasons, he continues to wear the veil every single day. His people begin to shun him, thinking it is strange and unseemly. He wears it the rest of his life, and upon his deathbed explains it is a symbol of the mask everyone is wearing to cover his secret sin. The author emphasizes obsession, isolation, and underlying guilt as aspects of man’s hidden sins by presenting the struggle between the concealed side of man and the ideals of society. The minister becomes obsessed with his pursuit of showing men’s inner identities. As his bride-to-be Elizabeth confronts him about removing the veil, his response is not to her liking. “Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever!” “Lift the veil but once, and look me in the face,” said she. “Never! It cannot be!” replied Mr. Hooper. “Then, farewell!” said Elizabeth. (417) The parson is so consumed with being an example for his community that he sacrifices his own happiness. He strives to be in the image of God and to share his true character, and implies his congregation should do the same. However, his withdrawal sets him apart from his people. Therefore, without that contact the minister loses...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...1. How are the names Goodman Brown and Faith symbolic to the meaning of the story? List two other symbolic words used and give your interpretation of them? First, the story of “Young Goodman Brown” is a story that is a symbolic representation of religious faith in our world. Therefore, in the story, Goodman Brown is a symbol of the everyday man or even mankind as a whole. He portrays the struggle that humans have in seeking faith and belief in a God or higher power that we as people sometimes try to strive to serve or obey. He is just a simple human being with both the capability for either good and evil depending on his choices throughout the book. Faith, on the other hand, is a representation of serenity or peace we have when we are holding true to those beliefs and not allowing the evil or doubt in our life to sway our belief in God. Faith is not based on what our eyes see or that we can confirm it is simply a belief that we have chosen to believe as true regardless of any evidence to the contrary. There are other examples of symbols used in this story. One of the other symbols is the pink ribbons used through the entire story. They can be seen as the human struggles that we have with faith. Sometimes we have faith, sometimes we struggle to believe, and sometimes we can no longer believe in it anymore and these pink ribbons are used to show that struggle within the story. The last symbolic example I will use is that...
Words: 1430 - Pages: 6
...In The Minister’s Black Veil, Reverend Hooper shows up to church on Sunday morning with a black veil and the sermon he gives is on secret sin. He refuses to tell anyone the reason he's wearing it, and the townsfolk begin to think less of his character because of it. As the story develops, symbolism is represented through the sermon, the black veil, and the people in the community to create meaning in the story. First, the sermon Reverend Hooper gives with his black veil on his about secret sin. Throughout the sermon he is giving the congregation, he is secretly telling them the meaning of the veil: The subject had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own...
Words: 979 - Pages: 4
...Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” is centered on a man who wears a black veil. The man in this reading is a minister who has committed some vulgar sin(s), which is where the black veil becomes relevant to his life. Hawthorne has decided to write about sin, but his stories often give a different perspective on sin, and “The Minister’s Black Veil” is no different. Rev. Hooper, who is the minister, is the character that defines the world, which means that members of society as a whole shield themselves in order to present themselves as being perfect. However, perfection is unfortunately something one cannot achieve. Therefore, the veil symbolizes every man’s desire to hide his sins and be seen as perfect. Upon reading “The Minister’s Black Veil”, one can conclude that Hawthorne wants to demonstrate how individuals would rather hide their indiscretions than own up to them, and that is demonstrated through the character, Mr. Hooper. Nathaniel Hawthorne is an author who uniquely invites the reader into his stories through the use of symbolism, which draws the attention of the reader and allows one to become almost interactive with his readings. Mr. Hooper, who is a minister, is not allowed to commit any sin in his world, which means that even thinking sinful...
Words: 899 - Pages: 4
...Today I will be comparing and contrasting the two stories, “ The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards. The literary devices I will be using to express these differences and similarities will be symbolism, imagery , and foreshadowing. While I would characterize Hawthorne’s style as mysterious and dark Jonathan Edwards reveals the reader’s understanding of Puritan ideals of religion by giving the readers a new perspective on the ideal of God. In the book “The Minister’s Black Veil” Hawthorne uses symbolism to disguise a person visage . It states “ 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 light and darkness in solitude before the gaze of multitudes and as with strangers so with my familiar. No mortal eye will see it withdrawn.”(Hawthorne 5). He’s stating that the veil is keeping him who he is and will...
Words: 694 - Pages: 3
...Mary Elrod Rockett English 101- Tuesday/ Thursday 26 July 2015 Behind The Black Veil According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, a veil is worn to cover or hide something else. In this case, Parson Hooper wears a veil to cover his “secret sin.” Being a minister, he is exposed to many sinful situations that are difficult to avoid and he covers his self- conflict with a black veil. Throughout this eye- opening parable, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are both, positive and negative effects of Mr. Hooper’s black veil. Hawthorn reveals whether or not Mr. Hooper’s black veil is worth wearing by the time he dies at the end of the story. The first time Mr. Hooper wears his black veil, people immediately feel frightened and wonder why their minister “has gone mad” (Hawthorne 9). Mr. Hooper does not mean to scare everyone, he is simply covering his face from the world, in which he says, “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” (Hawthorne 35). Everyone speaks only of bad things about him, “I would not be alone with him for the world. I wonder he is not afraid to alone with himself” (Hawthorne 16). Even his fiancé questions their relationship. No one wants a husband whose face is always covered by a depressing veil. He refuses to remove it and explain to her why he is wearing this veil. Mr. Hooper loves Elizabeth dearly and does not want her to leave him, “Have patience...
Words: 1108 - Pages: 5
...Nathaniel Hawthorne’s gothic short story “The Minister's Black Veil” is a critique of Puritan religious views because of the exposal of hypocrisy in the Puritan credences, while the Puritans value veracity with themselves and God through good doings and bad. When someone decides to follow through with this action the critique is displayed as the Puritan followers harshly judge and shun him, with judgment being one of the most deadly forbidden sins in Puritanism. The Puritan religion established itself in the 16th- 17th centuries predicating their sole purpose of life to serving God and proceeding to heaven, therefore evading sin in a very strict fashion valuing truth with oneself and The Creator. In “ The Minister's Black Veil” a once prominent and loved priest decides to abide by the true Puritan religion deciding to become truthful with himself and others relating to his secret...
Words: 553 - Pages: 3
