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Comparing Minister's Black Veil, And The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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During the 17th century, the Puritans crossed the sea to grace America with their presence. In an astounding example of foreshadowing, the Puritans set up a patriarchal, semi-authoritarian society based on strangely unforgiving laws interpreted from the Holy Bible. Generations later, Nathaniel Hawthorne is raised in a post-Salem witch trial society amongst Puritans. Hawthorne is devout; however, the unjustifiable actions of his ancestors disturbs him. Hawthorne grew to have deep criticisms of Puritan society, and this became evident in his works. Hawthorne's strongest criticisms of Puritan society show themselves in "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and The Scarlet Letter.
Hawthorne knows well that no one is free from sin, …show more content…

Puritan belief lends itself to the idea that outward appearance is often an indicator of inward holiness. Unfortunately, that belief leads to this reaction towards Mr. Hooper whenever he wears a plain, black veil: "'I can't really feel as if good Mr. Hooper's face was behind that piece of crape'… 'I don't like it'… 'He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.' … 'Our parson has gone mad!' ("The Minister's Black Veil" 410). Mr. Hooper's audience even begins to distrust him, leading one to say "'I would not be alone with him for the world,'" ("The Minister's Black Veil" 411-2). Although Mr. Hooper remains unchanged for the most part, the black veil changes his appearance and the townsfolk's opinion of him. This superficiality, Hawthorne insinuates, should not be characteristic of Puritan communities. One common interpretation of Mr. Hooper's veil is that it represents the secret sin everyone bears. However, given Mr. Hooper's treatment, one would be surprised to learn that everyone is cognizant of that fact. The town is made uncomfortable by Mr. Hooper's sermon on secret sin, and so they ostracize him ("The Minister's Black Veil" 411). Even on his deathbed, people plea for him to take off the veil, and instead he cries "'Why do you temble at me alone?'…'Tremble also at each other!'...'I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil!'"(417-8). Hawthorne highlights the hypocrisy of Puritans with Mr. Hooper's ostracization. A Puritan is a hypocrite if they should cruelly treat someone because of appearance or sin as both of these are considered unimportant and unavoidable, respectively, in Puritan

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The Puritans arrived in America in the 16th and 17th centuries hoping create a purified version of the church as they believed the Church of England had still had too many components of catholicism. Humans are also invertly evil and this wickedness is displayed throughout many stories. Finally, moral values are also a central conflict to many stories. Puritanism, the evils of all humans, and moral conflict are a central themes to all three of The Crucible, “Young Goodman Brown”, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Although these stories are seemingly unrelated stories on the surface however when considering the under-the-surface meanings of these stories many similarities appear including the impact of Puritanism, the wickedness of all humans, and moral conflict.

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He sets a somber and self-pitying tone towards the audience. Hooper believes,like most other human beings, that he has sorrow strong enough to be epitomized by a black veil. Hooper states that he is not at ease with seeing a reflection of himself in a mirror, which apprises that he is not happy with himself substituting for others sins. Hooper is an ironic character because as well as he affecting the community’s outlook of him, he is also immensely affecting himself. Hawthorne uses imagery to depict how Rev. Hooper sacrificed the representation of the veil.

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In “The Minister’s Black Veil” the black veil affects Mr. Hooper relationship with his community in a negative way because it causes the townspeople to push him away. In the story “The Minister’s Black Veil” Elizabeth Mr. Hooper’s soon to be wife gets into an argument and says “Lift the veil but once, and look at me in the face,” said she. “Never! It cannot be!” replied Mr. Hooper. “Then, farewell!

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Puritan’s harsh beliefs represented the beginning of the Nineteenth Century in the newly colonized America. Their community ruled with an iron fist: unforgiving, pitiless, stern. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses his disagreement with puritan priorities by revealing the hypocrisy widely practiced throughout their community. Hawthorne’s utilization of dim diction aids in the establishment of his scornful tone, while inclusion of symbols and intricate juxtaposition all serve to accentuate the Puritan’s duplicity. All these factors combine to develop a critical tone which rebukes puritan society.

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Throughout the short story, Hooper feels as if the veil projects his sin rather than keeping it secret; “...[A]lthough its function is concealment of sin, it actually, in the minister’s case, functions to expose sin” (Boone 1). Sin is displayed in many ways, some ways are stranger than others. It is up to the sinner to decide if they are willing to protect themselves through withdrawal from society, or by exposing themselves freely to the world while there is something symbolizing their sin on their body. In the midst of Hooper’s alleged sin, individuals became obsessed with what he was hiding, rather than the sins they have been committing. One tends to shun another to take away attention from their own sins; “...they should see their own veils instead of fixating on what is possibly behind his” (Boone 1).

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In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the minister, Mr. Hooper wear a black veil which affects his relationship with his community negatively because the people distanced themselves and isolated Mr. Hooper. For example, Elizabeth, Mr. Hooper’s fiancee distances herself from Mr. Hooper. Hawthorne writes, “Then, farewell!” said Elizabeth. She withdrew her arm from his grasp and slowly departed...”. Elizabeth is heading out upset when Mr. Hooper says to her, “Oh!

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Alienation in The Minister’s Black Veil Country musician, Johnny Cash said, “I wore black because I liked it. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. It's still my symbol of rebellion -- against a stagnant status quo, against our hypocritical houses of God, against people whose minds are closed to others' ideas” (Goodreads). Even though he was highly honored and greatly respected, Cash, a country music legend, was always seen as a rebel bucking against the status quo especially through his use of an all black wardrobe. Cash points out how closed minded people and Christians judge him for his all black attire.

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Wearing a black veil is almost never positive, especially when a minister is the wearer. Why would any minister wear a veil? The reason for Mr. Hooper’s veil goes deeper than just sadness. Hooper conveys a sense of deep regret behind the mysterious black veil. In Hawthorne’s, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne uses the veil to illustrate shame, the “mask” of society, and the fear of past sins.

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Many people of the community were afraid of Reverend Hooper and his black veil. “But from the...over his face” (Hawthorne 2-4). Although Hooper’s empirically observable behavior is uniformly kind and gentle, he remains unloved and dimly feared. Later on, the community realized that the veil was not a symbol of evil and decided the effects were not all that bad.

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The mystery and curiosity that a typical old man can bring to himself with wearing a black veil that covers half his appearance. Mr. Hooper the minister with a black veil following him everywhere, has everyone wondering what he has to hide and why he began to wear it in the first place. The black veil itself brought many consequences to his life, specifically, his wife, friends, the people, and the children have a fear. " In this manner, Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving..."(Hawthorne 14), but yet the protagonist does not remove the veil at all.

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A distinguished and respected author, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote classic American fiction in a dark romantic style that was shaped by his upbringing and surroundings. He was brought up in a strictly Puritan household in Salem, Massachusetts. Hawthorne’s writing reflects his religious background, which he many times grapples with. This is accredited to his Puritan upbringing, as one of his ancestors “presided over the Salem witchcraft trials, 1692,” (Reuben). Hawthorne’s stories are usually “set in colonial New England [his birthplace] and is heavily weighted with the moral complexity of his Puritan background,” (American Literature).

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The main character in “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper represents how everyone carries a sin with them but some choose to acknowledge it, while others choose to hide them. People may live for long periods of time and say that they are “free of sins”. The truth is everyone carries a sin with them, they just choose to not acknowledge it. This world is filled with people with sins, they may be horrible, while others are not so significant, and others are shared. When people tell their sins to the world everyone looks at them like if they are the devil themselves, or if one did have a sin everyone tries to figure out what that sin is, forgetting that them, themselves also carry sins, but it is much easier to acknowledge others sins.

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