Minister's Black Veil Thesis

Sinner’s in the eyes of One “The Minister’s Black Veil,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a black veil to symbolize the sins that the human may carry throughout their entire life. “ At the end of the story, as he lies dying, the Reverend Mr. Hooper says that he sees a veil on all the faces of those who are attending his deathbed. In this way, the major theme of the story is developed; that is, it is suggested that everyone wears a black veil, that everyone has a secret sin or sorrow that is hidden from all others. Everyone could, like the Reverend Mr. Hooper, cover his face with a black veil.” ( Reed 3 ). In the story, the veil gets portrayed to an extent where everyone makes it seem as if the veil is not appealing. “She begs him to take off

Black symbolizes death, and night, and in the story there is death. The death of father Hooper which takes place in the climax. His beloved wife, stays right by his side as she died as well. They were both in love, and she loved him endlessly even though the veil was sitting on his head every step of the way. This can be connected to Romeo and Juliet, the most exaggerated of exaggerated, because Romeo and Juliet both died to be together because their “love” for eachother was so strong and they were inseparable. Which allows me to signify that another theme that this story hides is sorrow, there’s a lot of sadness and grief throughout the story. “Have patience with me, Elizabeth!” “ Do not desert me, though this veil must be between us here on earth” (242). “The black veil separated him from cheerful brotherhood and woman’s love.” Hence, one of the major themes of “The Minister’s Black Veil” is that those who acknowledge the secrets of their hearts and those who choose to stand apart from their fellows will often find that they are ostracized and may well lead lives of loneliness, prisoners in their own hearts”( Reed 3 ). Hooper was sad because Elizabeth continuously asked him to remove the veil

Maybe the black veil somewhat mentally feeds him and keeps him going as a sense of persistence to overcome the foreshadows of the real world that he lives in.The symbolization for the black veil doesn't just stick to one topic, it intrigues you to want to keep knowing more and more about this wicked black veil. The black veil can symbolize death, sorrow, and sin. “The motive for Hooper’s wearing of the veil is ambiguous. Hooper tells his fiancé, Elizabeth (the name of both Hawthorne’s mother and sister), “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?” (Amy 2) This would be a good example for a motif for the story primarily because Hooper has a point when he says that if wears the veil to cover for secret sin, who wouldn't do the same? why wouldnt anyone else do the same? I mean at the end of the day everyone does really hide their sins and want to proceed with their life on their daily quest, because sins are basically the building blocks on what keeps us together. The motif and the symbols basically balance eachother out, from what i interpret is because they both have to do with the veil. The veil gets emphasized roughly, it is such a huge piece of context in the story and it is really a matter of life or death in the story because when Hooper dies, he gets buried with the veil on still and that's what leads the story on insane as