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Stylistic Devices In The Minister's Black Veil

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In literature, rhetoric devices are used to add dimension, meaning, and depth to a text. Eric Warner and Graham Hough, the editors of Strangeness and Beauty: An Anthology of Aesthetic criticism, states that, “symbolism in literature really is: a form of expression” (page 242). Literature is seen as a form of communication for writers to convey their ideas. Symbolism provides a text to be read at two separate levels. The first level would be read superficially since interpretation is only done at surface level. The second level is achieved only after recognition of symbolism and then the deduction of the underlying meaning. The foundation of rhetorical criticism is to understand a writer’s intention; to recognize how they use stylistic devices and structure their work to create an interaction between reader and symbolism. Therefore, it would be most interesting to use rhetorical criticism to approach one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s that criticizes the Puritan Society: “The Minister’s Black Veil (1837)”. This piece of literature is highly symbolic to not only heighten the dramatic effect, but to also …show more content…

Individuals need to recognize and accept that they have committed sins. This theme is symbolized through the use of the black veil. The story begins with the imagery of, “children, with bright faces,” and, bachelors watching, “pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier”. This immediately sets a positive atmosphere, which is used to contrast significantly against the entrance of Reverend Mr. Hooper. He is seen to enter donning a black veil, which, “concealed his features”, and gave a, “darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things”. Instantly, it can be interpreted that the veil symbolizes how sins are able to take an individual’s purity away. The idea that the veil provides a, “gloomy”, vision suggests that sins are able to cloud or impair a person’s vision

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The symbolism of the black veil gives a eerie, mysterious tone in the minister’s black veil. As story goes on, the meaning of the black veil becomes clear. Mr. Hooper suggested that every mortal people should cover their faces with the black veil because everyone has a secret or sin behind them. Covering face with the black veil also meant that it is revealing their short come to the others that will make them lonely or fall in sorrow. It also represents scary feeling to the others.

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754 Words | 4 Pages

It is a close knit town where everybody knows each other. As the story progresses, it is seen how people will avoid even the most loved friends and family once there is a mysterious barrier in between them. So, throughout the story, the minister’s black veil symbolizes a variety of things such as: secret sins, a barrier, and even sorrow. First off, I think that Father Hooper’s black veil symbolizes everyone’s secret sins. In the beginning of the story, church begins and Hooper appears concealed by a black veil, and everybody is mystified.

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917 Words | 4 Pages

Hawthorne depicts a community that hides its sins and ostracizes those who display them. On Parson Hooper’s deathbed he finally resolves the mystery of the black veil. He states, “I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil!” (Hawthorne 9) He explains that it is not he who is hiding his sins with a “black veil” but rather everyone else hiding from the fact that they have sins.

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540 Words | 3 Pages

Hawthorne's story proves that the veil dramatizes that everyone has a secret sin and we should not judge others when analyzing Mr. Hooper’s dialogue and the feelings of the townsfolk. Analysis of Reverend Hooper’s character clearly indicates that he feels that everyone has a secret sin and we should not judge others. Hawthorne states that, “‘If it must be a sign of mourning,’ replied Mr. Hooper, ‘I perhaps like most other mortals, have sorrows deep enough to be typified by a black veil” (477). In stating this Mr. Hooper implies that everyone has a secret sin, or what he calls “dark sorrows.” He is also implying that since all mortals have secret sins we should not criticize others for it.

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910 Words | 4 Pages

In it, he writes of how the veil symbolizes secret sins that people have and that they try to hide from one another and, even, themselves. This shows his message of trying to get people to realize their secret sins and to repent of them to be saved, but in the text, is not so

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1096 Words | 5 Pages

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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563 Words | 3 Pages

The author uses deep emotions to describe the scene of the “Black Veil”. The passage uses older, outdated and uncommon language. First point of view was in the passage. Mr. Hooper says “Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil”. “Me” in the quotation marks is one example of first point of

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808 Words | 4 Pages

He must keep the veil on otherwise it will lose its significance. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses that the black veil is a symbol of shame. As the story begins, Hawthorne uses irony to describe why the black veil is important to convey the message the author is trying to send. For example, The author states, “when man does not vainly shrink from eye of his creator, them deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die!”

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682 Words | 3 Pages

In contrast, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” incorporates a narrative style, with the theme that one cannot hide from their own sins. Hawthorne writes, “There is an hour to come when all of us shall cast aside our veils.” The veil symbolizes sin, so the quote explains that one lives with their sins until death. This is a key line that ties the story’s theme

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991 Words | 4 Pages

Connor MacAdam Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 6 21 September 2017 Title Symbolism is present in almost every piece of literary fiction. Symbolism is used in many different forms to accomplish different needs that the author possesses within their literature and the literary environment as a whole. Within How to Read Literature Like a Professor Thomas Foster provides common examples of what authors like to symbolize in their writing to get the most out of each sentence. Foster shows how communion, seasons, and even weather can represent a plethora of literary opportunities for an author when writing.

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

The themes that are portrayed by the veil reveals, 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 the people’s secrets. Although most people would not wear a veil to hide their secrets from others, the minister is proving a point. By wearing a simple black veil Mr. Hooper is making all the villagers evaluate their everyday actions closely. The symbolic value of the black veil creates a dilemma that it between the minister and his environment, and the guilt that the veil also conveys.

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1277 Words | 6 Pages

The three levels in this parable of understanding the symbolism are to first understand what the author is objectifying the most in the parable. And in this case, it is a black piece of clothing that is covering his face. When an author keeps on repeating the same thing over and over again, it has to symbolize something. Secondly, the black veil got in the way of people. Such as, his soon to be wife.

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1358 Words | 6 Pages

In the “Minister's Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne looks to convey the wrongs of the Puritan faith through a character in his story. Hawthorne effectively does this through his use of Mr. Hooper, a man who embodies all of the Puritan faith and a man who would be admired by many of his religion. Hawthorne uses both Mr. Hooper and the veil Hooper wears to portray and criticize the issues of sin and morality within the Puritan faith. Before diving in to all that Hawthorne exposes of the Puritan faith, historical context is vital to understanding Hawthorne’s purpose of writing his story.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

In the “Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne displays Hooper and the symbol of the veil as a representation of how judgmental society can become when faced with situations they don’t understand even though they have no right to judge. The “Minister’s Black Veil” was written as a parable in order to teach us a moral lesson stating that you should never judge someone. In Paul J. Emmett’s literary criticism he tells of a point in the story when Hooper explains his reasoning for wearing the veil, Emmett says, “After exhausting life in his efforts for mankind’s spiritual good, he had made the manner of his death a parable, in order to impress on his admirers the mighty and mournful lesson, that, in the view of infinite purity, we

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1499 Words | 6 Pages

In his short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses irony, symbolism, and stereotypical Puritan beliefs and behavior to expose humanity’s hypocrisy in an effort to create change. Irony is an extremely important literary element that Hawthorne uses in “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Throughout the story, many different examples of irony are evident. First off, the

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