Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the theme of the judgmental nature of humans to aid in the development of his short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil.” The main character is a reverend by the name of Mr. Hooper who decides to don a black veil which covers the entirety of his face except for his mouth and chin shortly after this work of literature begins. Because Mr. Hooper does not provide the people of his community with an explanation as to why he is wearing this veil, the townsfolk start to gossip excessively, constantly speculating his reason for putting on such a thing. An example of the inhabitants of his village spreading hearsay about him would be on the fourth page of this piece, “At the close of the services, the people hurried out with