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Young Goodman Brown Vs Minister's Black Veil Essay

477 Words2 Pages

In both “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne attempts to evoke the truth of the human heart. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown lives in Salem where everyone is considered to be pure and holy. During Brown’s journey to the forest, he runs into a man who is revealed to be the devil. “The devil!” Screamed the pious old lady. (Hawthorne 317) “...fixed upon as remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent.” (Hawthorne 316) The pious old woman continues to call the supposed devil “your worship”. Deacon Gookin and the minister are both travelling to the meeting in the woods. They are both men that …show more content…

Hooper is seen wearing a black veil. Day after day, Hooper continues to wear the veil and never takes it off. People begin to wonder why he wears it and make up a variety of different explanations. “Something must surely be amiss with Mr. Hooper’s intellects.” (Hawthorne 326) Another explanation is that Hooper did something so terrible, that he wears the veil to mask the volume of the awful act(s) he has committed. Hooper says something interesting towards the middle of the story in response to his girlfriend’s questions about the veil: “If I hid my face for sorrow, there is cause enough,” he merely replied; “and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” (Hawthorne 329) This shows that Mr. Hooper is indeed hiding secret sin and something vastly influential enough to wear a black veil and never take it off. If the holy Parson Hooper has a great sin or a great many sins, then what chance does any other person have to be pure and a good Christian? Even the most righteous people can be full of sin. Both stories do an excellent job at evoking the truth of the human heart, and showing people that no mortal man or woman is without sin no matter the occupation or way of

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298 Words | 2 Pages

After reading both of the text “The Minister 's Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards they’re various similarities and differences can be noted, especially toward the attitudes of sin and guilt. In the story’s the are just portrayed a little bit different. In both stories the feel that sinning is horrible and should be frowned upon. In the story the “Minister 's Black Veil” Nathaniel Hawthorne wants the reader to know that Reverend Hooper is wanting to hide his past sins.

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1178 Words | 5 Pages

On his deathbed, Hooper refuses to remove the black viel until “‘Man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil’" (Hawthorne). Hooper admits that he wore the black veil physically to reflect individuals’ sins and their unwillingness to accept them. Instead of society accepting the meaning of the black veil, they only express judgment for Hooper’s ability to express his sins in his physical appearance.

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522 Words | 3 Pages

Since Mr. Hooper will not break to these cries and pleas he is only separating himself from everyone else and society. Throughout the story “Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper sacrifices many thing by him wearing the black veil. As a result of Mr. Hooper’s actions he sacrifices his social life, he sacrifices his relationship with his wife Elizabeth, and he is separating himself from society by wearing the black

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872 Words | 4 Pages

(pg. 453)” Young Goodman Brown is a man living in the puritan era who has a wife and family, and is deep in his Christian faith. Young Goodman Brown lived in a town that is all connected to through the local church. Early in the story Young Goodman brown would set out to meet a person who would later be labeled as the devil by one of the locals. Young Goodman brown would have a vision of everyone in his community that would show him their wicked sins.

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559 Words | 3 Pages

Hooper was wearing the veil to make people that actually did sin feel better about themselves. He was looked at as an idol by everyone so why would he wear a veil for people who did wrong? Mr. Hooper did something someone of his position was sacred to do and he was scared for his fiancée and his church to find out. As a reverend he was not supposed to sin, and that is why everyone looked at him differently and judged him without knowing why he wore the veil. By wearing the veil, he had to commit another sin and lie to his fiancée about why he was wearing it and he broke their vows as a result.

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497 Words | 2 Pages

In a community of metaphoric veils only the veil seen by the public eye is known as obstructive or harmful. Throughout the story, Hooper was portrayed as a monster for publicly wearing the veil as a symbol of his sins. “To surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else” (Dictionary.com). “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Reverend Hooper sacrificed his love, his dignity, his own happiness, and his position in the community by wearing a veil, which led to his alienation.

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

The wearing of the veil is a confession of guilt and a suggestion that everyone should do the same. Mr. Hooper really did not understand how much this black veil was going to affect the congregation until raising his glass in a toast for a newlywed couple and catching a glimpse of himself in the looking glass. Right then and there is when Mr. Hooper realized, "the Earth, too, had on her black veil” (Hawthorne 2145). This means that everyone is hiding; most people would not wear a black veil and have no reason in doing so. Is it that the people afraid of what the veil represents to Mr. Hooper or are they afraid of what it represents to themselves?

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1265 Words | 6 Pages

The traits and actions of the townspeople throughout the story show their opinions on Mr. Hooper’s actions. All over the town their first instinct was to avoid Mr. Hooper as much as possible. In response to the veil,“ None, as on former occasions, aspired to the honor of walking by their pastor’s side”(Hawthorne 2). This is significant to the theme of the story because rather than branching out and asking Mr. Hooper about his veil, the town begins to make their own assumption which could potentially lead them into trouble. As the townspeople avoided Mr. Hooper, they failed to get to know the story behind the veil.

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1277 Words | 6 Pages

Just because he didn’t show his bare face to Elizabeth, she ended their relationship. “...material emblem had separated him from happiness, though the horrors, which it shadowed forth, must be drawn darkly between the fondest of lovers.” (Hawthorne 12) Hooper is thinking about what he has done but still doesn’t do anything about it because the black veil signified something more important to him. “Each character, then, is faced with the prospect of assuming mature responsibilities, and each story is an account of how he responds to this crucial psychological situation.” (Askew 2)

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2291 Words | 10 Pages

“Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hooper, and would not yield their breath till he appeared…” (Hawthorne 185). McFarland establishes that because the veil made Hooper an effective minister, “The community, then, does find use for the anomalous citizen.” “...though ever, as he stooped to whisper consolation, they shuddered at the veiled face so close to their own” (Hawthorne 185). However, even when death was knocking on someone’s door, they could not fully justify his consolation because he still wore the

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1358 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the story, Mr. Hooper is covered by a black veil which masks his face. He continuously prevents anyone from seeing his face or persuading him to take it off. Through the use of the veil, Hawthorne paints a picture which shows how sin ruled over the Puritan communities and controlled each person among them. The veil itself becomes the center of attention for all members of Hooper’s Puritan congregation. The entire population of the town become scared of Hooper and believe that this man who was so high among their values, now has a horrid sinful past that he is trying to hide.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

Nancy L. Bunge is talking on the topic of how the veil was seen to others, Bunge says, “His veil shuts out happiness, giving a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things” (Bunge-19). This quote shows that Hooper’s veil brought darkness and unhappiness to many people. In life, we naturally want to be happy, but if something or someone is making us unhappy then we naturally alienate that someone or something from our lives. The veil’s darkness and unhappiness play a big role in the cause of Hooper’s alienation by his surrounding

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562 Words | 3 Pages

A certain darkness encompasses each of these stories and helps represent the recurring themes of evil and sin throughout them. In conclusion, “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are both strongly based in religion, contain symbolism, and share a dark mood. These elements enrich the stories by conveying the important points included in each one. Hawthorne synthesizes these elements in much of his literature, which explains how these stories are beautifully woven together like a well-crafted

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1054 Words | 5 Pages

The Loss of Spiritual Innocence as Seen through Imagery and Symbolism The theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short fictional story, “Young Goodman Brown” is the loss of spiritual innocence. Young Goodman Brown goes on an evening walk in the woods and meets the devil along the way. The devil shows Goodman Brown that all the people Brown deems to be spiritually strong, from his catechism teacher to the minister in his church, are imperfect people who have sin in their lives.

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810 Words | 4 Pages

Have you ever watched curiosity get the best of someone, or heard the age old saying curiosity killed the cat? In the story Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates this perfectly by showing just what happens when you start to question those around you. Young Goodman Brown represents an allegory by using religious imagery, character names, and struggles between good and evil. For example, the main characters’ names, Young Goodman Brown and Faith, could symbolize the innocence of youth and how temptations are always lurking.

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