The Minister's Black Veil Literary Analysis
In a community full of judgemental sinners one decides to face the truth. Throughout the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Reverend Hooper was treated as an outcast for confessing to his sins. Although Hooper was doing the right thing in God’s eyes the community thought of Hooper’s sacrifices as evil. In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne portrays God as Hoopers greatest value as he examines the dignity, happiness, and relationships Hooper sacrificed for his relationship with God.
By wearing the veil Reverend Hooper lost all of his self-respect and dignity. Instead of questioning the reverend and the townspeople strayed from him assuming the veil was a symbol of sin and evil. “Our parson has gone mad!”cried Goodman Gray, following him across the threshold”(Hawthorne 176). Hawthorne showing a representation to his readers that explains the way Reverend Hooper’s reputation had changed as he was talked about among the community. Throughout Hopper’s preaching Hawthorne shows the thoughts of the townspeople, “Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the word”(Hawthorne 177).The community could not …show more content…
“Some scholars have found that the focus of the story is not on what motivates Mr. Hooper to wear the veil but the effect the covering has on the minister and his congregation”("Explanation of: 'The Minister's Black Veil' by Nathaniel Hawthorne."). The main idea of the short story is to convey Hooper’s as well as the community’s reaction to the veil. Hawthorne uses Hooper’s sacrifices to reveal Hooper’s character throughout the process of wearing the veil. In a community full of judgemental sinners one decides to face the
By wearing the veil Reverend Hooper lost all of his self-respect and dignity. Instead of questioning the reverend and the townspeople strayed from him assuming the veil was a symbol of sin and evil. “Our parson has gone mad!”cried Goodman Gray, following him across the threshold”(Hawthorne 176). Hawthorne showing a representation to his readers that explains the way Reverend Hooper’s reputation had changed as he was talked about among the community. Throughout Hopper’s preaching Hawthorne shows the thoughts of the townspeople, “Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the word”(Hawthorne 177).The community could not …show more content…
“Some scholars have found that the focus of the story is not on what motivates Mr. Hooper to wear the veil but the effect the covering has on the minister and his congregation”("Explanation of: 'The Minister's Black Veil' by Nathaniel Hawthorne."). The main idea of the short story is to convey Hooper’s as well as the community’s reaction to the veil. Hawthorne uses Hooper’s sacrifices to reveal Hooper’s character throughout the process of wearing the veil. In a community full of judgemental sinners one decides to face the