Name: Hajyahya Aseel
ID.: 201407681
Submitted to: Alias Natanela
Introduction to American literature
Due to: 26.5.2011
A Comparison in the theme of Sin between "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel's Hawthorne most famous masterpiece "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Minister's Black Veil" share and explore the same theme, the theme of sin, especially the secret sin. In this essay I will discuss the sin of the main characters in "the scarlet letter" and 'the minister black veil". Also compare and contrast the sin of each character with the other main characters.
The main protagonists of the scarlet letter are Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The scarlet letter is mainly about the "A" letter word, "adultery", how the sin of both Hester and Dimmesdale affects their life and the life of all the characters. The short story "the minister's black veil', is about the minister Reverend Hooper and sins.
The Minister’s Black Veil is about the pastor, Mister Hooper and the instant, unexplainable, and dramatic change of his appearance. Reverend Hooper placed a black veil, "swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. Though the minister’s actions do not change, people’s reactions to him do, including those of his congregation and his beloved Elizabeth. People are afraid and intimidated by the veil that hides his features and seems to separate him from the rest of mankind. They believe that Mr. Hooper must be hiding some secret sin, and the sight of him wearing the black veil reminds them of their own private transgressions.
"The Scarlet Letter", is about a free woman, Hester who came to a certain Puritan community to prepare a home for her husband.