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Individuality vs conformity
The minister’s black veil by nathaniel hawthorne figurative language
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)The Minister’s Black Veil
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Standing Out From the Crowd In today’s society, people are taught to conform to the masses in order to fit in; however, it is imperative that one’s individuality is maintained, as it preserves their identity and encourages uniqueness. For example, in the song, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”, Phil Ochs discusses the social norm where people are too afraid to stand out, often times, leading them to pay little to no attention to the wellbeing of others. Instead of adhering to their own judgment and moral values, the person in the song continues to abide by the notions of the rest of the group. In addition, in “The Dying Girl that No One Helped”, Loudon Wainright describes the brutal murder of a young 28 year old women, while over 38 of …show more content…
Yet another example includes the parable entitled “The Ministers Black Veil” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, where a highly respected minister is looked down upon for wearing a black veil over his face. The minister is aware of the gossip his veil initiates within the town, but continues to wear it despite the opinions of others. The importance of maintaining ones individuality under the pressures of conformity is an idea most pertinent to “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”, “The Dying Girl that No One Helped”, and “The Minister’s Black Vail”. The song “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends” discusses the importance of individuality by showing the perspective of a person conforming to the rest of society and how they ultimately affect the world around them. For instance, the song states “I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody outside of a small circle of friends” (Ochs). This shows that the person in the song is deeply concerned with what others around them may think, and has little regard for their own opinions and moral values. The repetitiveness of this …show more content…
For example, according to Loudon, “For the most part the witnesses, couching in darkened windows like watchers of a late show, looked on until the play was passed their view. Then they went back to bed…” (Wrainright). This insinuates that none of Kitty’s neighbors contacted the police or did anything else to help in the situation until the next morning. If one of the neighbors would have just stood up for Kitty, or even called the police before the murderer returned to finish the job, then she may not have died. In addition, after the incident, one of the witnesses went on to say, “There are people over there who saw everything… And there hasn’t been a peep out of them yet. Not one peep” (Wainright). The reason for this may be that the people are scared to be the first to come and give statements to the police after not having done anything to stop the murder. The witnesses may also be feeling guilty or ashamed after realizing that they had just stood by as their fellow neighbor was killed. It is for this reason that it is so imperative that people not be pressured into conforming, because now all of the witnesses will have to carry the guilt of having not helped for the rest of their lives. Lastly, other witnesses admitted to not wanting to get involved, in the event that they may be taken in as a possible suspect or
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" illustrates the dangers of secret sin. Allowing guilt from things done in the past, things that cannot be changed, can ruin lives. The life of the secret-carrier will be devastated, along with the lives of that person's most loved ones. Hawthorne uses various types of figurative language in his works to portray his message. "The Minister's Black Veil” is no exception; Hawthorne uses symbolism and suggestion to add depth and mystery.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s parable the “Minister’s Black Veil” his theme of the story is that nobody can escape a sin. An analysis on the surface of the story is one day Mr. Hooper minister of a congregation in Milford, MA, a small settlement of puritans, working hard just to sustain life. When the sexton tolls the bell Mr. Hooper comes out as usual but wearing a black veil. In my opinion this shows that Mr. Hooper is showing that he committed a sin and he wear the black veil as a way to say everyone wears a mask. The congregation is confused at why he wears the black veil, though everyone is afraid of how he’ll react if they ask him.
Nathaniel Hawthorne in “The Minister’s Black Veil” is able to show the hypocrisy and the overemphasis of the Puritan people and their beliefs by engaging the reader in this short story by using “a gentlemanly person” (409) who decides to start wearing a black veil over his face. As Milford’s finest gather on “the porch of [the] meeting house” (409) and enjoy the hope of another Sunday service, the townspeople’s sunny disposition and picturesque setting soon changes as Parson Hooper emerges with a “simple piece of crape” covering his face. This unusual appearance of the Reverend to the townspeople even has some of them feeling faint and forcing some women “of delicate nerves to leave the service” (410). Even though Parson Hooper’s demeanor and his polite and gracious behavior is the same as always, and his preaching is much more interesting and entertaining, the townspeople perceive their minister far differently. As Parson Hooper continues to don the veil, people start to stare at him and rumors begin to fly, especially since his sermon dealt with the topic of secret sin. As the people make him a social pariah, Parson Hooper becomes a representation of hidden sin and an object of dread. Even as death knocks on his door, Parson Hooper still will not allow himself to be unveiled, in fact, Hooper finally reveals that no one should be afraid of him, but of one another because “men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled” (417) all because of a simple black veil. Through the use of symbols, Hawthorne is able to use this short story to prove that the community people and the Puritan’s religion and their beliefs are hypocritical and over zealous.
Born of Osiris is one of the most popular examples of a death metal band. Their newest album has a song called "The Machine." The opening lyrics are "separate yourself from the machine, embrace your own identity, escape the pressure."This is a very clear example of lyrics encouraging listeners to be their own person and to not fall into a monotonous, and plain lifestyle. This is definitely a positive message; society needs individuals. It needs variety, if not, society becomes as plain a bowl of oatmeal. Everyone would be the same, no one would do things differently than their neighbor out of fear of criticism. This situation is to be avoided and even death metal bands are pushing for a varying social structure.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" embodies the hidden sins that we all hide and that in turn distance us from the ones we love most. Reverend Hooper dons a black veil throughout this story, and never takes it off. He has discerned in everyone a dark, hidden self of secret sin. In wearing the veil Hooper dramatizes the isolation that each person experiences when they are chained down by their own sinful deeds. He has realizes that symbolically everyone can be found in the shadow of their own dark veil. Hooper in wearing this shroud across his face is only amplifying the dark side of people and the truth of human existence and nature.
The “Minister’s Black Veil” is one of Hawthorne’s short stories. The setting is in a Massachusetts Puritan town during the 18th century. Parson Hooper comes to the Milford meetinghouse on a bright and sunny Sunday morning with a black veil covering his eyes. The townspeople immediately start gossiping and wondering why he is a wearing a veil. The Parson
The corruption of hidden sin and guilt is exemplified by the late Gilbert Parker who once said, “In all secrets there is a kind of guilt… Secrecy means evasion, and evasion means a problem to the mortal mind.” Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America’s major authors, often wrote about the harsh realities of human existence such as sin, redemption, and morality. In “Minister’s Black Veil,” the main character, Reverend Hooper, wears a veil over his face during his sermons. Though his sermons are very powerful, a feeling of fear and mystery is evoked in the congregation and often in everyday life due to the strange veil that he refuses to remove. On his deathbed, miraculously, Hooper still has enough strength to resist his veil being lifted; his eyes forever covered, he dies with the veil. Hawthorne uses symbols of the black veil to portray hidden sin, guilt, and peculiar shame attaching to sin in Puritan beliefs.
Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, the girl who was murdered, saw a man outside her apartment building she had never seen before. He followed her down the street as she walked towards her door, and before she could get there, the man snuck up and stabbed her. The thirty-eight people living in Kew Gardens watched their neighbor get attacked and stabbed three times. None of the neighbors called the police, not until after the murder was committed. One neighbor stalled the murder by screaming out his window telling the man to stop, but he too did not call the police. When asked why they did not call the cops, many of the people said they simply did not want to get involved, or they thought someone else called. Martin Gansberg argued that if some of Kitty Genovese’s neighbors called the police when they saw her get stabbed, they could have saved her life; because of this, people need to
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a world renowned author of the 19th century. He is known for his pessimistic attitude which consequently added a certain symbolism to his short story called The Ministers Black Veil. This story tells of a small Puritan town in the 1600's whose minister decides to don a black veil that covers his eyes. Hawthorn’s depiction of the black veil worn by the minister is a mysterious symbol to the reader and the audience in the story. The veil represents secret sin which plays on to reveal the townsfolks’ raw human nature.
In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne shows how even something as small as an article of clothing worn by an individual can have a great impact on other’s perceptions and behaviors toward that person. In the beginning of the story the townspeople first see Mr. Hooper, the minister, wearing a veil that covers his face except for his mouth and chin and they begin to wonder what he is hiding. He is treated as if he has done something wrong and the townspeople shun him and the children even run in fear when he comes near. Hooper refuses to remove the veil for anyone, even his fiancé, and he continues to wear the veil until his death and is buried with it on. I chose the option in this assignment because I have a lot of experience of being judged by others based on something that can be seen from the outside. For many years, I was a cheerleader and was subjected to judgments from fellow athletes as well as others who judged my character and intelligence based solely on this one thing they knew about me. At times, I have been called out for articles of clothing that I wear. I have also been treated poorly and called names simply because I am often quiet and shy.
It is well recognized that rock songs often express the issues society faces in regards to defying convention. When you analyze the lyrics, these artists are portraying a storyline that most listeners can relate to, due to previous or current experiences. For example, Suicidal Tendencies “Institutionalized”, tells a story that all individuals can relate to, considering we all went through those gruesome teenage years.
“Minister’s Black Veil” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This story was published in the 1832 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. This story was written during the American Romanticism, many people related to this story. Nathaniel Hawthorne tied in puritanism to this story, even though he didn’t agree with puritans. Important to realize, Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to show how people can hid their selves. This is to say everyone has their own personal sins, good and bad. Notably, Mr. Hopper was transcribed and described in a perfect manner. Throughout this story, I feel as though the minister was trying to get a point across to everyone, but no one caught on. Instead, people thought he was strange. For the most part, the minister knew
The Minister’s Black Veil, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1836, is a parable about a minister, Mr. Hooper, who constantly wears a mysterious black veil over his face. The people in the town of Milford, are perplexed by the minister’s veil and cannot figure out why he insists on wearing it all of the time. The veil tends to create a dark atmosphere where ever the minister goes, and the minister cannot even stand to look at his own reflection. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's literary work, The Minister 's Black Veil, the ambiance of the veil, separation from happiness that it creates, and the permanency of the black veil symbolize sin in people’s lives.
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Hawthorne, one will be judged and looked down on for being different. For example, a character was wearing a veil and was brought to the audience’s attention while in church. He is looked down on for being unique and for not looking as formal as the rest of the people in church. The author claims in a part of the story that “ He has changed himself into something awful, only by
“The Minister's Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about a minister who wears a black veil and through the story people from his town are trying to figure out why he has it on and they finally realize that it's because of his sins so they start thinking about his sins and the story develops from there. There are so many american romanticism characterics that are typical in this story for example the inevitability of fate, the failure of human nature, the limitations of humanity, mystery and suspense and conflict, sadness and the disconnect between man and his nature are all parts of romanticism in this era. Elizabeth’s reaction to the veil is personal; she is concerned both with her reputation and that of her husband:“Beloved and