The Theme in “The Minister’s Black Veil”
Morse Peckham in “The Development of Hawthorne’s Romanticism” explains what he interprets Hawthorne’s main theme to be in his short stories:
This technique, though Hawthorne’s is different from that of European writers, creates analogies between self and not-self, between personality and the worlds. . . .Henceforth Hawthorne’s theme is the redemption of the self through the acceptance and exploitation of what society terms the guilt of the individual but which to the Romantic is society’s guilt (92).
The interplay between the guilt of the individual, Reverend Mr. Hooper, and society’s guilt, underlies all of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” from beginning to end. In fact, the parson’s final words emphasize this fact: “I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!''
But is guilt the main theme? Clarice Swisher in “Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography” states: ”When Hawthorne called his stories ‘romances,’ he meant that they belong within the romantic movement that . . . . emphasize imagination and personal freedom” (18). In this tale where does this “personal freedom” lead. It leads to a Puritan parson masking his face with crape., which, in turn, leads to his alienation by the parishioners. Is this the more dominant theme?
The theme is the “general concept or doctrine, whether implicit or asserted, which an imaginative work is designed to incorporate and make persuasive to the reader” (Abrams 170). In this tale the dominanat theme is to this reader one man’s alienation from society. Hyatt Waggoner in “Nathaniel Hawthorne” states:
Alienation is perhaps the theme he handles with greatest power....
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...Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Peckham, Morse. “The Development of Hawthorne’s Romanticism.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Sullivan, Wilson. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In New England Men of Letters. New York: Macmillan Co., 1972.
Swisher, Clarice. “Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Waggoner, Hyatt. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century, edited by Richard Foster. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.
Williams, Stanley T. “Hawthorne’s Puritan Mind.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
One of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers was John Locke, an English philosopher and physician. His work and ideas had a incomputable impact on modern day society. He was known as “Father of Liberalism” due to his opinions of freedoms and liberty. According to Locke, the people were entitled to have control over themselves as long as it adheres to the law. The Second Treatise on Civil Government by John
Nathaniel Hawthorne used the writing of Romanticism in describing the life of Puritans. Romanticism appreciate nature, value emotions over reasoning, trust people are good in general but get corrupted by the society, appraise individual rights and believe in supernatural. Nathanial Hawthorne was a Romantic writer born in 1804. As a descendant of Puritan, Hawthorne was fascinated about Puritans culture, so he used Romanticism writing style to describe the life of Puritans (Pierce). Puritans were originated from Great Britain and immigrated to America. They believed that Bible was the only source of their conduct and faith, and in their entire lives, they should maintain devoting their lives to the Christ. Puritans encouraged more preaching, and they wanted the simplicity form of clothing and ceremonies (Havran). Even though “The Minister’s Black Veil” is a story about Puritans, there are still plenty of dedicate depictions in a way of Romanticism.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne – Biography.” The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
Life experiences, upbringing and interactions with fellow individuals affect the person’s outlook on life in general as well as their perception of reality. Authors, poets and writers in possess a talent to describe these experiences through an art form they explicitly excel in. Hawthorne is a
account of success and its unhappy fallout, and a great look into New York City life
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
As a technician, Hawthorne’s style in literature was abundantly allegorical, using the characters and plot to acquire a connection and to show a moral lesson. His definition of romanticism was writing to show truths, which need not relate to history or reality. Human frailty and sorrow were the romantic topics, which Hawthorne focused on most, using them to finesse his characters and setting to exalt good and illustrate the horrors of immorality. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences as a man, incite as a philosopher and skill as a technician can be seen when reading The Scarlet Letter.
In the novel The Scarlet Letter and the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Nathaniel Hawthorne incorporates romantic elements, such as beauty, truth, innocence, and sin, in his criticism of Puritan societies. In both texts, Hawthorne argues that all people, even those in strictly religious societies with corrupted standards, are capable of sin. Hawthorne uses symbolism and light and dark imagery to convey his argument.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. Charlottesville, Va: University of Virginia Library, 1996. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
Hawthorne is a dark romantic because of his early life, dismal adulthood. He grew up without a father, when he was four his father died, leaving his mother and two sisters (Pearson 1). Pearson said the woods helped young Hawthorne heal, when he was young he was considered to be “delicate”, and Hawthorne became a reckless child injuring himself leaving him laid up for almost a year (1). While he was healing he developed a strong love for reading (1). When he was old enough he added a W to his name to escape his ancestor’s background because his great-great-grandfather was a judge at the Salem Witch Trials, and he was the only man to not apologize for sentencing innocent people to their deaths (Allen 454). “I take shame upon myself for their sakes and pray that any curse incurred by them…may now and henceforth removed” (454). Hawthorne was also fascinated by common man because he saw himself different from them, and he avoided failures daily (Bloom 33). Hawthorne didn’t waste his time “chatting” with people especially people who he thought of as fools (33). Hawthorne’s methods were to love and pity mankind more than he mocked them, he never created a character which didn’t possess a soul; another method was to write with a noble respect for his own...
Martin, Terence. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Revised Edition. Twayne’s United States Authors Series. G.K. Hall & Company. Massachusetts. 1983.
Physical education is defined nowadays as a “systematic instruction in sports, exercises, and hygiene given as part of a school or college program” (Park). When most people think of the term “physical education” they think of it as “a broad, inclusive term comprising the fields of physical education, health education, safety education, athletics, recreation, dance education, kinesiology and so on” (Zeigler 1). It may sometimes be referred to as physical training or gym class and mainly is taught in grades kindergarten all to the way up to your senior year in high-school in the United States. The history of physical education dates way back to the Greek and Roman times and has slowly evolved into what it is now today. There is a long tradition that goes along with physical education and many events and people have helped influence it over the years and it has now developed into a profession in America.
The Enlightenment also known as the age of reason is the name giving to an important period of Western civilization that followed the renaissance. The Enlightenment occurred roughly from the mid-sixteenth hundreds up to the end of the seventeenth hundreds, and it was a time where the human ability to reason was glorify. The word enlightenment means a time of illumination. It was a time of an influential group of scholars, writes, artists, and scientists actively sought to use the reason over the superstition. As a result of their efforts, tremendous improvement in the understanding of mathematics and science occurred. And whole new ideas regarding basic human rights and democracy were developed. As a result of the age of Enlightenment, there were changes in European and Euro-American understandings of sovereignty, as to who should have the power and lead a society, and the relation between the leaders and their subjects.
As a child it was something that was terrifying yet far away from me. I can’t recollect any memories of being confused about death. As time has progressed and I’ve been made aware of more deaths occurring around me I realize it is not something far away from me. I still fear death at this point in life, but I with less anxiety and more appreciation for it as being a necessary part of our society, ecosystem and life.