Essay On The Minister's Black Veil

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Minister's Black Veil” there are many secrets, many dark areas, both literal and metaphorical. These secretive aspects are not centered just on the minister himself, but on all the townspeople. The black veil represents the sins of Mr. Hooper. He has concealed a plethora of sins in the years he has been a minster. This has broken him down and he committed a terrible sin. In the very beginning of the story the Minister is mourning the death of the young girl and begins wearing the veil. This is the event that leads to the congregation and the townspeople speculating what the true meaning of the veil is. “For example, people have speculations that Mr. Hooper committed adultery with the young girl that died at the beginning of the story. The black veil was simply Hooper's admission of his own humanity, that he was not a perfect, sinless being.” Article 3 by Searis West. If there is anyone you can tell your sins to; ordinarily it should be your …show more content…

Hooper’s veil could have been the sins of the townspeople. Being a minister Mr. Hooper listens to the sins of the people during their confessions. Listening to the of the sins he may feel a need to protect himself from them. “The townspeople grow uncomfortable with him because they start to become aware of their own sin.” Article 3 by Searis West. The townspeople become guilty and afraid of Mr. Hooper. They know that he knows their sins. If Mr. Hooper is starting to breakdown and can’t handle all the sins he has heard, it is bad news for the towns people. In conclusion, the symbolic veil represents the sins of Mr. Hooper. It shows that people can't hide from their sins, overtime those sins will build up ruin their souls and the only way to find peace is through repentance from God. If It was the sins of the people, I feel he could have at least told his fiancée. However, he did not and that lead to the loss of Elizabeth’s trust. Mr. Hooper was never looked at the same way

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