Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for some of his well-written literary pieces. Some of Hawthorne’s literary works is the “The Minister 's Black Veil” and The Scarlet Letter. Within these literary pieces, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to shape the perspectives of the community members on how they see an individual wearing the symbol and how the person wearing the symbol feels externally and internally within. Symbols can mean many things, it may or may not change over time. It’s up to one to let a symbol define them or not, it they allow it to define them, let it be in a way where it’s turned into something beautiful. Actions, something we do every day, sometimes without thinking twice if we should act on it or not. Whether if they are …show more content…
Hawthorne writes, "Why do you tremble at me alone?.. Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best-beloved; when a man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely, reasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster’’(Hawthorne, 8). This textual evidence shows that the townspeople were scared of Mr. Hooper, they all thought he sinned badly and that he in general was a scary guy because of his appearance. People were uneasy around both characters. They did not see him for who he was on the inside, they only saw him for what he had shown externally. Just like in The Scarlet Letter with Hester, the townspeople also saw her for her sin, almost as if the scarlet letter was the only thing that could define her. Hester was always constantly being judged and talked about, just like Mr. Hooper was. Both characters had to deal with ignominy every day of their life. They lived in a society where if one were to commit a sin or thought to commit one the whole town will be talking about …show more content…
I would say Hester did, because even though she was being judged by her sin like Mr. Hooper, he was not as excluded in ways she was, so Hester had a longer lasting impression. The way she portrayed herself is an example for society today. We must not allow something we have done in the past affect us in ways it shouldn 't. Past mistakes help shape who you are, so make the best out the situation. Just like Hester did, and accept the past for what it is, like Mr. Hooper did. Hawthorne’s “The Minister 's Black Veil” and The Scarlet Letter both have a moral lesson within their story, with the whole thing on sin, everyone does it. Actions lead to consequences, which may become into sins. Only let yourself define who you are. A symbol can carry great meaning, choose to have a great
Throughout his literary endeavors, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to present a certain theme that pertains to human nature and life. In his works, The Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil", Hawthorne uses symbolism to present a common theme pertaining to religion; that though manifested sin will ostracize a person from society, un-confessed sin will destroy the soul.
By Hester committing a sin, they weren’t being sentenced to eternal damnation, she was. All the townspeople did was make Hester’s life a living hell. However, ironically, Hawthorne contrasts the goodness and strength with the cruelty of the religious Puritans. The letter ‘A’ upon her breast harsh cruel enough. It was “represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it” (Hawthorne 97). Hester’s identity was swallowed by her marking. Nobody knew the true Hester Prynne because the society connected the letter to her morality. Hester wasn’t a person who should be damned to Hell, but the Puritans thought so when they saw her chest. Hester almost escaped this life of being enslaved by the letter, but “Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but out loud, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation” (Hawthorne 180). She chose to live her life with the embroidery upon her chest,
Nathaniel Hawthorne has an immense focus on symbolism and isn’t afraid to place it on nearly every page of The Scarlet Letter, through the darkness of guilt underneath the stellar night sky, to the shining of innocence portrayed through pearl, symbolism covers the pages beautifully, some may criticize the book for possessing too much symbolism, but there must be a main theme to every book, and The Scarlet Letter is no acceptance. Symbolism plays such a story driving part in The Scarlet Letter and yet portrayed subtly and obviously throughout, and without a doubt has seared the book into
In the story of, “The Minister’s Black Veil” it mainly has to do with curiosity and lots of mystery. It takes place on a Sunday at church when suddenly a man with a black veil shows up. The veil covered his eyes, which made everyone fear of him and become curious as to why he was wearing that veil. That is when many unanswered questions came into mind. For Example, if the reason why he was wearing that veil was to keep a sin, then the people thought they had a right to know the big secret behind all this mystery. Therefore, since nobody knew the actual reason in which why he wore the veil people thought it was unfair of him to keep the big secret to himself.
Nathaniel Hawthorne values symbols to develop themes, evoke emotion and indicate layers of meanings that add to the story’s complexity. The symbols of the scarlet letter, in The Scarlet Letter, and the black veil, in The Minister’s Black Veil, while similar in many ways, are vastly different. Most notably, the scarlet letter and the veil differ on why each character incorporates the emblem into their nature, the insight of their sin and the reason for punishment. Furthermore, the two symbols have unequivocally woven themselves into the basic fundamentals of each of the character’s attribute’s, their portrayal of shame, sin and the judgement of others.
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Minister’s Black Veil” minister Arthur Dimmesdale and minister Reverend Hooper have quite a lot in common they deal with a great deal of sorrow and grief. Both men have something that weighs them down and affects them in ways more than one In these two stories. They are both well respected puritan men who were looked up upon by their communities until they revealed that they had committed a sin.
Although producing literary success, Nathaniel Hawthorne lead a rather lonely and introverted life. He was tended to avoid the public eye by keeping himself busy with his writings. He also seemed ashamed of his lineage and Puritan background. By shying away from others and his family circumstances, he can be compared to Mr. Hooper from The Minister's black veil written by Hawthorne himself. In the short story, Mr.Hooper hid his face with a black veil as a metaphor to how we tend to hide our sins. Similarly, Hawthorne hid parts of his life from others.
Most people define a symbol as something, such as an object or an action, utilized in a literary work to represent something else with the belief that the symbol can represent one thing and one thing only. This defines an allegory, a much more obscure literary device, meanwhile a symbol has the exact same function of an allegory except it has the capability to represent many different things instead of just one. This adjusted definition of a symbol now gives symbols much more versatility and allows many more possibilities as to what a symbol could represent. In his short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne exploits the black veil to symbolize omnipresent sin everyone possesses and the isolation public wrongdoing brings in
Symbolism is when something holds a deeper significance or meaning than originally intended. In literature, authors will often use symbolism to keep the reader’s attention and pull them in. Symbolism can allow for a reader to relate on a deeper level to imaginary characters and it can bring a story to life. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne gives almost everything a greater meaning. He allows for his audience to be drawn into the storyline by changing the symbolism behind things and always remembering to add little details and descriptions. Hawthorne, draws readers into his novel, The Scarlet Letter, by adding symbolism to the forest, the meteor and of course the scarlet letter “A”.
Many people reacted with shock or agitation after a minister began wearing a crape upon his face. A crape is a piece of black cloth worn as a sign of mourning. Nathaniel Hawthorne was intrigued with the pathology and psychology of the human mind. One example is, “indirectly participated in the growing medical trend of pathologizing excessive religious fervor.” (Goldman) Hawthorne wanted to play with the human mind and see how they would react based of their beliefs and emotions. In Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil, there are three main messages.
Hawthorne, a writer of many books filled with symbolism,writes The Minister’sBlack Veil as his other stories, a masterful work of art. In The Minister’s Black Veil, the main character, Reverend Hooper is a priest who dons a black veil and lives through the abuses of society, being unable to choose for himself what he wants without being despised by the town who had willingly accepted him before.To start, Hawthorne begins showing readers a peaceful town, however, this town bears the problems that all towns face, the startling inability people cannot escape, sins, and the town’s collective sins are borne as the sins of society, Reverend Hooper’s sins, and the punishment that Hooper forces himself through being the only man seeking atonement and
Nathaniel Hawthorne creates thrilling stories through his creative and deliberate use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, Young Goodman Brown, and The Minister’s Black Veil. His stories are built on the reader’s interpretation of the characters and objects individually and uniquely. All components of his writing help construct a profound plot with complex characters and messages. Hawthorne is able to build The Scarlet Letter into more than just a story of a woman shamed for adultery. Young Goodman Brown serves as an example of Puritan society and the effects of going off the path. The Minister’s Black Veil provides a new perspective on the deep guilt of living in secret sin.
In his short story, The Minister's Black Veil, Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the greater meaning of the veil through multiple symbols throughout the text. Hawthornes' story suggests that the minster wears the veil to bear the dark sins of the community over his face, to hide his personal sorrow and shame over something he has done in his past, and that he wears the veil to illustrate a parallel of how the townspeople are strangers to themselves, as the minister is a stranger to them. Hawthorne incorporates these symbols into a dark narrative that leaves the reader questioning the greater good of society.
A regular sinful nature is when someone is admitted to a unholy event or character, it is not a sinful nature to but a piece of clothing on. As Hooper puts on the black veil everyone in society looked at him more of a sinner than a respectful clergyman. Hawthorne uses his thoughts of Puritan ideas to create his stories like The Minister’s Black Veil, where the Puritans believed everything happened for a reason. As shown in The Minister's Black Veil, Hawthorne uses symbolism for Hooper’s characteristic to show how Hooper was alienated, what specific role he played in the story, and how he was revealed to alienation.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most creative symbolists in 19th century literature. Throughout his novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes use of various effective symbols that are represented through characters and the scarlet letter itself. These symbols are used to represent the various aspects of rigid Puritan society.