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scarlet letter and minister's black veil comparison
symbolism in The Scarlet Letter
symbolism in The Scarlet Letter
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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
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the reader is introduced to Parson Hooper, the reverend of a small Puritan village. One Sunday morning, Hooper arrived to mass with a black veil over his impassive face. The townspeople began to feel uneasy due to their minister’s unusual behavior. When Parson appeared, “Few could refrain from twisting their heads towards the door; many stood upright….” (Monteiro 2). Throughout the story Hooper does not take off the black veil and the townspeople, including Reverend Clark from a nearby village, treat him as if he were contagious disease. A veil typically is used to represent sorrow, but in this story it is used to represent hidden sins. No one exactly knows why he
An assumption is a thought or opinion that is accepted as being true, without enough or any proof. In The Scarlet Letter and The Minister’s Black Veil, this occurred a lot in their community. Both stories were solemly based on this theme. Judgment went along with assumption. The people of the community in The Scarlet Letter used assumption as a way to justify an excuse of judging Hester Prynne. The people of the community in The Minister’s Black Veil, used assumptions to think of ways to describe how minister, Mr. Hooper, has changed. Punishment leads to judgment, false facts, confrontation, and change.
In both The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne uses symbolism to illustrate his argument that people in all societies are guilty of sin and hypocritically shame those who publicly express their wrongdoings to compensate for their own inner guilt. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” for example, the entire
Hawthorne's parable, "The Minister's Black Veil," uses symbols to illustrate the effect of shame and guilt. In the story, Mr. Hooper represents the average Christian with a deep longing to be holy, and have fellowship with man. However he allows the cross that he bears to come between himself and the latter. His secret is represented by the veil he wears. The veil itself is black, the color of both secrecy and sin. Spiritually, the veil embodies the presence of evil in all of mankind. In the physical realm it serves as emotional barrier between himself and everyone else (Timmerman). During his first sermon after donning the veil, it is observed that, "... while he prayed, the veil lay heavily on his uplifted countenance. Did he seek to hide it from the dread Being whom he was addressing?" (par 10). The veil made Mr. Hooper a powerful preacher. But even the people his messages touched the most would shudder when Mr. Hooper would move close to comfort them, his veiled face making them tremble (par 45). His personal relationships all but ceased to exist. Outside of church, he was seen as a bugbear, or monster. (par 44). Seemingly, the only one that did not fear the veil was his loving fiancée, Elizabeth. Elizabeth symbolizes purity. She is innocent and...
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.
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,
A symbol is an object used to stand for something else. Symbolism has a hidden meaning lying within it; these meanings unite to form a more detailed theme. Symbolism is widely used in The Scarlet Letter to help the reader better understand the deep meanings Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays throughout his novel. He shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. Hawthorne also shows this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.
Often in novels writers use symbolism as a device to make their themes and ideas come across clearly to the reader. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many forms of symbolism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts of hawthorn throughout the course of the book. The Scarlet letter itself is a symbol he uses to contradict the puritanical society of the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Pearl both as a symbol in the novel, and to work on the consciences of Hester and Dimmesdale.
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.
Through Hester and the symbol of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne reveals how sin can be utilized to change a person for the better, in allowing for responsibility, forgiveness, and a renewed sense of pride. In a Puritan society that strongly condemns adultery one would expect Hester to leave society and never to return again, but that does not happen. Instead, Hester says, “Here…had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom.” Hes...
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.
“Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used by the author to represent abstract ideas or concepts.” Symbolism in literature is the depth and hidden meaning in any piece of work. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a powerful and evocative novel laced with symbolism. The most obvious is the symbol of the scarlet letter itself, representing Hester’s sin of adultery. Hawthorne’s other symbols are less obvious and are very often obscured in the novel.
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.
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.