Category: The Minister’s Black Veil

Many individuals may assume people who rebel against the society may result in a horrible outcome. Such as when America rebelled against Britain, because they were able to stand up for what they believed in and rebelled against the society, this created the United States and how it is today. In In the novel “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it tells a tale about a husband trying to get rid of the birthmark on his wife, so that she would finally be perfect. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, tells a tale of General Zaroff who gets bored of hunting animals and decides to hunt animals for pleasure. Because of this he makes a game out of it, and is defeated by Rainsford. Alas, in the novel “The Minister’s Black Veil”, tells a tale of Mr. Hooper who wears a black veil, the people are afraid of him, and Elizabeth even leaves him because of the veil. When he dies, the people were so afraid of him, that they buried him with the veil on him. Aylmer, General Zaroff, and Mr. Hooper all had consequences of rebelling against the society, Aylmer, because he wanted to get rid of the birthmark on his wife, ended up killing her, General Zaroff killed humans for pleasure and created a game out of it, but was killed in his own game, and Mr. Hooper who would not take down his black veil because of a sin he did, resulted in his death, in which everyone was afraid of him. Aylmer, General Zaroff, and Mr. Hooper all show ways of consequences of rebelling against the society.

Also, in the short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Aylmer tries to get rid of the birthmark on his wife. He comes up with a solution and as the birthmark on Georgiana disappears she exclaims,”’My poor Aylmer!’ murmured she. ‘Poor? Nay, richest, happiest, most favored!’ exclaimed he. ‘My peerless bride, it is successful! You are perfect!’” (Hawthorne 19). Aylmer who was eager to get rid of the birthmark on his wife, tried many ways and finally succeeded in getting rid of the birthmark. He believes that now his wife is perfect, and will be happy, but he does not realize that Georgiana is slowly fading away. Because the birthmark on Georgiana was connected to her life, as soon as it disappeared, it also resulted in,“… that sole token of human imperfection—faded from her cheek, the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere, and her soul, lingering a moment near her husband, took its heavenward flight” (Hawthorne 19). Because Georgiana respected her husband, she accepted the fact that her husband wanted to get rid of the birthmark. But because of Aylmer it resulted in the death of Georgiana, in which the hand-print birthmark on Georgiana was connected deep into her heart. Because of her trust and love on Aylmer, Georgiana was willing to sacrifice herself for the perfection that Aylmer always wanted and he, “need not thus have flung away the happiness which would have woven his mortal life of the selfsame texture with the celestial….he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present” (Hawthorne 19). Because Aylmer wanted his wife to be perfect, he did not think about the result and the consequences that would happen if he had failed to get rid of the birthmark. Though he succeeded it resulted in the death of his wife.

Furthermore in the narrative,“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, General Zaroff gets bored of hunting animals and starts to hunt humans, which results in his death. General Zaroff gets bored of hunting and says that it has,”become too easy. I always got my quarry. Always. There is no greater bore than perfection’” (Connell 7). General Zaroff has hunted since he was young, and so he believes that now hunting animals is too easy for him, so he is getting bored of it. General Zaroff wants something more, something that could fulfil his pleasure, and not get bored of so he wondered,”`What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?’ And the answer was, of course, `It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason’” (Connell 7). General Zaroff wanted something that he could hunt, but it had to have courage, courage, and the ability to reason. The only thing that could so this was a human, he wanted to hunt humans for his pleasure, so when Rainsford landed on the Shipwreck Island, General Zaroff had already planned to hunt him down, as part of his game. But then on the 3rd day, Rainsford was still alive so,”The general made one of his deepest bows. ‘I see,’ he said. ‘Splendid! One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford.’ . . . He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided” (Connell 15). The general made the game because he believed that he was undefeatable, but he was then defeated by Rainsford which was very ironic. Having believed that he was invulnerable, he underestimated Rainsford. Because he underestimated Rainsford, General Zaroff died and was killed by a human, as a consequence for killing so many innocent people who got trapped on the island and was forced to be part of his game to fulfill his joy for hunting, not caring about the lives of those people that he had killed.

Moreover in the novel, “The Minister’s Black Veil ”, Mr. Hooper wears a black veil which impacts the way that the people viewed him, so they begin to feel afraid of him, trembling even at his death. Mr. Hooper wears the black veil on and receives suspicion from the other citizens, “‘Something must surely be amiss with Mr. Hooper’s intellects,’ … the physician of the village. ‘… The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face, throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot. Do you not feel it so?’” (Hawthorne 2). Because Mr. Hooper wears the black veil, many people start feeling frightened around him. Just because of the veil, it influenced how the people viewed Mr. Hooper and so they started to get further and further away from. So the people found Elizabeth so that she could try and influence Mr. Hooper to take the veil off,“‘Lift the veil but once, and look me in the face,’ said she. ‘Never! It cannot be!’ replied Mr. Hooper. ‘Then farewell!’ said Elizabeth” (Hawthorne 5). Mr. Hooper was not influenced by Elizabeth, and resisted to take the veil off. Because Mr. Hooper would not take the veil off, Elizabeth left him. At the arrival of his death, Mr. Hooper stated that everyone had on a black veil, so why had they ignored him and was afraid of him, just because he had one too, the citizens,“… shrank from one another, in mutual affright… Still veiled, they laid him in his coffin, and a veiled corpse they bore him to the grave…. but awful is still the thought that it mouldered beneath the Black Veil!” (Hawthorne 7). The citizens were so afraid of Mr. Hooper that when they buried him, with the black veil on. The black veil influenced the way the people thought of Mr. Hooper and they started to get afraid of him, because they thought that everything about him seemed dark and gloomy, which put a very sad feeling on the people. Though Mr. Hooper did not do anything and was kind to the people, the black veil led him to have a lonely and miserable life.

Nevertheless many may think that the citizens revolting against the society may always lead to a good ending, such as the people of France gaining their independence because of revolting to the king. But that is not always the case, such as in the narratives, “The Birthmark”, “The Most Dangerous Game”, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”. These 3 characters all had aftereffects of rioting against humanity. Aylmer in “The Birthmark” decided to get rid of the hand-shaped print on his wife, which ended in her death. General Zaroff in “The Most Dangerous Game” assassinated humans for enjoyment, he even made a game out of it believing he was undefeatable until he was defeated by Rainsford. Mr. Hooper in “The Minister’s Black Veil” created a harmful sin which made him wear a veil, because of this he cannot take the veil off, but this resulted in Elizabeth leaving him and the people being afraid of him. In short, rebelling against the society, or going against life, can end in dreadful consequences.

The Scarlet Letter and ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ were written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The main character in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, and the main character in ‘The Minister’s Black Veil,’ Reverend Hooper, are both treated as outcasts for the same reason; they are thought to have committed a terrible sin. The two literary works lack similarities pertaining to genre, but they display a variety of similar themes portrayed through the use of symbolism and character interaction.

The Scarlet Letter is considered a romance novel and ‘The Minister’s Black Veil,’ a gothic short story. The Scarlet Letter contains scenes that represent elements of romanticism. For example, the novel talks about the burning sensation that the scarlet letter radiates. This is done to play up or romanticize the pain that the letter caused Hester. ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ and the Puritans’ negative reaction to it are used to portray the dark and mysterious aspects of gothicism throughout the piece. The stories are classified into separate genres.

The theme ofboth literary works by Hawthorne is sin or, more specifically, secret and public sin. Themes such as, shame, fear, and societal judgement are portrayed through the Puritans’ reactions to sin or so-called sin. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester wears a scarlet letter A to symbolize her, now public sin of adultery. In ‘The Minister’s Black Veil,’ Hooper’s veil indicates the possibility of a secret sin, as well as the metaphor that is mentioned within the short story, stating that everyone has their own mask, but his is just visible. Both characters are willingto physically display their sin, knowing that other Puritans attempt to hide their sins in order to appear perfect. Due to the main characters’ presumably, terrible sins, they are ousted from society for fear of the veil and of the scarlet letter, as if they might be made unholy in their presence.

It is ironic that the Puritans are afraid of the ve7 because they are wearing one, themselves. Also, the Puritans shun Hester for her scarlet letter, but many of them have committed equal sins. Had a child been a result of their sin, they would be in the same position as Hester. The novel and short story cover the same themes of secret and public sin.

The works are classified into separate genres, gothicism and romanticism. However, The Scarlet Letter, as well as ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ display a parallel main idea, sin, through the use of symbolism, main events, and dialogue among the main characters and Puritans of the towns. The stories display a difference in genre, but similarities in theme and symbolism.

“The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about an old minister who through his own inner demons hopes to teach his community how to live with theirs. The story begins with Mr. Hooper, the church’s minister, entering service with a mysterious black veil over his face, causing quite a stir among his parishioners. Mr. Hooper delivers a sermon on secret sin and the things people hide in their hearts, which causes the congregation to wonder what secret sin the minister’s black veil represented. Later on the Minister presents a funeral sermon and a wedding while wearing the veil, much to the dismay and discomfort of the bride. During these few hours no one dared to ask the minister to remove the veil or explain its presence except for his fiancée. When Mr. Hooper’s fiancée asks why he wears the veil he claims it is a sign of his sorrows and refuses to remove it, leading to her leaving him. After the ministers fiancée left him many people did not ask about the veil anymore. Mr. Hooper has gradually become a highly respected minister in New England, notwithstanding the black barrier. On the Ministers deathbed Reverend Clark tries to persuade him to remove the veil. His reply: ‘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 man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and on every visage a Black Veil!’ (Hawthorne 2275) In the end the minister is buried, wearing the veil. Robert Louis Stevenson said “the cruelest lies are often told in silence.” Character, setting and internal conflict reveal that the Minister’s secret sin is adultery.

First, character reveals that the minister’s secret sin is adultery. When Reverend Hooper’s fiancée ask him why he chooses to wear the black veil he fails to give an answer. His refusal to provide an explanation reveals that his character is secretive. Knowing that Mr. Hooper is a person that keeps secrets, allows one to assume that he is hiding his infidelity from his fiancée. Furthermore, this maintains the idea of the minister’s possible infidelity. When Mr. Hooper is talking to his fiancée he tells her so far as his vow may suffer him he must wear his black veil. Vows are written promises of loyalty people say to their fiancée’s before marriage. If Mr. Hooper’s vows are causing him to suffer, this uncovers the characters discontent with his soon to be marriage. For the reason that Mr. Hooper is unhappy with his current engagement, an assumption can be made that he chose to find happiness in someone else, strengthening the notion of his unfaithfulness. Before Mr. Hooper’s death a reference is made regarding the faint smile seen on his face, revealing that his character was happy to die. Seeing that the minister was happy to die, means he had a reason to not want to live. Assuming the minister did in fact commit adultery, creates the presumption that his actions caused him to feel guilty. Making it is safe to assume that the minister was happy when he died because he was being relieved of the guilt of his sins, sustaining the belief that Minister Hooper engaged in an extramarital relationship.

Second setting reveals that the Ministers secret sin is adultery. The first place Mr. Hooper is introduced is on the porch of the Milford meeting house. Milford is a town located in Worcester County, Massachusetts, a state that was founded by the puritans. The Puritans were a religious minority group who migrated to the New World seeking to create a model religious community. Since the church where the minister preaches is in Massachusetts, an assumption can be made that it is a Puritan Church. One of the Puritans most frowned upon sins is adultery. If the church is Puritan the setting reveals that if the minister did in fact commit adultery the community would not respect him. This lack of respect would give him a reason to feel ashamed, causing him to wear the black veil, preserving the impression of his indiscretions. On the header of the second page it states this account occurs in the early nineteenth century between 1860 and 1865. During this time in Massachusetts not only was adultery frowned upon it was illegal and penalized by death. These details of the setting reveals that if Mr. Hooper told anyone about his secret sin he would be put to trial by death. Mr. Hooper, empowered by this knowledge, chose to prove a point to the public by wearing his black veil instead of accepting his fate, confirming the sense of an adulterous secret. In the chamber where the minister lies awaiting his death the room is lit by shaded candlelight. Candlelight represents purification and cleansing. Since the minister’s death chamber is completely lit by candlelight symbolically it has a setting of purification. Based on the staging of the room a conclusion can be made that the minister’s choice to die in this setting was to purify him of his infidelity before his death, which keeps consistent with the narrative of his affair.

Lastly conflict reveals that the ministers secret sin is adultery. After Mr. Hooper performs the wedding ceremony he gives a toast wishing happiness to the new married couple. During this toast Mr. Hooper catches a glimpse of his reflection in his wine glass causing him to spit out his drink and disappear into the darkness. Mr. Hooper’s reaction to his reflection reveals an internal conflict towards his appearance, mainly the black veil on his face. Given that Mr. Hooper spit out his water after seeing the black veil, it is safe to assume that he is disgusted by the sight of the mask because it is a reminder of his secret sin. Being a minister of a church where adultery is an unforgivable sin, a conclusion can be made that his actions caused him to constantly bear a feeling of disgust, demonstrating evidence that supports the claim that he committed adultery. When Mr. Hooper is talking to his fiancée about why he wears the black veil he says, ‘I, perhaps, like most other mortals, have sorrows dark enough to be typified by a black veil.'(Hawthorne 2272) Hooper’s response to his fiancée’s question reveals another internal conflict within him, his sorrow. Since the minister says his sorrows are dark enough to be covered by a black veil, there is an implication that this agony is caused by the guilt of his disloyalty to his mate. Hopper’s obvious remorse continues to paint an image of his cheating. After one of Mr. Hooper’s sermons the physician of the village said, “the black veil, though it cover only our pastor’s face, it throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghost like from head to foot.” (Hawthorne 2269) The physician’s observation reveals that Mr. Hooper feels dead inside confirming the concept of his internal conflict. The black veil, a representation of his secret sin, makes him ghost like to the townspeople. If the minister truly commited adultery, then the shame of his wrongdoing caused him to feel dead inside, further upholding the adulterous impression.

On August 2, 2012 in Mali a group of Islamists forced a man and a woman into a hole and stoned them to death for committing adultery. The man and the woman were both married and even though the woman had two small children she was still put to death.The Islamists aggression towards those two natives shows that some people still strongly stand against adultery. If people still murder for adultery now knowing its illegal imagine the fear the minister had after committing an infidelity when murder was legal. This fear eventually lead to the minister hiding his sin behind a veil instead of being honest in order to save his life.

The most common features that people hide are their downfalls. For example, when we commit something wrong, we tend to express ourselves differently to avoid our flaws. People hide their wrongdoings so others won’t ridicule what they have gone through. The truth will sometimes require fighting in order to reveal itself.A parable is a brief story that can give spiritual advice. The Minister’s Black Veil is a parable because of its moral message through a religious setting. The speech of Mr. Hooper connects the veil with the secret sins of the world. In the footnote, the priest accidentally shot his friend and killed him. Once the priest’s friend died he decided to wear a veil for the rest of his life and promised to never remove it. The author was trying to show how a commitment can change someone’s character. Mr. Hooper’s commitment was put to the test when his future wife asked him to take off the veil so that she could see his face. The beginning of the story began in Milford, New England with a joyful atmosphere. The setting gave a feeling of a placid Sunday morning. This mood was interrupted when Mr. Hooper revealed himself among the people of the Church. His appearance with the veil is not at all normal for a minister to wear when entering a place of worship. This immediately led to a mysterious plot of the story. Before the appearance of Mr. Hooper in his dark veil, we learn that he was a courteous honorable man.

The confusion and wonder reveal his change as unsuitable for the minister they knew before. It is unexpected that someone as religious as Mr. Hooper will wear a black veil over his head, foreshadowing something darker between him and his congregation. The black veil symbolizes how terrible a secret sin can be within human nature. Hooper said, ‘He perhaps, like other mortals, has sorrows enough to be typified by a black veil.’ Revealing that there is an invisible conflict that is among everyone and the black veil emphasizes the truth to be presented. The congregation’s reaction was filled with terror. An old woman expressed her emotions by saying, ‘He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.’ Demonstrating that a black veil is terrifying to witness over someone’s emotional expressions. Mr. Hooper relates to the old woman’s comments when saying, ‘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?’ Revealing that their reaction was exactly what the minister needed to help reveal the invisible veils we wear. The ‘darkened aspect’ shows a different viewpoint from the minister and the decision he chose toward life. It also reveals that everyone has committed a sin, even those who serve the Church. It also foreshadows the effect it will have on Mr. Hoopers throughout the story. When Mr. Hooper leans over the coffin. the veil shifts into a position were the young lady could see his face if she had not died. He fears that the dead maiden might be able to read his secrets. The minister then puts the veil back into the the appropriate position. He will later tell Elizabeth that ‘it is but a mortal veil – it is not for eternity!’ This reveals that in the afterlife there is no purpose for the veil because there is no need to hide one’s secret.

The hidden imperfections are all revealed and judged only by God. The topic on the day Mr. Hooper appeared with the veil was about secret sin. The subject perfectly expressed the minister’s appearance and his purpose about human actions. This leads the reader to think differently about a veil and its visibility within an individual. The disgrace that Mr. Hooper experiences throughout the story helps us visualize how terrifying human nature can be when we truly reveal ourselves from inside. The veil affects the wedding in a gloomy way. The author said it could ‘Porten nothing but evil to the wedding.’The wedding guests also believed that the pale bride resembles the maiden who was buried a few hours ago. Nonetheless, the anxiety from the guests was reflected upon Mr. Hooper’s own image through the wine glass. Symbolizing the dark nature of a visible veil. Elizabeth does not see the veil as something sinister. Instead, she feels that it just hides her husband’s face rather than a darker secret. Elizabeth knows her husband’s character and believes that the veil is temporary and can be removed simply by persuading him. She became unsuccessful and left him due to his persistent manner of continuing wearing the veil. The black veil was like a mirror to the congregation. The dark visual aspects that the veil contained reflected upon what humanity hides. Mr. Hooper’s position as a clergyman inspired his audience to really understand what God expects from them. The veil’s dark nature also ‘enabled him to sympathize with all dark affections.’

Allowing the minister to have impactful preaching skills. The black veil devasted Mr. Hooper’s life. Ever since his first appearance with the veil, no one in his community gave a positive emotional response to the idea. An old woman muttered,’ I Don’t like it.’ Mr. Hooper is trying to express the sins of humanity. He is like any other person who eventually gave in to temptation, even religious members of the church have experienced this. We sometimes do not realize our actions until after the vent. The only human that did not commit a sin, however, was Jesus. Let’s question ourselves instead of how we can avoid and improve from these poor decisions rather than look back to what we did. Elizabeth assumes that Mr. Hooper decided to wear the veil only because of a secret sin but in reality, he tells Elizabeth that his veil is a ‘symbol.’ Mr. Hooper said, ‘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 man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!’ Indicating that if humans behaved according to God’s precepts, there was no purpose for wearing the black veil. People try to blend in with others in order to hide their flaws. Some people are kind while others express themselves in an unfriendly manner. It is usually the caring individuals that hide an imperfection. We commonly look at the visual aspects of a person rather than what their ‘veil’ or heart hides. Metaphorically speaking, veils are worn to hide our imperfections and weaknesses to avoid judgment from others. Our appearances can hide what we conceal within ourselves. Some do not want to express their flaws publicly while others do so in the hopes of sharing a learning experience.

Nonetheless, without a ‘veil’ we may seek the ‘truth’ within us and live without any visual deception, but the chances of that happening are very unlikely. I wear the same veil as the community which is to behave accordingly to what others expect from you. You normally don’t feel anything that can affect you in any way. However, when you lie you do feel a sense of guilt knowing the truth. No matter the situation, having a reputation of dishonesty will affect a person throughout time. Although I don’t lie frequently, wisdom can help me detect if my actions are morally right or wrong. A video game called ‘Halo’ has ties with Mr. Hooper’s actions when an extraterrestrial ally is trying to help the protagonist eliminate the Hierarchs. This ally is known as the ‘Arbiter’ who is severely judged by humans for his appearance. He leaves the dreadful past against a parasitic outbreak and the false beliefs on salvation when discovering the truth. Aside from the criticism and bad reputation with humans, he eventually will follow his conscience to do what is right. A single alien presence does not constitute hostility but instead assists humanity, let alone know the differences between good and evil. When we are guilty of lying it is hard for us to trust others who might do the same action against us. When there is a lack of trust it becomes harder to figure out who is trying to help us and who is trying to deceive us.

There are many people in this world, you see the good and the evil, but even the good people have sinned or have something evil about them. The Minister’s Black Veil and the Pit and the Pendulum are two short stories written in completely different content but yet still very similar. Dealing with people not wanting to accept what they have done wrong or that they have sinned, being tortured and terrified. Both these stories are dark, creepy, and gothic with one about people being accepting the other about terror and torture. Yet they still find a way to teach a very important lesson and have similar points and ideas that go along with it.

Death is something we all fear and like to believe won’t happen to us, but we all have to face it at some point. In ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ the veil represents sin. How everyone sins in their life and no one is sin-free not even the minister who is supposed to be the top. He wears it so everyone knows that death will eventually come and will claim you and your sins. ‘There is an hour to come when all of us shall cast aside our veils’. In ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ the prisoner is being tutored and has no will to survive anymore. He fears the pit and everything he is surrounded by, he believes if he jumps he will end all the pain because death was better than surviving at that point. ‘I was sick – sick unto death with that long agony.’ We all go through pain but our decisions in life and what we do next is what determines everything. That’s what the minister was trying to tell his congregation by wearing the veil and that’s something the prisoner needed to learn.

The congregation doesn’t understand where the minister is coming from and why he is wearing the veil. The minister said, ‘If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough,- and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?’ try to get the people across that something it’s ok to hide, but don’t hide behind sins because then what kind of person are you trying to pretend to be. The Minister was sent to isolation by his congregation for trying to show the people their wrong doings. The prisoner was sentenced to death by the soldiers. In this way both the main characters from the short stories were put to shame and put in isolation. Even though the minister was someone people were supposed to trust and thought highly of they treated him very bad even though he was trying to help. The prisoner was being tutored and treated terribly by the soldiers. Even though the minister was tutored like the prisoner was he still was being treated bad just in a different way. His own people doubted him and didn’t believe in him.

Fear is something else that makes everyone uncomfortable, something everyone has and doesn’t want to face. The congregation was afraid to hear that they have sinned, they are afraid to accept that they aren’t perfect. The Prisoner in ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ was afraid of everything around him. He was being tutored and taunting by the pendulum and other tutoring devices. The pit was placed to represent fear itself. The minister was someone high in the church he represented good but still had evil parts to him and he still had feared. The prisoner was someone who was evil enough to be sentenced to death and feared everything around him.

Both these stories use unusual dark events to interest the reader. Teaching us people aren’t always what they seem, good can be evil and evil may be good. The minister’s veil was to represent the sins and to show everyone that you have to accept the fact that you sinned to be saved, if not death can come and claim you. Even after the minister died no one understood what was his reasoning behind the veil, they never listened to him.’in this manner, Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved, and dimly feared; a man apart from men’. The prisoner was giving up and was ready for all the pain to end and he jumps into the pit to end the fear. Everything happens for a reason, and light can come out of even the darkest situations.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, was written in 1832 and tells the tale of a puritan minister ultimately given up things that mean a lot to him, so he would not have to sacrifice what he believes in. The parable shows that people do not always see through the same lens as another. The veil is used to symbolize the sin that is in all humans. In different passages, it is seen that people are not accepting of him wearing the veil.

The townspeople ostracized him because they viewed it as a darkness that he is hiding. “Each member of the congregation, … felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought.” (Hawthorne, 687). The townspeople felt as if Hooper was trying to hide his deep, dark sins. Hooper appears to wear the veil as a statement, that he as well sins. We are all naturally born sinners, and nobody is exempt from that no matter how hard they try.

The ones who were even close to him didn’t understand the meaning of the veil either. Elizabeth was trying to get Hooper to remove the veil, but he refuses because it is not everlasting. This is evident when he says “Be mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls! It is but a mortal veil‒it is not for eternity!” (Hawthorne 691). However, that was not enough for her, so she said farewell. Elizabeth may have felt that he should have told her because of how close they were. She seemed to love him but may have felt that he did not trust her enough to remove the veil. Hooper although sad, appears to be content, because he knows that heaven will be rewarding, and they have the possibility to be together again one day in heaven.

The veil not only shows the sin in human beings but also shows the isolation people may feel. People feel isolated from others when sin is committed. However, if people care for whoever feels isolated in means of patience or love the isolation can be overcome. Thar is why Hooper pleads with Elizabeth as mentioned earlier. Although she left him, he knows that heaven will not only be rewarding, but he will be redeemed and have happiness.

“The Minister’s Black Veil,” tells a story about a man who refused to remove his veil. What lies beneath the veil is a secret sin that we all commit. Hooper, although a minister, was brave enough to show that he sins as well. Even though that may be true, ultimate redemption and rewards lie within heaven

In the 19th century, Americans began to explore self expression through literature. Two writers in particular, Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, greatly exemplified Gothic and Romantic literature. In both Poe’s short story, “The Tell Tale Heart”, and Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the protagonists reach a state of alienation through self-absorption and an incapability to realize their wrongdoings. In the short story, “The Tell Tale Heart”, the narrator lives with an old man, and becomes paranoid by the old man’s eye. Eventually, the narrator is unable to stand the torment, leading him to murder the old man. The narrator cannot accept that he is mentally disturbed which causes his alienation. In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, minister Hooper, a well respected figure begins to conceal his face with a black veil to demonstrate that he has sinned. He refuses to offer an explanation of the sin that provokes him to wear it. He furthers his sin with the act of pride of wearing the veil and it becomes the focal point of his life, this pride causes him to distance himself from those around him, leaving him in solitude. Hawthorne and Poe illustrate through the main characters how having pride in oneself can lead to sin, and self inflicted alienation from society and those around them.

In Poe’s story, the narrator becomes increasingly self absorbed and takes great pride in his tedious plan to kill the old man. This pride and fixation on this task causes him to alienate himself from the old man and commit sin with no remorse until the end of the story when he admits his crime. As he becomes prideful, he fails to acknowledge that he is edging towards insanity. This obsession consumes his entire life, and he spends hours each night watching the old man sleep and constructing his plan to murder him. “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution—with what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work!” (Poe 1). The narrator is ressauring himself that he is not a madman, and is perfectly sane. He compares his wise precautions to the incompetence of a madman to show that he is beyond and above the inhumane acts of a madman. The narrator praises himself for his plan, cautiously concealing the act. He becomes extremely dedicated to his task, and nothing can distract him from it; “If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence” (Poe 4). The narrator never once doubts his motive or the reasoning behind his intended murder and is consistently reassures himself that he is anything but mentally unstable. The narrator justifies the murder because he must to stop the torment that the “vulture” eye has brought upon him; “Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (Poe 1). He faces no problem with the man himself, soley the blue eye. The narrator comes to the conclusion that the only way for his mental suffering to cease, was to end the root of the problem and remove the old man and his eye from his life, leaving the narrator in complete solitude with his sin. The narrator creates isolation through the paranoia that he feels through his relationship with that of the man’s eye, causing himself to become prideful in his task of murdering the old man and further alienating himself completely.

In Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil,” the minister causes his own alienation by becoming prideful in his refusal to remove the veil. He distances himself from those around him, particularly his fiance. This is similar to the narrator in Poe’s story who refuses to accept his mental issues and remains fixated on his task of killing the old man. When he begins wearing it, people have questions constantly regarding the nature of the sin that provoked him to wear the veil. The townspeople are fearful of what they cannot understand; the reasoning behind why Hooper continues to wear his veil without explanation. Those who feel an offense to the minister’s veil feel “… as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought” (Hawthorne 3). Those who are in the presence of him feel as if he can see through them, and see their inner sin. This can be tied to Poe’s story as the narrator feels a sense of paranoia in the company of the evil eye, feeling that it can see through to the narrator’s sins and thoughts. Wearing the veil begins to take over Hoopers life and dictates his decisions and lifestyle in the sense that he wears it regardless of how others perceive him. The veil and the eye both lead to the main characters isolation as they become the primary focus of the main characters. Individuals in the story take personal offense to Hooper wearing the veil, ‘How strange,’ said a lady, ‘that a simple black veil…should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper’s face!’ (Hawthorne 4). This can be tied back to how the narrator feels about the evil eye in “The Tell Tale Heart”. The veil seems to have the same effect as the eye on individuals. Everyone around the minister is so offended by his wearing of the veil, that it distances him from those he was once close to, in particular his fiance, Elizabeth. By Hooper wearing the veil, Elizabeth pleads for him to take it off for her, but he refuses, “It is but a mortal veil–it is not for eternity! O! you know not how lonely I am, and how frightened, to be alone behind my black veil. Do not leave me in this miserable obscurity forever!’ (Hawthorne 9). As he loses everyone closests to him, the ultimate alienation that Hooper has brought upon himself is shown. Despite being afraid of the veil, he is proud of himself, pride is known in the Bible as the root of all evil, and as he fails to see his sin, Hooper partakes in the deadliest sin of all due to his fixation on demonstrating his sins. As a result of his dedication to wearing the veil and not admitting his sin, he has isolated himself. Similar to how the narrator became dedicated to murdering the old man and couldn’t admit his mental instability.

Both Poe and Hawthorne’s short stories convey how becoming prideful in oneself can lead to ultimate alienation from society or those around them. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator cannot accept his mental instability and grows paranoid until he nears insanity and murders the old man, alienating himself from the one closests to him, the old man. In Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Minister Hoopers wearing the black veil which causes himself to alienate himself from his society, and his fiance due to his pride in wearing the veil. Both the narrator and Hooper grow self absorbed, taking pride in their rituals. The idea of pride leading to isolation expressed in both stories became a common tie in Poe and Hawthorne’s stories. Poe and Hawthorne show this to convey the universal lesson that failure to comprehend one’s sin can lead to isolation and unknowingly creating sin for oneself.