Some of these symbolic tales are too vague or shadowy to be convincing. In "The Minister's Black Veil,” a clergyman startles his worshippers by appearing with a dark veil over his face. The veil itself is a recognizable object; on a woman or a bonnet it would pass unnoticed; but on the minister it becomes a noteworthy thing, at once fascinating and repellent. They knew the man as a familiar friend; today he is a stranger, and they fear him with a vague, nameless fear. Many years he wears the mysterious article, dies and is buried with him, and in all that time they never have a glimpse of his face.
He feels shamed for having broken his code of honor with Abigail, saying “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time, but I will cut off my hand before I ever reach for you again.” This shows that he doesn’t want to go through what he did with Abigail ever again. At the end of Act IV, he rips up his confession because he doesn’t want his name being used to sway others. He says “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!
Maass, Parker Professor Ewell English 308W 22 February 2011 The Ministers Black Veil Analysis In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story The Minister’s Black Veil, it is very difficult to extract what the meaning of the story is as well as what the minister’s veil itself represents. In Hawthorne’s tale, we can find paradoxes, contradictions, as well as ambiguities littered throughout the story; but still no direct meaning is given. Even upon his deathbed, Mr. Hooper refuses to have the veil removed from his brow in hopes to make a point to everyone who had seen or heard about this mysterious garment. Even when approached from different angles and placed under different scopes, no true meaning can be found as to why Mr. Hooper vows to wear the veil for the rest of his life. The first and the most obvious ambiguity of the story is the fact that Mr. Hooper, a well liked and well known man of God, has chosen to wear a veil.
She is actually giving up her life for what she believes is right and good for the society. Before leaving her home, Beatty also refers to the Tower of Babel in his persuasion to get her out alive. One of those forbidden books is the Bible, and Montag, the protagonist, is probably the only person left with a copy of it (Bradbury, 77). Montag’s ally, Faber, reads from the book of Job to calm Montag as he prepares to act on his feelings toward books. The story he reads from the Bible is about whether or not Job will remain faithful through the tough times he is living in, and this parallels Montag’s decision of whether or not to endure despite the difficulty of facing society’s hatred of books.
In bewilderment, they see the minister’s face covered with the black veil which creates commotion among them. There are speculations about the origin of the veil, nevertheless nobody dares to ask. Mr Hooper’s sermon is on secret sin, as the Puritans were obsessed with this theme. The veil induces in minister such emotions that the sermon is the greatest ever and causes in parishioners anxiety and at the same time disgust as it reminds and makes them aware of their own sins. The scene might be compared with that in the novel Scarlet Letter, where reverend Dimmesdale, suffering guilty conscience delivers the speech which makes all the people astonished.
Throughout the novel Schlink raises the question as to what could have been done differently to be rid of guilt. But never gives an answer to it. This shows that there was nothing to be done. Michael was guilty of betraying Hanna by denying the relationship she had with her. And also by cutting short the time he spends with Hanna to be with Sophie and the rest of his friends.
There he meets a strange man with a staff that resembles a serpent. Goodman Brown expresses his doubts about his mission and the man, who seems to be a devil figure, accompanies him while trying to persuade him to carry through his mission. The fact that he hears and sees various supposedly upright figures of the community, including men of the cloth and his own catechism teacher, persuades him that his disillusionment with the Puritan faith is justified. However, he is truly shocked to see his own wife at the meeting. At the moment of baptism he calls her to look up to heaven and resist, at which point everyone disappears and he finds himself alone in the forest.
He eventually got so fed up with this that he died his hair purple “I just wanted everyone to call me something else” (316). This idea did not pan out the way that he wanted it too and everyone began to call him “The Purple Flee”. Finally, he had enough with the bullying all together and decided to skip town, to get away from everything that was bothering him. Arturo finds himself at the town church and befriends the church custodian named Johann. At first Arturo did not know what to think of Johann “Right then I started worrying about being locked up in a empty church with the old guy” (315).
Mr. Hooper, the minister in The Black Veil is a man of secret sin and darkness. Hooper could represent secret sin within his heart or specific sin which could be adultery. The congregation of the church was surprised to see the minister with the black veil on that covered his face. Though they never saw the minister’s actions change, the way people reacted to him did, even his love Elizabeth’s actions. People were afraid and intimidated by the veil that the minister wore and believed it hid some secret sin and reminded them of their own transgressions, which should never happen with the minister.
I have the right to say what miseries I have endured…Endlessly I have suffered the wretchedness of exile.” She is commanded to stay where she is by her lord, but dwells on the fact that she has no friends or anyone that she can trust where she is, which creates sadness for her. “My lord had ordered me to take up my abode here, though I had among these people few dear loyal friends; therefore my heart is sad.” She then finds out that her husband has been hiding murderous thoughts through a facade. Throughout the poem she expresses the anguish felt by longing for a lover that will never come by reflecting back on times when he says that the only thing that will tear them apart is death, and feels as though their marriage and love has vanished. To add onto the disheartening tone the poem also tells about how she is told to live in a cave with very