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  • Essay / Pastor Hooper's loyalty and commitment in The Minister's Black Veil, a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a story called The Minister's Black Veil, about a minister who considers himself a representative of God . Hawthorne instills the qualities of loyalty and commitment in his main character, Parson Hooper, because although he is rejected by the community, he fulfills his vow to God. Hooper believes that by wearing the black veil he is doing God's work of helping people save themselves, thereby sacrificing his position in social class. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hawthorne uses many symbols to represent parts of the story that he does not fully explain in detail. The first symbol he uses is the black veil that Parson Hooper wears on his head to cover his face. This is the result of Hooper's belief that one sinner could threaten the entire community. People living in his community must recognize that the veil symbolizes their sins and that they must confess them to save themselves. Hooper cannot openly tell them what the veil represents because he cannot save them himself. Being a follower of God, the minister hopes to be able to bring members of the community to see their sins by symbolically reflecting them in the black veil. The color of the veil, black, symbolizes darkness, evil and ignorance. Hooper does this so that the rest of the community will be in harmony with God. The black veil changes its meaning from the beginning to the end of the story and also symbolizes something different to different people. For Parson Hooper, it is used as a symbol to represent his work for God, and this meaning remains constant to him throughout the story. At first, the black veil was seen by citizens as a representation of evil. As Hooper is buried, the civilians decide to bury him with the black veil due to his powerful speech. This suggests that people realized that the black veil was meant for good and not evil. For Hooper's fiancée, Elizabeth, the veil symbolizes the clouds hiding the sun (her face). Towards the end of the story, she breaks down because she recognizes her sins in the veil. The minister himself, because of his religion, is represented as a symbol of God. Her vow to God is to encourage sinners to see and confess their wrongdoings by wearing a black veil. From Hooper's perspective, he sees himself as a symbol of God from start to finish. From the civilians' point of view, they recognize his duty to carry out God's work, until he begins to wear the black veil. Throughout history, people begin to view it and the black veil as a representation of evil. As a result, Hooper was shunned by the rest of the community. Children are used in the story to symbolize the future. At the beginning of the story, Hooper is admired by the children of the community. He sees them as the future of their society and how they should consistently be in church and behave like their parents. As the story progresses and Parson Hooper begins to wear the veil, the children begin to stop paying attention to him. Hooper believes that it is essential that all members of the community, single, unmarried, adults and, especially, children, put away their sins and save themselves so that society can continue. Parson Hooper is engaged to Elizabeth. , which in turn symbolizes happiness and harmony with the world. But why does Hooper sacrifice his harmony with the world for his harmony with God? As minister, his main priority is..