Symbols In The Minister's Black Veil

People have their own way of hiding from reality. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” to show how people hide their feelings from the world. Reverend Hooper is the main character in the story. He wears a black veil wherever he goes to hide his sins and the things he has done wrong. Once the people of the community notice the veil, they begin to act apprehensive and question its meaning. Everyone has their own mask. In the story, symbols are used to portray the veil’s meaning. As shown at the end of the text, Hooper admits to Elizabeth, his fiance, that the veil is hiding him from the rest of the world. Elizabeth asks Hooper to remove the veil but he says to her, “This dismal shade must separate me from the world” (Hawthorne 4). By explaining separation from the world, Hooper is telling Elizabeth that he doesn’t want anyone else to see what he sees. He later explains to Elizabeth in the same passage that the veil is a sign that represents sadness. Though Hooper is making a decision that makes Elizabeth irritated, she continues to love him anyways. Not …show more content…
“A smile gleamed faintly from beneath the black veil, and flickered about his mouth, glimmering as he disappeared” (Hawthorne 2). Hawthorne explains the smile showing that Hooper isn’t in complete agony because the smile possesses a positive aspect underneath the veil. For example, people today tend to hide their smiles as well. After the church service, people looked at Mr. Hooper and started to notice his different facial expressions.They realized that the reverend had real feelings underneath the mysterious looking veil. Everyone became suspicious of what the veil was really all about. Hooper realizes that people are fearful of what he is doing. Nobody necessarily tries to confront except for Elizabeth, which pushes him to wear the veil even more places like a wedding and

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