Title of selection : The Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Genre: Fiction
Setting: The town of Milford somewhere in New England
Historical context: The story takes place in the Puritan town of Massachusetts. During the 16th century, the Puritans were a strong religious and political force. The Puritans emerged when certain Protestants were not satisfied with the Church of England
The author wrote this piece to: (author’s purpose): The purpose of the author was to dramatize historical events and to present some form of a mystery that would make readers of the piece to think and try to find out what the mystery is.
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The main idea of this piece is: The idea is to present a church minister, whom many people, revere, especially during the 16th century when many people embraced and respected religion. Hawthorne’s idea is to create an element of surprise and mystery from the church minister and to make people (including readers) to speculate. Readers are supposed to ask themselves questions such as why the minister wears a black veil and does not remove it even at the hour of death. Therefore, there is some strange aspect with the story, which creates some element of fright.
The message (or theme) of this selection which the author would like us to “take away” is : That almost everybody has some personal secrets, which they do not share with other people. The black veil represents covering or holding onto secrets. When the minister covers his face with the black veil, he wants people to deliberately whisper and try to inquire; he wants them to get the message and start to question each other of the secrets they are hiding, just the same way they ask about the details underneath the minister’s black veil.
Characters: (Major)
Protagonist(s): Reverend Hooper
Antagonist(s): Elizabeth
Static characters: The worshippers, mourners, residents of Milford town
Dynamic characters : Sexton, Reverend Mr. Clerk of Westbury
Did the author use any special literary devices in this selection such as: personification,
metaphor, simile, foreshadowing, suspense, flashback, imagery, irony, humor, poetic
sound devices such as rhyme, etc… List and give specific examples: The use of the “black” veil to cover the minister’s face is use of symbolism. Black most of the time represents something negative or bad. The black veil in this case is supposed to cover a secret, which is something dark, in the conventional sense. The author also uses humor, especially in the narration that people who were about to die wanted to see Reverend Hooper before they died with his black veil. However, as the author narrates, these people would be frightened immediately they saw Reverend Hooper with his black veil.
What was the author’s “tone” toward the subject/person/idea he/she wrote about? The author’s tone towards Reverend Cooper, who is the main character of the story, can be described as soft, calm and reassuring. The author mentions that Reverend Hooper’s teachings were not filled with the vigor that is typical of most preachers, but that he spoke calmly, letting the words sink in people’s hearts. Even when he started to wear the black veil, his teachings did not change.
What “point of view” was this piece told from? List word clues that indicate this . The piece was written from the point of view of the residents of Milford, especially those who interacted with Reverend Hooper in church, on the way and other events. At the start of the story, an old woman says, “I don’t like it” in reference to how Reverend Hooper has changed, while another character, Goodman Gray remarked, “our parson has gone mad!”
List the conflicts in this selection (internal and/or external): The conflict in the piece is between Reverend Hooper and the worshippers, as well as residents of Milford in general. People in Milford want to know what the black veil is hiding but Reverend Hooper refuses to bring down the veil even up to his death.
If this was a fiction/non-fiction or dramatic work, list the most important parts of the PLOT:
Exposition: Giving a description of who Reverend Hooper was before he began to wear the black veil
Rising action: The mystery of the black veil, the attraction of the black veil, people’s murmurs, break-up with fiancée, Elizabeth.
Climax: Reverend Hooper’s death moment, refusal to have the veil removed
Falling action : Burial of Reverend Hooper
Resolution: People trying to think after many years of Reverend Hooper’s death what was underneath the black veil
Notes: Although the black veil remained a mystery, it most likely symbolized the dark secrets that people keep to themselves and die with them. Hooper might have wanted people to ask each other about such secrets. Therefore, the black veil was used symbolically, to represent something mysterious, or rather, something which is covered
Reference
Hawthorne, N. (2002). The Minister's Black Veil (Short story). https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13707/13707-h/13707-h.htm#minister
