Monday, July 31, 2006
"The Minister's Black Veil" Notes and Homework Questions
THE MINISTER’S BLACK VEIL—NOTES
BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
BORN 1804 IN SALAM, MASS INTO AN OLD PURITAN FAMILY
DIED 1864
SEVERAL OF HIS STORIES WERE PUBLISHED IN TWICE-TOLD TALES WHICH ESTABLISHED HIM AS A WRITER
IN 1841 HE JOINED A COMMUNAL SOCIETY AT BROOK FARM NEAR BOSTON.
MOST OF HIS WRITINGS WERE PREOCCUPIED WITH THE EFFECTS OF PRIDE, GUILT, SIN, AND SECRECY WITH AN EMPHASIS ON SYMBOLISM AND ALLEGORY.
HE WROTE THE SCARLET LETTER IN 1850 WHICH REVEALS PSYCHOLOGICAL INSIGHT WITH WHICH HE PROBED THE GUILT AND ANXIETY IN THE HUMAN SOUL.
THE SCARLET LETTER CONCERNED THE SIN AND GUILT AMONG THE PURITANS AND PROBED THE PROBLEMS OF EVIL AND ISOLATION IN HUMAN LIFE.
HAWTHORNS IS A ROMANTIC WRITER BUT HIS PERCEPTION OF THE DARK SIDE OF HUMAN LIFE OVERPOWERS OPTIMISM.
THEMES AND MEANINGS
THE MAJOR THEME OF THE STORY IS THE SYMBOL OF THE VEIL REV. HOOPER WEARS.
MR. HOOPER SUGGESTS ALL HUMANS SHOULD COVER THEIR FACES BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE SOME SECRET SIN OR SORROW.
THE MAJOR THEME IS EVERYONE WEARS A BLACK VEIL—EVERYONE HAS A SECRET SIN TO HIDE FROM OTHERS.
THE 2ND MAJOR THEME IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIN AS SORROW DEMANDS A HIGH PRICE.
THE VEIL STRIKES FEAR IN THE VILLAGERS HEARTS.
HIS FIANCEE, ELIZABETH, CANNOT MARRY HIM AND THE REV. HOOPER BECOMES A LONELY MAN.
IF YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE SECRET SINS OF YOUR HEART YOU WILL LEAD A LIFE OF LONELINESS AND BECOME APRISONER OFYOUR OWN HEART.
STYLE AND TECHNIQUE
THIS IS A SYMBOLIC TALE OF SECRET SIN OR CRIME.
THE MORAL LESSON IS THE FEAR THE VEIL STRIKES IN OTHERS BUT ALSO THE TRUTH IT MAY REVEAL.
• The story begins with a dramatic and unexplained change in the appearance of the town’s pastor.
• The darkened aspect of the veil is important as it parallels the changed viewpoint of the minister towards life.
• It also foreshadows the effect it will continue to have on him throughout the story.
• There is a dual reference to Hooper’s view being obscured from others and also from his reading the Bible.
• Hooper has come to the conclusion that human beings in their sinfulness are irrevocably far from God.
• He believes nothing he can do can bring his congregation into full communion with God because people are simply too worldly.
• Hooper knows he is different—he is only too aware of his mortal sinfulness.
• But he is different because of his profound awareness of sin.
• This is what separates him from his fellow man—the veil is merely a symbol of the realization.
• Because he is so conscious of his sinfulness he cannot share in the simple joys of life.
• He also is incapable of clarifying the Scriptures because now he is more aware of the obscurity of the ways of God.
• The dramatic conclusion shows that Hooper sees all people with a veil upon their faces—and they are filled with sinfulness.
HOMEWORK: DUE THE DAY AFTER WE COMPLETE THE STORY.
THE MINISTER’S BLACK VEIL by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A. Write a sentence for each of the following words. Sentences must reflect the story.
1. parable
2. crape
3. discourse
4. pathos
5. sagacious
B. Briefly answer the following questions.
1. What is odd about the Reverend Mr. Hoopers’ appearance?
2. What parts of his face are covered by the veil? Explain
3. How do the parishioners react? Be specific.
4. How does the wearing of the veil affect the impact of his sermons?
5. How do the people of the parish react to the minister’s blessings (p. 407, paragraph 1)?
6. In what other ways do the parishioners express their feelings toward the minister’s wearing of the veil (p. 407)?
7. Was the veil appropriate for funerals? For weddings? Discuss, providing the evidence (p. 408).
8. Mr. Hoopers’ fiancée, Elizabeth, discusses his wearing of the veil. What is the outcome of their conversation (pp. 410-411)? Why?
9. What is the one good effect of the black veil (p. 412)?
10. Who takes care of Mr. Hooper on his death bed?
11. At this point the author begins to explain the significance of the black veil. What impact has it had on the people around him? Quote the lines from page 413, paragraph 3.
12. The minister of Westbury, who is with Hooper as he is dying, ask if Hooper is ready for “the lifting of the veil that shuts in time from eternity.” How does Hooper react?
13. Is the minister buried with his veil still on?
C. Write true or false for each of the following statements about the story.
1. Mr. Hooper’s veil covers his entire face.
2. The wearing of the veil during the preaching of sermons made their impact even more powerful.
3. Elizabeth asks Mr. Hooper to “Life the veil but once, and look her in the face.”
4. Mr. Hooper and Elizabeth celebrate their wedding vows.
5. When Mr. Hooper dies the veil is removed by the minister of Westbury.
D. Briefly answer the following questions.
1. What is the subject of Mr. Hooper’s sermon on the first day he wears the black veil?
2. What does Reverend Hooper tell Elizabeth the veil is? What two possible explanations for wearing the veil do they discuss?
3. What reasons does Hooper give Elizabeth not to desert him? For what reason does he smile after Elizabeth breaks their engagement and leaves?
4. What does the author say is “the one desirable effect” the black veil has?
5. On his deathbed, what does Reverend Hooper say men, women, and children have done? What doe she say he sees on every face?
6. What human emotions are shown to fail between Elizabeth and Reverend Hooper as a result of the veil?
7. What is the chief effect that the veil has on Reverend Hooper? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
8. What might Reverend Hooper mean when he says that everyone wears a black veil?
9. List at least four possible reasons Reverend Hooper might have for wearing the veil. Why is if appropriate that we never learn the precise reason?
10. Hawthorne purposely leaves the meaning of the veil ambiguous and up to the reader. What do you think the veil means? Why?
11. A critic writes about “The Minister’s Black Veil”: The fullness of life…can only come about through self-surrender, through a refusal to withhold oneself, or any part of one’s personality, in a human relationship.
In the last analysis, this was what Hawthorne believed was the essence of human reality. The most compelling truth of all that Mr. Hooper tried to teach by means of his dismal veil is the necessity of self-surrender.
Do you agree that self-surrender is central to the story? Support your opinion by discussing Mr. Hooper’s intended marriage and the marriage of “the handsomest couple in Milford village” in he light of this statement.
BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
BORN 1804 IN SALAM, MASS INTO AN OLD PURITAN FAMILY
DIED 1864
SEVERAL OF HIS STORIES WERE PUBLISHED IN TWICE-TOLD TALES WHICH ESTABLISHED HIM AS A WRITER
IN 1841 HE JOINED A COMMUNAL SOCIETY AT BROOK FARM NEAR BOSTON.
MOST OF HIS WRITINGS WERE PREOCCUPIED WITH THE EFFECTS OF PRIDE, GUILT, SIN, AND SECRECY WITH AN EMPHASIS ON SYMBOLISM AND ALLEGORY.
HE WROTE THE SCARLET LETTER IN 1850 WHICH REVEALS PSYCHOLOGICAL INSIGHT WITH WHICH HE PROBED THE GUILT AND ANXIETY IN THE HUMAN SOUL.
THE SCARLET LETTER CONCERNED THE SIN AND GUILT AMONG THE PURITANS AND PROBED THE PROBLEMS OF EVIL AND ISOLATION IN HUMAN LIFE.
HAWTHORNS IS A ROMANTIC WRITER BUT HIS PERCEPTION OF THE DARK SIDE OF HUMAN LIFE OVERPOWERS OPTIMISM.
THEMES AND MEANINGS
THE MAJOR THEME OF THE STORY IS THE SYMBOL OF THE VEIL REV. HOOPER WEARS.
MR. HOOPER SUGGESTS ALL HUMANS SHOULD COVER THEIR FACES BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE SOME SECRET SIN OR SORROW.
THE MAJOR THEME IS EVERYONE WEARS A BLACK VEIL—EVERYONE HAS A SECRET SIN TO HIDE FROM OTHERS.
THE 2ND MAJOR THEME IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIN AS SORROW DEMANDS A HIGH PRICE.
THE VEIL STRIKES FEAR IN THE VILLAGERS HEARTS.
HIS FIANCEE, ELIZABETH, CANNOT MARRY HIM AND THE REV. HOOPER BECOMES A LONELY MAN.
IF YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE SECRET SINS OF YOUR HEART YOU WILL LEAD A LIFE OF LONELINESS AND BECOME APRISONER OFYOUR OWN HEART.
STYLE AND TECHNIQUE
THIS IS A SYMBOLIC TALE OF SECRET SIN OR CRIME.
THE MORAL LESSON IS THE FEAR THE VEIL STRIKES IN OTHERS BUT ALSO THE TRUTH IT MAY REVEAL.
• The story begins with a dramatic and unexplained change in the appearance of the town’s pastor.
• The darkened aspect of the veil is important as it parallels the changed viewpoint of the minister towards life.
• It also foreshadows the effect it will continue to have on him throughout the story.
• There is a dual reference to Hooper’s view being obscured from others and also from his reading the Bible.
• Hooper has come to the conclusion that human beings in their sinfulness are irrevocably far from God.
• He believes nothing he can do can bring his congregation into full communion with God because people are simply too worldly.
• Hooper knows he is different—he is only too aware of his mortal sinfulness.
• But he is different because of his profound awareness of sin.
• This is what separates him from his fellow man—the veil is merely a symbol of the realization.
• Because he is so conscious of his sinfulness he cannot share in the simple joys of life.
• He also is incapable of clarifying the Scriptures because now he is more aware of the obscurity of the ways of God.
• The dramatic conclusion shows that Hooper sees all people with a veil upon their faces—and they are filled with sinfulness.
HOMEWORK: DUE THE DAY AFTER WE COMPLETE THE STORY.
THE MINISTER’S BLACK VEIL by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A. Write a sentence for each of the following words. Sentences must reflect the story.
1. parable
2. crape
3. discourse
4. pathos
5. sagacious
B. Briefly answer the following questions.
1. What is odd about the Reverend Mr. Hoopers’ appearance?
2. What parts of his face are covered by the veil? Explain
3. How do the parishioners react? Be specific.
4. How does the wearing of the veil affect the impact of his sermons?
5. How do the people of the parish react to the minister’s blessings (p. 407, paragraph 1)?
6. In what other ways do the parishioners express their feelings toward the minister’s wearing of the veil (p. 407)?
7. Was the veil appropriate for funerals? For weddings? Discuss, providing the evidence (p. 408).
8. Mr. Hoopers’ fiancée, Elizabeth, discusses his wearing of the veil. What is the outcome of their conversation (pp. 410-411)? Why?
9. What is the one good effect of the black veil (p. 412)?
10. Who takes care of Mr. Hooper on his death bed?
11. At this point the author begins to explain the significance of the black veil. What impact has it had on the people around him? Quote the lines from page 413, paragraph 3.
12. The minister of Westbury, who is with Hooper as he is dying, ask if Hooper is ready for “the lifting of the veil that shuts in time from eternity.” How does Hooper react?
13. Is the minister buried with his veil still on?
C. Write true or false for each of the following statements about the story.
1. Mr. Hooper’s veil covers his entire face.
2. The wearing of the veil during the preaching of sermons made their impact even more powerful.
3. Elizabeth asks Mr. Hooper to “Life the veil but once, and look her in the face.”
4. Mr. Hooper and Elizabeth celebrate their wedding vows.
5. When Mr. Hooper dies the veil is removed by the minister of Westbury.
D. Briefly answer the following questions.
1. What is the subject of Mr. Hooper’s sermon on the first day he wears the black veil?
2. What does Reverend Hooper tell Elizabeth the veil is? What two possible explanations for wearing the veil do they discuss?
3. What reasons does Hooper give Elizabeth not to desert him? For what reason does he smile after Elizabeth breaks their engagement and leaves?
4. What does the author say is “the one desirable effect” the black veil has?
5. On his deathbed, what does Reverend Hooper say men, women, and children have done? What doe she say he sees on every face?
6. What human emotions are shown to fail between Elizabeth and Reverend Hooper as a result of the veil?
7. What is the chief effect that the veil has on Reverend Hooper? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
8. What might Reverend Hooper mean when he says that everyone wears a black veil?
9. List at least four possible reasons Reverend Hooper might have for wearing the veil. Why is if appropriate that we never learn the precise reason?
10. Hawthorne purposely leaves the meaning of the veil ambiguous and up to the reader. What do you think the veil means? Why?
11. A critic writes about “The Minister’s Black Veil”: The fullness of life…can only come about through self-surrender, through a refusal to withhold oneself, or any part of one’s personality, in a human relationship.
In the last analysis, this was what Hawthorne believed was the essence of human reality. The most compelling truth of all that Mr. Hooper tried to teach by means of his dismal veil is the necessity of self-surrender.
Do you agree that self-surrender is central to the story? Support your opinion by discussing Mr. Hooper’s intended marriage and the marriage of “the handsomest couple in Milford village” in he light of this statement.
# posted by Sister Pat / English @ 5:54 AM 
