Bartleby The Scrivener And The Minister's Black Veil Analysis

Bard High School Early College Queens Rafia Islam Literature of the Americas December 6, 2015 Isolation in “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville and “The Minister 's Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne are two very interesting and thought provoking works of literature. They take everyday objects and subjects and transform these ideas into stories. Both of these short stories were written in the nineteenth century. Specifically, “Bartleby the Scrivener” was published in 1853 and “ The Minister’s Black Veil” was published in 1836. Although these stories were published about seventeen years apart, they share a common theme of isolation. Both of the protagonists in the stories come to a realization that slowly, the world is being controlled by isolation and sin and that no matter what relationships we have with one another, they will always be torn apart by society and humanity in general. “The Minister’s Black Veil” depicts the story of a typical minister named Mr. Hooper. However, his whole life changes after he puts on a simple black veil. The reactions of his congregation are unanimously negative, as the veil literally puts the fear of God into the villagers. Isolation is …show more content…
However, isolation is used in different contexts for each short story. Isolation is an important concept, once you think about it because as shown in both texts, lack of knowledge about a person or simply separation from people can be seen as lack of humanity. Isolation can depress a person, or make him better because deep inside, it is truly obvious that society is cruel and who would not want to distance themselves from society’s evil