In The Minister’s Black Veil, by Nathaniel Hawkins, a minister that is well-liked by his parishioners suddenly shows up in town with a black veil covering his face. Everyone speculates as to why he is wearing the veil. He doesn’t even reveal the reason to his wife. He winds up wearing it until he dies. The setting, the wife’s reaction, and the fact that the minister says that everyone wears a black veil are all interesting elements from the story.
The setting is in a small town where everyone knows each other. This is important to the plot because the townspeople are all shocked to see the minister’s black veil and try to guess as to why he is wearing it. This reaction is justified because it is only human nature to wonder about things that are different. Their assumptions are that the minister may be trying to separate himself from some sort of sin or that he may have a hidden sin. The townspeople also speculated that the stare of the dead may have driven him to wear the veil. One of the themes of this story seems to be that people will draw their own conclusions as to the causes of something they do not understand. …show more content…
She adds to the confusion of the story because he has not even revealed to her the meaning of the black veil. This shows just how dedicated the minister is to wearing the veil. He says that the veil must stay with him until he dies. This causes the wife to leave him and adds to his loneliness which is shown through the fact that the townspeople either avoid him or gawk at him. The minister seems broken-hearted as how people treat him, “It grieved him, to the very depth of his kind heart, to observe how the children fled from his approach,
The setting is in a small town where everyone knows each other. This is important to the plot because the townspeople are all shocked to see the minister’s black veil and try to guess as to why he is wearing it. This reaction is justified because it is only human nature to wonder about things that are different. Their assumptions are that the minister may be trying to separate himself from some sort of sin or that he may have a hidden sin. The townspeople also speculated that the stare of the dead may have driven him to wear the veil. One of the themes of this story seems to be that people will draw their own conclusions as to the causes of something they do not understand. …show more content…
She adds to the confusion of the story because he has not even revealed to her the meaning of the black veil. This shows just how dedicated the minister is to wearing the veil. He says that the veil must stay with him until he dies. This causes the wife to leave him and adds to his loneliness which is shown through the fact that the townspeople either avoid him or gawk at him. The minister seems broken-hearted as how people treat him, “It grieved him, to the very depth of his kind heart, to observe how the children fled from his approach,