Meaningful Connections Only Exist After Death
In Hawthorne’s piece "The Ministers Black Veil" Mr. Hooper, the town's minister arrives at a service one morning with a black veil on his face and his choice to do so is very important to understanding the severity of the secondary characters reaction. On several occasions in the piece Mr. Hooper claims that the veil separates him from the earth, however being a spiritual man and a minister, he still has a strong connection with God and a strong belief in the afterlife. Mr. Hooper’s decision to wear the black veil upon his face was no accident, in fact, he chose to do so in order to test the connections he had made on earth and see if they were strong enough to hold up to the spiritual connections he had made. As the story unfolds this is discovered to not be the case. Hawthorne uses the actions of secondary characters, both dead and alive, in his piece “The Ministers Black Veil” to convey to the reader that unity and meaningful earthly connections are impossible to obtain.
The first way that Hawthorne uses secondary characters in his piece is by using the townspeople’s actions to prove how earthly connections are not as deep as …show more content…
The first is through the reactions of the secondary characters that include the townspeople and Mr. Hooper's fiancé Elizabeth, he shows how there can be no meaningful connections on earth. The second is through Mr. Hooper's reaction towards the dead woman in the casket and in regard to talking about the afterlife, Hawthorne shows that since no meaningful connections can be made on earth, the only truly meaningful ones can be made in the afterlife on a spiritual level. With both of these elements combined Hawthorne effectively portrays the idea that meaningful earthly connections are impossible to obtain and it is only in the afterlife that connections can be formed and maintained
In Hawthorne’s piece "The Ministers Black Veil" Mr. Hooper, the town's minister arrives at a service one morning with a black veil on his face and his choice to do so is very important to understanding the severity of the secondary characters reaction. On several occasions in the piece Mr. Hooper claims that the veil separates him from the earth, however being a spiritual man and a minister, he still has a strong connection with God and a strong belief in the afterlife. Mr. Hooper’s decision to wear the black veil upon his face was no accident, in fact, he chose to do so in order to test the connections he had made on earth and see if they were strong enough to hold up to the spiritual connections he had made. As the story unfolds this is discovered to not be the case. Hawthorne uses the actions of secondary characters, both dead and alive, in his piece “The Ministers Black Veil” to convey to the reader that unity and meaningful earthly connections are impossible to obtain.
The first way that Hawthorne uses secondary characters in his piece is by using the townspeople’s actions to prove how earthly connections are not as deep as …show more content…
The first is through the reactions of the secondary characters that include the townspeople and Mr. Hooper's fiancé Elizabeth, he shows how there can be no meaningful connections on earth. The second is through Mr. Hooper's reaction towards the dead woman in the casket and in regard to talking about the afterlife, Hawthorne shows that since no meaningful connections can be made on earth, the only truly meaningful ones can be made in the afterlife on a spiritual level. With both of these elements combined Hawthorne effectively portrays the idea that meaningful earthly connections are impossible to obtain and it is only in the afterlife that connections can be formed and maintained