Nathaniel Hawthorne was a descendant of one of Salem's judges who sentenced several "witches" to death making these stories personal for him. Hawthorne was ashamed of his ancestors, and believed Puritanism to be foolish. Hawthorne’s heritage makes him biased against Puritans, but he is using them as an example to show everyone the superficiality that exists in the whole world. Throughout the stories, Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil, Hawthorne uses symbols, characters, and Puritanism to show that the world is full of sinners and hypocrites, and that everyone has evil thoughts.
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper shocks his townspeople by putting a veil permanently on his face. The veil is a paradox of concealment and …show more content…
During Lent we are supposed to admit to the sins that we have committed, and ask a priest for forgiveness. Hawthorne wanted to prove that we all sinned, and that we all should admit to them. That was his main purpose in writing “The MInister's Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown.” He used Goodman Brown’s journey to convey that everyone, even the religious leaders sin. He used Faith’s ribbon to symbolize that evil and good are both present in everyone. Another issue of Puritanism that Hawthorne was addressing was that you can’t only have on perspective of life. As Goodman Brown showed us, if you no longer have faith in that perspective, then you will feel like life has no meaning and that can be destructive. He used Mr. Hooper’s transformation to an outcast to show that we tend to focus on looks and not purpose. We also see what everyone else does wrong but don't see ourselves doing anything wrong. Although Hawthorne tended to focus on the Puritans, these are all issues that still exist today. In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne was using Puritans to convey present-day issues of good and evil, sin, and being open-minded to changes in
In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper shocks his townspeople by putting a veil permanently on his face. The veil is a paradox of concealment and …show more content…
During Lent we are supposed to admit to the sins that we have committed, and ask a priest for forgiveness. Hawthorne wanted to prove that we all sinned, and that we all should admit to them. That was his main purpose in writing “The MInister's Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown.” He used Goodman Brown’s journey to convey that everyone, even the religious leaders sin. He used Faith’s ribbon to symbolize that evil and good are both present in everyone. Another issue of Puritanism that Hawthorne was addressing was that you can’t only have on perspective of life. As Goodman Brown showed us, if you no longer have faith in that perspective, then you will feel like life has no meaning and that can be destructive. He used Mr. Hooper’s transformation to an outcast to show that we tend to focus on looks and not purpose. We also see what everyone else does wrong but don't see ourselves doing anything wrong. Although Hawthorne tended to focus on the Puritans, these are all issues that still exist today. In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne was using Puritans to convey present-day issues of good and evil, sin, and being open-minded to changes in