Analysis of "The Minister’s Black Veil-Character"
Analysis of "The Minister’s Black Veil-Character"
I chose to write on Hawthorne’s, The Minister’s Black Veil. I considered the character’s in the story intriguing, from the mystery they portrayed. The characters in this story, and any story, consist of a protagonist and an antagonist. Some label the protagonist as the good guy, or “white hat,” and the antagonist the bad guy, or “black hat.”
The protagonist in this story was Mr. Hooper. He was the town reverend, and everyone listened to his word on every Sabbath day. The people of the town were frightened and astonished by the black veil he wore, but he was still the same person underneath the veil. He was not intending to harm anyone. So, I felt I could label him the protagonist of the story. I also believed that veil itself was a form of a protagonist. The veil was placed there, not to scare the people, but to block the evil in the world that Mr. Hooper was infected with, or hiding from. The town’s people considered the veil evil instantly. They did not even attempt to ask the reverend why he wore the veil, so they were never informed on the true meaning. Instead of asking why he wore it, they wondered and made assumptions.
There was no single antagonist in this story. The whole community, from his fiancee, Elizabeth, to the sexton, down to Reverend Mr. Clark, who wished Mr. Hooper his final blessings before his passing. The whole town deemed Mr. Hooper as this man of evil and dark mystery. They turned Mr. Hooper away, and looked at him as a freak show, not as the melancholy Reverend he once was. The way Hooper was shut out from his community was part of the demise of the Reverend. When he walked out of his church, he saw children playing, and like always he gave kind notice to the children. Instead of acknowledging the Reverend, the children ran in fear. That tore at Mr. Hooper. He was also hurt by the leaving of his love, Elizabeth, who wouldn’t stay with him through such desperate times. If the community had tried to understand why the man decided to wear a piece of crape over his face, instead of tearing him apart,...