Quotation Responses

The Minister's Black Veil A Parable

By Nathaniel Hawthorne


1.) "For the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil."

This quote truly reveals the surroundings of Mr. Hooper and the people. Not only did Mr. Hooper have his black veil on but also because he wore this, his surroundings also seemed to bear sadness and grief. If Mr. Hooper were to take off his black veil, it was as if the true beauty of the Earth would stand right before him and he would be opened up to what really surrounds him. The other aspect that can be drawn from this quote would be involving the people. Since Mr. Hooper wore this black veil, when he was sighted the surroundings of the people might have turned sorrowful because of the knowledge of the sadness the carried with the black veil. Also the faces that Mr. Hooper saw through the black veil would be the cause of the people sighting the sadness carried by this veil.


2.) "Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends."

When Mr. Hooper is explaining why he must boar this veil to Elizabeth, Hooper reveils that it will be with him until he breathes his last breath. When he says this, he literally means that the accident that had happened to him will stick with him forever and the veil is a way of covering up the sadness and grief that he bears everyday. Hooper claims that it does not matter what the condition of the day is, it is his duty to cover his face so that he may not be seen and tied back to the inccedent and schold him for causing the death of his good friend. By doing this, Hooper would be able to escape the attention of crowds and not be pointed out by many individuals who knew the man he accidently killed. He notes that he was bound to wear it as punishment for his owndoings and causing the terrible tragedy to happen.