MINISTER'S BLACK VEIL" BY NATANIEL AWTORNE
The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze "The Minister's Black Veil," written by Nathaniel awthorne.

awthorne's short story is deceptively simple. e tells the tale of a minister, Parson ooper, who comes to church one Sunday wearing a black veil over his face. Nothing else about him has changed, but this veil frightens the worshippers, and sets off all kinds of rumors, including that Parson ooper has gone mad.

"Such was the effect of this simple piece of crepe, that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meetinghouse. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil to them."

As he preaches his sermon, the congregation seems to find this sermon special, and somehow it touches each one. awthorne says that ooper was normally a rather "uninspired" preacher, and today…...

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Hawthorne's story, and the veil itself, is a metaphor for all of our sins and transgressions. It is an example of the Bible passage which says, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." No one in Hooper's small town is without sin, and his veil is a living example to them. They somehow know deep down what the veil represents, and so no one will be the one to "unveil" the parson, and therefore "unveil" their own sins.

Wearing the veil makes Hooper a better man, even if he is a more lonely man. He hopes to make the citizens of his town better people too, but they are too afraid. It is easier for them to look at the parson as "mad," or "odd," anything but the person who is making them aware of their own weaknesses.

Hawthorne writes of man's weakness -- not only sins, but also the fears that guide each of us through our lives. This is a story of one strong man who lived a good life, and how he was ostracized simply because he was a little bit different. Hawthorne wrote this story in 1836. Our society has really changed very little in those nearly 200 years. We still ostracize those who are different, even if they can teach us more about ourselves.

Jungian perspective of "The Minister's Black Veil."
The critical theory used in the story is the psychological theory, and the sub-set of the theory is Jung's Archetypes. The Minister's Black Veil is an interesting and unpredictable story that demonstrates how people would perceive a person if they went against the ordinary. Mr. Hooper is a minister who deemed it fit to wear a black veil every day. He never removed the veil and did not offer any explanation for wearing it. The only thing he said is that he would not remove the veil while he was on earth, but the veil would only be removed once he was no more. Mr. Hooper used the veil to symbolize that all humans have things they hide all the time, and would not be willing to reveal them to the world. The black veil symbolized the sorrows and sins that people were hiding.…...

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References

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Minister's Black Veil. Best Classic Books, 1837. Print.

Jung, Carl Gustav. Four Archetypes:(from Vol. 9, Part 1 of the Collected Works of Cg Jung). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012. Print.

Mr. Hooper states that he is no better or worse than the other members of his community, who he believes also harbor secret sins, even though they act as though they do not. The anti-Transcendentalist concept, like Transcendentalism, suggests that society harbors a false surface, but it believes this is due to an innate sinfulness of humankind, not because human beings outside of society are better.

Anti-transcendentalists believed that humans are hypocrites, and removing social constrictions will not heal the sins of humanity. Mr. Hooper, unlike Emerson's joyful sense of solitude in nature also experiences his isolation as a penance. He chooses to punish himself, not to gain a more positive sense of his inner self, but to fully understand and apprehend its sinfulness. Another key concept of Transcendentalism is the idea that a person's inner life is more important than their social, outer life. However, in Mr. Hooper's estimation, there…...

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Works Cited

Brulatour, Meg. "Heaven on Earth: The Legacy of 19th Century Transcendentalism as an Ecumenical Philosophy of Nature." American Transcendentalist Web 1999

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." E-text available from  http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=HawMini.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1

Hooper's wearing of the veil only reinforces this notion. e are all unclean and should be aware of our condition. Hooper believed this and says so on his deathbed when he tells those around him, "On every visage a Black Veil!" (Hawthorne 640) G.A. Santangelo believes that Hawthorne was concerned with a delusional state of innocence in that no one can be innocent in this world "because man has a propensity for evil that musty be understood" (Santangelo 61). No one of this earth can be innocent and failure to recognize this "leads to a childish egotism and an unrealistic ethic which results in a sterile paganism" (61). Hooper makes a choice that isolates him but it is a choice that is "dedicated to a higher purpose" (66). In this sense, he "accepts the darkness, not in pride, but of necessity" (66). This story is tragic, according to Santangelo…...

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Works Cited

Gilbert P. Voigt. "The Meaning of 'The Minister's Black Veil.' College English. 1952. JSTOR

Resource Database. Information Retrieved March 19, 2009.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Concise Anthology of English Literature. McMichael, George. Ed. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River. 2006.

Morsberger, Robert. "The Minister's Black Veil': Shrouded in a Blackness, Ten Times Black."

Hawthorne
Hooper suddenly dons a mysterious black veil "which entirely concealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things," (Hawthorne). This "gloomy" veil is the central symbol of Hawthorne's short story, "The Minister's Black Veil." As with other Hawthorne stories, "The Minister's Black Veil" offers a poignant critique against hyper-religiosity in ultra-Puritan New England. Hawthorne shows that a Christian obsession with the theme of sin has been taken to an extreme, evident in Hooper's mentally deranged methodology. By wearing the veil continuously in her personal and public affairs, Hooper alienates himself from those who care about him, including the community members who used to count on him. On the other hand, guilt-ridden members of the community view Hooper's veil as a sign that the minister is ultra-pious and therefore capable of leading…...

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Works Cited

Carnochan, W.B. "The Minister's Black Veil": Symbol, Meaning, and the Context of Hawthorne's Art." Nineteenth-Century Fiction. Vol. 24, No. 2 (Sep., 1969), pp. 182-192

Colacurcio, Michael J. "Parson Hooper's Power of Blackness: Sin and Self in "The Minister's Black Veil" Prospects. Vol. 5. Oct 1980.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Retrieved online: http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/mbv.html

Newberry, Frederick. "The Biblical Veil: Sources and Typology in Hawthorne's 'The Minister's Black Veil,'" Texas Studies in Literature and Language. Vol. 31, No. 2, Nineteenth-Century Fiction (SUMMER 1989), pp. 169-195

Minister's Black Veil" and "The Birth-mark:" Hubris
Many of Nathaniel Hawthorne's works are seen as a critique of Puritan ideology and the dangers of having a judgmental attitude. "The Minister's Black Veil" illustrates the Reverend Hooper's vindictive and narrow-minded attitude not to others but to himself. He punishes himself in perpetuity for some unnamed sin although at the end of his life, right before his death, he proclaims that all human beings wear a black veil of sin, not just himself. "The Birth-mark," in contrast, depicts the dangerous overconfidence of a scientist who is certain that he can render God's creation better than God himself in his attempts to change his wife's appearance. But while Aylmer's actions are more obviously arrogant, both men are essentially acting as judge and jury over others on earth, rather than leaving that judgment to God himself.

At the beginning of "The Birthmark," Aylmer's quest to…...

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Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Birthmark,"1-10

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." From Twice-Told Tales, 1837, 1851,

American Literature
Listen to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God preached. Discuss in the discussion group.

Jonathan Edwards gives us a perfect example of the Calvinist beliefs of the Puritan settlers in early New England. Edwards studied theology at Yale University -- where today there is still a dormitory named after him -- but then became a noteworthy preacher in the Great Awakening, which exhorted an entire generation to renew their Christian faith. Edwards' skill in preaching lies in using literary imagery to get across abstract theological concepts. Calvinist theology believes in "total depravity" -- in other words, because of Adam and Eve eating the apple, human beings are fallen, and stained with "original sin." The most memorable image in Edwards' sermon -- the image of the spider being held over a fiery pit -- is meant to be a metaphor to enable the listener to imagine how God feels…...

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Mather 22)

Hawthorne clearly stepped away from the Puritan ethic by consistently alluding to the existence of the earthly supernatural. Though this was a fear of the Puritans, clearly it was associated with Satan and possession of the living. In Hawthorne's works the supernatural was associated with less grand sources, such as those seen in Young Goodman Brown. (Hoeltje 39-40) Hawthorne allows his characters to explore concepts that would have been those deemed heretical within the Puritan settings of the works.

In The Birth-Mark, Hawthorne associates the active expulsion of character traits of humanity clearly results in the death of the whole.

The line of divergence in "The Birth Mark" is indicated by its name. e all have our birth-marks, -- traits of character, which may be temporarily suppressed, or relegated to the background, but which cannot be eradicated and are certain to reappear at unguarded moments, or on exceptional occasions...The father who…...

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Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2004.

Emmett, Paul J. "Narrative Suppression: Sin, Secrecy and Subjectivity in "The Minister's Black Veil." Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 25.1-2 (2004): 101+. Questia. 16 Jan. 2005  http://www.questia.com/ .

Gartner, Matthew. "The Scarlet Letter' and the Book of Esther: Scriptural Letter and Narrative Life." Studies in American Fiction 23.2 (1995): 131+. Questia. 16 Jan. 2005

This is a small step towards the improvement of opportunities for women in the Middle East. However, Turkey is considered a "soft" power in the Middle East (Altunisik, 2005), so this small step alone is unlikely to result in immediate sweeping change. However, this does represent a small step and demonstrates that the women's movement is gaining strength.
Middle Eastern culture centers on the village and the local conditions Societies within the Middle East developed in geographically isolated pockets. Historically, these pockets had little contact with each other and developed their own ideologies and traditions that made them unique. Among those traditions is how they define women's roles and treat them in regard to education and career opportunities.

One such example of this distinction due to locality is the case of India. Southern India follows a matrilineal family system, while a patrilineal system is followed in the North (Ghandi, 2003). Despite…...

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References Bureau. Retrieved June 22, 2009 from  http://www.prb.org/Publications/PolicyBriefs/EmpoweringWomenDevelopingSocietyFe 

maleEducationintheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica

.aspx

Zambelis, C. (2005). The Strategic Implications of Political Liberalization and Democratization

in the Middle East. Parameters. 35 (3): 87.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe may be counted among the leading American writers to have defined contemporary literature. These personalities significantly elevated short story standards, banking of every literary element in order for strengthening their styles. However, the two utilized these tools rather differently. On the one hand, Hawthorne delved into and discovered human nature’s realities, while, on the other, Poe examined the hearts of people by critiquing their thinking, values, and actions. Both were able to emerge successful when it came to the exploration of short story details, employing words for developing a vibrant world for their readers. Via the genres of gothic and romance fiction, Poe and Hawthorne have effectively widened the horizons of readers, replacing unexciting, old stories with intriguing ones that deal with an enigmatic human reality as well as the inevitable realities underlying human nature.
The novels and short tales of fiction teem with symbolism,…...

Also, it does not really fit very well with the rest of the syllabus. The other stories on the syllabus have three-dimensional characters that show a mix of good and bad characteristics, and face moral dilemmas. But the 'good man' of the title is suddenly confronted with a vision of hypocrisy, of the good people of the town showing their evil side. He does not come to this encounter with any soul-searching, or because he has done something particularly extraordinary, in terms of the story's plot. The story is heavy-handed and does not make much of a 'case' for the effective use of symbolism or the use of stories with clearly moral tales. Most people in the class have already encountered fables and morality tales in their other reading, even as children, and the more complex modernist works are a better spur towards better writing and…...

Thomas Paine was an earlier conqueror of the special association that was formed between America and France. His part in this association was initiated with his responsibility of the post of American Congress Secretary of Foreign Affairs where he continually used dialogue to make relations between the two better. He retained this post throughout the American evolution. Paine, however, is better noted for his works written throughout the American and French evolutions Eras. In his writings, Paine offered spirited protection of accepted autonomy, human rights, and the republican government. Both Common Sense (1776) ights of Man (1791-1792) stick out as the most broadly read political areas from the era. Paine's distinctive global thought also can serve as the building blocks for liberal cosmopolitanism in worldwide relations. His unrelenting faith in aspects of democratization, free trade, and respect for human rights being the factors that cut back worldwide conflict stands among…...

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References

Fruchtman, Jack, Jr. "Thomas Paine and the Religion of Nature." Johns Hopkins University Press . 1993.

Fruchtman, Jack, Jr. "Thomas Paine: Apostle of Freedom." Four Walls Eight Windows. 1994.

Keane, John. "Tom Paine: A Political Life." Little, Brown. 1995.

Irony and Humor in French Literature
Delphine Perret's analysis of irony and humor is apparently well-founded and well-supported by famous literature. Due to obvious differences in the French and English notions of irony, Perret explored irony by returning to its roots. Starting "at square one" with definitions of "irony" from notable dictionaries, Perret then traces irony through historical eras and developments with the aid of such great thinkers as Socrates and Aristotle. Her exhaustive analysis results in clearly defined types of irony/humor, basic elements of the phenomenon and dimensions that are or should be present in that form of writing. The intelligence of Perret's examination is illustrated in two famous French plays of the 19th and 20th Century: "Ubu Roi" and "The ald Soprano." Though written by different playwrights in different centuries, both plays fully support Perret's analysis and findings regarding irony/humor.

ody

a. Perret's Applicable Points

Delphine Perret's "Irony" (Perret), which analyzes irony…...

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Bibliography

Ashton, Dore. "On Blaise Cendrars...But I Digress." Raritan, 31(2) (Fall 2011): 1-42, 164. Print.

Dittmar, Linda and Joseph Entin. "Jamming the Works: Art, Politics, and Activism." Radical Teacher, 89 (Winter 2010): 3-9, 79-80. Print.

Hrbek, Greg. "The Science of Imaginary Solutions." Salmagundi, 170/171 (Spring 2011): 240-252, 280. Print.

Ionesco, Eugene and Donald M. Allen. The Bald Soprano and Other Plays. New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc., 1958. Print.

It is a divine and blessed land. Also, it explains the different forces at work in the world. The forces of the weather impact the lives of ordinary people with great significance. The people who told this first story wanted to find a reason for why weather was so powerful, thus the forces of the weather were the king's administrators, like administrators of a nation. The entire early society in this myth of origins is seen as a kind of kingdom, with officials administering the different elements that affect people's daily lives, like good and evil and sickness and death. People cannot control these forces but they can appeal to these benevolent ministers to help them.
Human beings are created through an act of great patience, namely the patience of the bear. The fierce tiger and the bear are given a great challenge, to live on a miserable substance in…...

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Works Cited

Farrer, Claire R. (1996). Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Mescalero Apaches and the Mythic Present. Waveland Press.

Korean Creation Myth." 23 Feb 2007. http://www.natkd.com/korean_creation_myth.htm

Injustice anywhere," King went on, "is a threat to justice everywhere."
As to the social and racial injustices King is speaking of, a bit of background into conditions in the South - and specifically, in Alabama - is worthy of some space in this paper. In fact, just a few years prior to the civil rights activism in Birmingham (that saw King arrested and placed in a jail), the lynching of African-Americans in Alabama was not uncommon. The New York Times (August 30, 1933) reported that two "Negroes" were found lynched near Birmingham on a Sunday morning, but the good news was "mob murders have declined"; indeed, the paper reported, "...in the last ten years there have only been four lynchings" in Alabama. And on July 26, 1947, The New York Times quoted the Tuskegee Institute's data that "six out of every seven potential lynchings have been prevented" over the…...

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Works Cited

Bass, Jonathan S. Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King. Jr., Eight White

Religious Leaders, and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Baton Rouge: Louisiana State

University Press, 2001

King, Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham Jail. Essential Documents in American