The theme of secret sin in "The Minister's Black Veil" is the most important aspect of the story. The minister's admittance of sin in his life appeared to ruin him more than if he had merely told his fiancé about his struggles. By separating himself from his congregation, Mr. Hooper ruined any chance of redemption in this life. The same theme runs throughout "Young Goodman Brown" but in a different sense. In this story, the Goodman Brown's life is ruined not directly by his secret sin, but by the revelation of other respectable citizens' hypocrisy. Because of his secrecy, Brown is not able to openly fight against the devil. If he had not kept his sins hidden, he could have discussed his failings with Faith and then be saved from a miserable life of paranoia.
Throughout both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil," there are many instances where secret sin and hypocrisy stand out. In both stories though, the most prominent aspect of secret sin that appeals to me is how it will destroy lives. The minister lived a life trying to hide his sin from his congregation, and this continuous act hurt himself and others. His congregation began to question his life and sin, while the sin destroyed his life, even to his death. Similarly, Goodman Brown's secret sin destroyed his life. After his encounter with the devil, every church member and person seems evil to him. He even never fully loves his wife again and is haunted forever.
Secret sin and hypocrisy each serve as major themes in "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil". Hawthorne wants his audience to understand that the keeping of a sin in secrecy can ruin a man. Mentally, and spiritually, it causes him to deteriorate. This phenomenon is clearly revealed in both of these stories. Reverend Hooper reveals not what his "great sin" is, and this causes him a life of despair and separation from the community; while Mr. Brown allows his sin to reside in, and eat at, his consciousness rather than openly declaring it an evil and turning from it. This, along with his discovery of the hypocrisy within the church of the community, causes him, also, a life of despair. (The hypocrisy found in Hooper's case is that he is, in fact, a minister and yet will not openly repent of his sin.) In any case, the keeping of a sin within the depths of one's heart without ever repenting of it will inevitably lead to an outcome similar that which befell these men.
The theme of hyprocrisy is quite obvious in both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil". In both stories people are revealed to be something other than what they seem. In "The Minister's Black Veil", Mr. Hooper is revealed to have some sort of sin that he is hiding. This shocks his congregation because they have always viewed him as flawless since he is a clergymen. In "Young Goodman Brown", many people are revealed as hypocrites! The old lady that taught Goodman Brown his catechism, the minister, the deacon, and even his own wife go to meet with the devil. Normally Goodman Brown would have never even suspected these people of consorting with the devil, and their hypocrisy ruins his trust and faith in humanity. The theme of secret sin is seen in both works because Mr. Hooper tries to cover up his sin with the veil, and Goodman Brown's secret sin is his meeting with the devil. Both stories make it evident that secret sin can destroy lives, and sin will always be found out.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are very evident in both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." Hawthorne shows through these two stories that secret sin and hypocrisy will ruin lives altogether. In "Young Goodman Brown," Goodman Brown had to meet with the devil for his "secret sin." I agree with CK in that after that meeting, Goodman Brown was haunted forever. He saw people differently, he treated people differently, and his life became ruined all because of secret sin. Also all of the citizens lived in hypocrisy, and that destroyed their lives and Brown's life. In "The Minister's Black Veil," secret sin ruined his life also. His whole congregation viewed him differently, and his relationship with his wife essentially ended. He ended up dying at the end of the story. Secret sin and hypocrisy will always find a way to become revealed and ruin someone's life.
Throughout "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil", the theme of secret sin and hypocrisy is seen. By the usage of secret sin in both of the stories as a whole, Hawthorne shows how secrets kept from others can cause one to have problems and can even lead to death. In "The Minister's Black Veil", because the minister kept his sin from everyone else, it cause not only his life to have problems but others around him to be affected.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are two major themes that remain present throughout these two stories. In "The Minister's Black Veil", secret sin is seen from the veil that the minister wears. He is hiding something from everyone and tries at all cost to not let anyone see what is under the veil. He is protective of it and carries the burden of his sin but will not let anyone know what he is going through. Likewise in "Young Goodman Brown", Goodman has the secret sin of meeting with the devil. Although his meetings with the devil may not be literally, he has the burden of his encounters with the devil. His secret is not letting Faith know that he is meeting with the devil. The hypocrisy of both these stories comes from the actual ministers having the secret sin. In both of these tales both ministers have secret sin. Although, in "Young Goodman Brown", the minister is actually meeting with the devil. These stories are full of secret sin and hypocrisy which show the reader what he needs to look out for in his everyday walk with God.
Like nearly everyone else has mentioned, the themes of secret sin and hypocrisy are seen entirely throughout the two stories. In "Young Goodman Brown" hypocrisy is revealed when Brown realizes all his fellow church memebers have been meeting with the devil as well. This not only shocks Brown, but eats away at him for the rest of his life. Secret sin is also seen in this story when Goodman Brown hides from his wife the fact that he is meeting with the devil. In "The Minister's Black Veil", Reverand Hooper is viewed as a hypocrite once his sin is revealed to his congregation. And the fact he has hidden his sin from the congregation also revelas the secret sin in the story.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are two key trademarks of syrupy Nathaniel Hawthorne, therefore secret sin and hypocrisy are to be expected out of both stories. For "The Minister's Black Veil", the minister is dealing with his internal conflict of both secret sin and hypocrisy. The secret sin, however, is not releavled to the audience at any time. But the hypocrisy is seen in that it is expected that a minister (especially in those days) be percfect and held to a highest standard, but it has come to the attention nowadays that even preachers and ministers fall into sin. In "Young Goodman Brown", secret sin and hypocrisy are seen again just in different ways. The secret sin is Goodman Brown's meeting with the devil, that of which is taken to be his internal conflict rather than external conflict. The hypocrisy is the fact that he is keeping it a secret yet everyone else is dealing with the same problem. In fact, it is later revealed that even the minister and the deacon are dealing with the same issues as Goodman Brown himself.
The themes of secret sin and hypocrisy are seen in both of these stories as well as many if not all stories by Nathaniel Hawthorn. In The Ministers Black Veil, his secret sin is never revealed but in all honesty, no sin is greater or worse then another sin, sin is sin. The minister however might have kept his veil on, never to remove it, not even in death, to keep the church on track. What kind of teacher is hypocritical about his teachings? That just makes his pupils turn from his teachings and throw them in the trash, for if the teacher himself doesn't live by his teachings, why should the students. In Young Goodman Brown his secret sin is meeting with the devil. In the story he is sitting on a stump and listening to bystanders go by, and what he hears is surprising. He hears and confirms the identities of the reverend and the deacon. They begin talkin and walking towards the dark woods. As Brown himself reaches the firery spot he finds the reverend and deacon holding him in this, what it seems to be, devil worship. This is also revealing of the hypocrisy of the church. Of course, not every human is perfect but for a man to say one things do another is outrageous. Honestly, who would believe and listen to a reverend, who speaks about Jesus as the only way and the devil as a bad man, who he himself worships the devil. These points just emphasis the themes of hypocrisy and secret sin in many if not all of Nathaniel's work.
Throughout both stories, one sees the theme of secret sin and hypocrisy. Secret sin is what destroyed both Mr. Hooper's and Goodman Brown's lives. The minister hid behind his dark veil because he could not face his people. People did notice and were disturbed by what he was hiding. Goodman Brown hid that he was having a meeting with the Devil. Anyone would hide this secret meeting because it was wrong.After this meeting, he was never the same. Everybody seemed evil to him, when in reality he was the evil one. In the end, both of these men kept secrets which ultimately ruined their lives.
Throughout both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Ministers Black Veil" secret sin and hypocrisy are abundant. In both stories they become the downfal of otherwise good men. Both traits will destroy ones life. As in Mr. Hoopers case, his secret sin tears him down from the inside out and leads to his early death at the same time making him live a very unhappy life. Same for Goodman Brown. After his encounter with the devil, he is forever changed and cant even love his wife the same anymore.
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The theme of secret sin in "The Minister's Black Veil" is the most important aspect of the story. The minister's admittance of sin in his life appeared to ruin him more than if he had merely told his fiancé about his struggles. By separating himself from his congregation, Mr. Hooper ruined any chance of redemption in this life. The same theme runs throughout "Young Goodman Brown" but in a different sense. In this story, the Goodman Brown's life is ruined not directly by his secret sin, but by the revelation of other respectable citizens' hypocrisy. Because of his secrecy, Brown is not able to openly fight against the devil. If he had not kept his sins hidden, he could have discussed his failings with Faith and then be saved from a miserable life of paranoia.
Throughout both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil," there are many instances where secret sin and hypocrisy stand out. In both stories though, the most prominent aspect of secret sin that appeals to me is how it will destroy lives. The minister lived a life trying to hide his sin from his congregation, and this continuous act hurt himself and others. His congregation began to question his life and sin, while the sin destroyed his life, even to his death. Similarly, Goodman Brown's secret sin destroyed his life. After his encounter with the devil, every church member and person seems evil to him. He even never fully loves his wife again and is haunted forever.
Secret sin and hypocrisy each serve as major themes in "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil". Hawthorne wants his audience to understand that the keeping of a sin in secrecy can ruin a man. Mentally, and spiritually, it causes him to deteriorate. This phenomenon is clearly revealed in both of these stories. Reverend Hooper reveals not what his "great sin" is, and this causes him a life of despair and separation from the community; while Mr. Brown allows his sin to reside in, and eat at, his consciousness rather than openly declaring it an evil and turning from it. This, along with his discovery of the hypocrisy within the church of the community, causes him, also, a life of despair. (The hypocrisy found in Hooper's case is that he is, in fact, a minister and yet will not openly repent of his sin.) In any case, the keeping of a sin within the depths of one's heart without ever repenting of it will inevitably lead to an outcome similar that which befell these men.
The theme of hyprocrisy is quite obvious in both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil". In both stories people are revealed to be something other than what they seem. In "The Minister's Black Veil", Mr. Hooper is revealed to have some sort of sin that he is hiding. This shocks his congregation because they have always viewed him as flawless since he is a clergymen. In "Young Goodman Brown", many people are revealed as hypocrites! The old lady that taught Goodman Brown his catechism, the minister, the deacon, and even his own wife go to meet with the devil. Normally Goodman Brown would have never even suspected these people of consorting with the devil, and their hypocrisy ruins his trust and faith in humanity. The theme of secret sin is seen in both works because Mr. Hooper tries to cover up his sin with the veil, and Goodman Brown's secret sin is his meeting with the devil. Both stories make it evident that secret sin can destroy lives, and sin will always be found out.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are very evident in both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." Hawthorne shows through these two stories that secret sin and hypocrisy will ruin lives altogether. In "Young Goodman Brown," Goodman Brown had to meet with the devil for his "secret sin." I agree with CK in that after that meeting, Goodman Brown was haunted forever. He saw people differently, he treated people differently, and his life became ruined all because of secret sin. Also all of the citizens lived in hypocrisy, and that destroyed their lives and Brown's life. In "The Minister's Black Veil," secret sin ruined his life also. His whole congregation viewed him differently, and his relationship with his wife essentially ended. He ended up dying at the end of the story. Secret sin and hypocrisy will always find a way to become revealed and ruin someone's life.
Throughout "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil", the theme of secret sin and hypocrisy is seen. By the usage of secret sin in both of the stories as a whole, Hawthorne shows how secrets kept from others can cause one to have problems and can even lead to death. In "The Minister's Black Veil", because the minister kept his sin from everyone else, it cause not only his life to have problems but others around him to be affected.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are two major themes that remain present throughout these two stories. In "The Minister's Black Veil", secret sin is seen from the veil that the minister wears. He is hiding something from everyone and tries at all cost to not let anyone see what is under the veil. He is protective of it and carries the burden of his sin but will not let anyone know what he is going through. Likewise in "Young Goodman Brown", Goodman has the secret sin of meeting with the devil. Although his meetings with the devil may not be literally, he has the burden of his encounters with the devil. His secret is not letting Faith know that he is meeting with the devil. The hypocrisy of both these stories comes from the actual ministers having the secret sin. In both of these tales both ministers have secret sin. Although, in "Young Goodman Brown", the minister is actually meeting with the devil. These stories are full of secret sin and hypocrisy which show the reader what he needs to look out for in his everyday walk with God.
Like nearly everyone else has mentioned, the themes of secret sin and hypocrisy are seen entirely throughout the two stories. In "Young Goodman Brown" hypocrisy is revealed when Brown realizes all his fellow church memebers have been meeting with the devil as well. This not only shocks Brown, but eats away at him for the rest of his life. Secret sin is also seen in this story when Goodman Brown hides from his wife the fact that he is meeting with the devil. In "The Minister's Black Veil", Reverand Hooper is viewed as a hypocrite once his sin is revealed to his congregation. And the fact he has hidden his sin from the congregation also revelas the secret sin in the story.
Secret sin and hypocrisy are two key trademarks of syrupy Nathaniel Hawthorne, therefore secret sin and hypocrisy are to be expected out of both stories. For "The Minister's Black Veil", the minister is dealing with his internal conflict of both secret sin and hypocrisy. The secret sin, however, is not releavled to the audience at any time. But the hypocrisy is seen in that it is expected that a minister (especially in those days) be percfect and held to a highest standard, but it has come to the attention nowadays that even preachers and ministers fall into sin. In "Young Goodman Brown", secret sin and hypocrisy are seen again just in different ways. The secret sin is Goodman Brown's meeting with the devil, that of which is taken to be his internal conflict rather than external conflict. The hypocrisy is the fact that he is keeping it a secret yet everyone else is dealing with the same problem. In fact, it is later revealed that even the minister and the deacon are dealing with the same issues as Goodman Brown himself.
The themes of secret sin and hypocrisy are seen in both of these stories as well as many if not all stories by Nathaniel Hawthorn. In The Ministers Black Veil, his secret sin is never revealed but in all honesty, no sin is greater or worse then another sin, sin is sin. The minister however might have kept his veil on, never to remove it, not even in death, to keep the church on track. What kind of teacher is hypocritical about his teachings? That just makes his pupils turn from his teachings and throw them in the trash, for if the teacher himself doesn't live by his teachings, why should the students. In Young Goodman Brown his secret sin is meeting with the devil. In the story he is sitting on a stump and listening to bystanders go by, and what he hears is surprising. He hears and confirms the identities of the reverend and the deacon. They begin talkin and walking towards the dark woods. As Brown himself reaches the firery spot he finds the reverend and deacon holding him in this, what it seems to be, devil worship. This is also revealing of the hypocrisy of the church. Of course, not every human is perfect but for a man to say one things do another is outrageous. Honestly, who would believe and listen to a reverend, who speaks about Jesus as the only way and the devil as a bad man, who he himself worships the devil. These points just emphasis the themes of hypocrisy and secret sin in many if not all of Nathaniel's work.
Throughout both stories, one sees the theme of secret sin and hypocrisy. Secret sin is what destroyed both Mr. Hooper's and Goodman Brown's lives. The minister hid behind his dark veil because he could not face his people. People did notice and were disturbed by what he was hiding. Goodman Brown hid that he was having a meeting with the Devil. Anyone would hide this secret meeting because it was wrong.After this meeting, he was never the same. Everybody seemed evil to him, when in reality he was the evil one. In the end, both of these men kept secrets which ultimately ruined their lives.
Throughout both "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Ministers Black Veil" secret sin and hypocrisy are abundant. In both stories they become the downfal of otherwise good men. Both traits will destroy ones life. As in Mr. Hoopers case, his secret sin tears him down from the inside out and leads to his early death at the same time making him live a very unhappy life. Same for Goodman Brown. After his encounter with the devil, he is forever changed and cant even love his wife the same anymore.
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