Teaching With Fear Essay, Research Paper
Uncertainty is a very unsettling feeling for the human psyche to manage. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores how insecurity can overwhelm even the most sensible people in his book The Minister s Black Veil. Mr. Hooper isolated himself from his community with a simple piece of cloth which in turn inspired a hysteria that infected everyone. While using the veil as a punishment for unknown sins he also inspired his congregation to reexamine their own morals. The Black veil that Mr. Hooper adorned over his face was an effective tool for helping convey his teachings because it exploited the town s people s fear of the unknown.
From the very beginning the piece of cloth covering Mr. Hooper s face cast an air of dismay over those attending church. They were confused and offended by his appearance and rumors quickly spread across the meeting house like brush fires. Mr. Hooper s indifference to their state of anxiety only fanned the fires they had unconsciously lit in their minds. The course of action that Mr. Hooper had taken was interpreted as being uncharacteristic of his normal teaching methods he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the Word. (4) the small adjustment to his outward appearance resembled his previous style closely. Prior to that Sunday he was regarded as a very passive preacher and he let people take what they wanted from his teachings. Mr. Hooper used something as simple as a piece of cloth to stir up his community. The cloth was only effective though because people made it significant. This however was a slow developing process that took many years of solitude behind the black veil for the community to fully appreciate.
After his regular mass Mr. Hooper had two ceremonies left to perform; a marriage and a funeral. Hawthorne chose a ritual that should be filled with happiness and another with sadness to focus on how the veil could effect people in the two different circumstances.
When Mr. Hooper arrived at the funeral his veil was described as an appropriate emblem (8) simply because he was at a funeral where black garb is common. The public had already assumed in their mind that the black veil represented something evil and closely related to death. The veil s power of inducing people s wild imagination into conceiving at the funeral service where people claimed to have seen the minister and the maiden s spirit were walking hand in hand. (9) after the service. This is a common occurrence among people who are scared and confused. The human mind can conjure things for the eyes to see if one believes in something enough. Often these accounts of supernatural sights snowball into a great myth which further the legend of people.
When Mr. Hooper entered the wedding it was said that a cloud seemed to have rolled duskily from beneath the black crape (10). The imagery that Hawthorne used to describe how Mr. Hooper s veil creates a mood that permeates everyone with a sense of unease. The reason the black veil had such a profound effect on the wedding party was because they let the rumors and their own conjured images take control of them.
The community was perplexed about what the black veil meant and instead of going to the source of confusion they gossiped and some children even mocked him. The first real effort to discover the reason behind the black veil failed because the group of respected citizens sent to question him about it were intimidated by his indifference toward it s existence. The smugness with which he wore it only furthered the anxiety of his peers. From that point on in the town Mr. Hooper was regarded with respect also fear. The people were not afraid of the cloth or even what was behind the cloth but rather the mystery surrounding his reasons for wearing it. For this Mr. Hooper gave up everything in life he enjoyed.
For some to feel as if they are fulfilling their duties to God they must go through sacrifice. Mr. Hooper experienced this pain every day as he walked down the street the children fled from his approach, breaking their merriest sports, while his melancholy figure was yet far off. (18). Mr. Hooper assumed the role of Jesus in his town by giving up his freedom and ability to socialize as Jesus gave his life for his people. It is common for children to have stories about the scary old man that lives down the road and it was very painful for Mr. Hooper to be that man. His personal pain was secondary to his desire for the members of his community to realize their own faults.
Mr. Hooper s lesson remained strongly ingrained among his community because he would not let them lift the veil even after he died questioning What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful? (24) before he died. The shame spread throughout the room like the cloud of evil had spread years before and the people finally understood the lesson that Mr. Hooper spent a lifetime teaching.
Mr. Hooper was a lonely man during his life because he devoted himself completely to his teachings. The fear he inspired throughout the citizens of paid dividends that they did not even realize. Those who lived sinful lives were as effected by his veil as those who were pious. His dream for everyone to drop their veils may never happen but a seed was planted in a small society to at least try. The equality that the anxiety over his veil evoked helped to get Mr. Hooper s point across without ever having to fully explain.