1. Warming up with a row by row recap: Who? What? When & Where? Why?
2. Creating Level 1, 2 and 3 questions in small groups:
Level 1: Questions about plot (focus on the parts that genuinely confuse you)
- What is a parson?
- How does the community react to Mr. Hooper when he first starts wearing the veil?
- Why is it significant that the veil is black?
- What does Hawthorne mean on page 20 when he writes, "the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil"?
Level 3: Deeper thinking, philosophical questions about themes and topics that can be applied to other situations outside the text
- How does American society tend to react to things they don't understand?
3. Enjoying a silent Socratic on "The Minister's Black Veil"
4. Wrapping up with your take-away's from today's Socratic:
- How would you respond to today's focus question?
- What did somebody say/type today that really got you thinking?
- What are you still wondering?
1. FOR TOMORROW: Bring index cards to class on Friday; also, be prepared to share something from your memoir (anywhere between one line and one paragraph).
2. If you'd like to add anything to your journal entry for "The Minister's Black Veil," please do so tonight.
2. If you'd like to add anything to your journal entry for "The Minister's Black Veil," please do so tonight.
3. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me.
All revisions and make-up work must be submitted by November 10 (next Fri).
Why do you think the townspeople kept the veil on Mr. Hooper after he died?
ReplyDeleteEven though he requested for it to be taken off the people were afraid of him and were probably afraid of what they would uncover.
Deletewhat was the significance of the "Black Veil"?
ReplyDelete- why do you think that it is/or is not?
I think that the significance of the black veil was that it was Hoopers "mask". That was maybe his sense of security and he's using that to hide his true self.
Deletefor the townspeople, i think the veil represents a straight forward sign that he shows, he's trying to make amends for a grave sin.
DeleteHow do you think the townspeople felt when their "communication to god" was tainted by the veil over his face?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that the townspeople should have reacted this way. The veil shouldn't have prevented them with communicating with god.
DeleteI feel the townspeople were surprised and feared Mr. Hooper a little, but at the same time they had a respect for him and his sermons.
DeleteI don't thin that the townspeople felt this way. I think that the veil in a way represented Hooper's sins, and the veil was simply his way of trying to cleanse himself of them. Also I feel like their communication to God would not be tainted just because of the veil. The puritans feared their God, and I feel like there would have been more of a demand to take the veil off if they were truly concerned.
DeleteWhy would Mr Hooper ever choose to cover his face for the rest of his time alive and take so much away from his life?
ReplyDeleteI think he felt that living a life where people fear/respect him was more important than living a happy life. Hawthorne says "But still good Mr. Hooper sadly smiled at the pale visages of the worldly throng as he passed by". Even though Hooper was sad on the inside he still tried to have some happines.
DeleteI don't know why anyone would want to do that, but it must have been something significant if he turned away the woman he loved to keep it on.
DeleteAt the very end of the story, it leaves a side note regarding how he had accidentally killed his best friend and had worn the veil that day sense as he wasn't able to look at another man directly. It seemed as if the veil acted as a barrier of him sharing what had happened so long ago. This caused him to feel a sort of repression against his own inner demons that he had never wanted to 'live' his life.
DeleteWhy did Mr. Hooper put the veil on in the first place, at the end of the story, it states that another minister did something similar after having killed a friend of his. did Mr. Hooper kill someone or do something equally bad?
ReplyDelete"If I hide my face for sorrow there is cause enough he merely replied and if I cover it for secret sin what mortal might not do the same." Hawthorne 5
DeleteHe did something that made him put on the veil, but we do not know what.
I think that Mr. Hooper may have killed the woman that he performed the funeral ceremony for. He put the veil on and then it was very soon after that the funeral took place. I think Mr. Hooper was so ashamed of his actions that he copied the other minister and with the veil he'd never have to look anyone in the eyes ever again.
DeleteWhat were the townspeople afraid of if they revealed the veil?
ReplyDeleteI feel like at the end of the story they didn't want to take off his veil because at this point he had been wearing it for so long and after all of those year they were afraid to see what was under it or what he may have been hiding.
DeleteBut all you would find is a dead mans face. Looking onto his face wouldn't say "I killed the girl"
DeleteThe townspeople were probably afraid of what they would see in revealing the veil cause they may see something physically that they didn't expect or it could uncover something intellectually different about him as a person since he started wearing the veil.
DeleteI still dont understand why Mr.Hooper was he wearing the black veil?
ReplyDeleteThe black veil is a symbol of a secret sin of something Mr. Hooper has done. We never really find out what his sin specifically is or even if he did sin.
Deleteelizabeth is still there as mr. hooper's nurse, but why doesn't she come back and show mr. hooper that she still cares about him and she's there for him?
ReplyDeleteThe whole reason why she left Hooper in the first place is because she knew that she could not convince him to take the veil off. I think that in a way she could only ever truly love him if he removed the veil, and therefore she left and loved him from a distance in a way. She still loved him and wanted to be close to him, but not reveal herself.
DeleteWhy do you think Mr. Hooper decided to start wearing the veil? Do you think he had some sort of revelation from God or do you think he did something terrible?
ReplyDeletei feel like he did something bad and could've felt ashamed of it and thought the black veil was important to wear to show how he felt
DeleteAt the very end of the story, it states that another minister in Maine had done something similar after having killed a friend of his, maybe he killed someone.
DeleteI think that he did something terrible. Because if it was God then Mr. Hooper would be telling the towns people. Instead of the towns people fearing him because he is wearing the veil.
DeleteI think that a number of different things could go into the reason why he began wearing the veil. In one way, it could be that he did something bad and was fearful that if he didn't hide himself he would be shot down type. What I mean by this is the fact that puritans were very set in their ways and feared God, he could have been wearing the veil to hide himself. Another reason why he could be wearing the veil is that often times black can be represented in sin, so maybe he sinned and this is his way of like cleansing himself. Or maybe even the town itself had a lot of sin, and he felt like it was something that was needed to be done. He could have also worn it even when he was buried because maybe his spirit wouldn't be within the town, but the veil itself still would be.
DeleteWhat is important about eye contact among the household?
ReplyDeleteI think that just like today making eye contact is a sign of respect. I think that one can tell a lot about a person on if they are making eye contact or not. I know that with many families, and other stories in which they talk about eye contact that it could be seen as a sign of disrespect, so if the wife doesn't look her husband in the eye, it is showing some sort of a disconnect within their household if that makes sense.
DeleteCan the black veil be somewhat similar to the "mask" that people wear in different stories? If so-how>
ReplyDeleteThe black veil can be similar almost acting in reverse from the poem we had read before this. In my opinion, I feel that the veil is acting as a barrier to hold everything he represses within him. Thus, which is why when he dies it seems if he wants to die with all the sins and repressions he has had. In the poem, the mask acts as if a way of fitting in with society's standards in that time period. This could show how society has taken on more problems and controversies overtime due to "The Minister's Black Veil" being earlier in production then the poem.
DeleteDid Elizabeth leave Mr Hooper because everyone else feared him? Do people change themselves to be like everyone else?
ReplyDeleteI think Elizabeth didn't care about the others judgement but she left him because she couldn't figure out for herself why he was wearing the veil. You want to be able to feel conformable with the person you're marrying and the relationship was changed after he put on the veil. But I do think other people's opinions affect ones views.
DeleteI think she left Mr. Hooper because she tried to get him to take off the veil and be honest with her of why he's wearing it but he wouldn't take it off or tell her. He chose the veil over her
DeleteOn page 5, Mr Hooper tells Elizabeth that he will remove the black veil when "all of us shall cast aside our veils" In what way are the townspeople "wearing a veil"?
ReplyDeletepage 5 of the story, page 21 of the booklet
Deletein a way, it can be another way to tell the people that they are wearing a mask to possibly hide away their problems. with all of the "Hush Hush" talk about him in the town, this could of been a way to hopefully let the people see what they are doing, to hopefully fix it.
DeleteI think that when Mr.Hooper says "All of us shall cast aside our veils" he is talking about the veils being sin and that he would take his veil off when everyone stops living in sin.
DeleteThis got me thinking, what if the townspeople didn't take off Mr. Hooper's veil because they hadn't cast aside their personal veils? Maybe the townspeople would feel hypocritical if they removed his veil and they didn't remove their symbolic veils.
DeleteThe townspeople wear their own veil by shading themselves from other people's realities in this case. It explains how no one had ever asked what the purpose was about Mr. Hooper's veil, instead, they shield theirselves from other possible realties and assume the 'worst' in people. It seems as if as well that the townspeople wear their personal veils letting their own judgements that they house within cause judgements upon others like Mr. Hooper, which also could necessarily not be true.
Deletewhy were the towns people afraid to ask about the veil?
ReplyDeleteI feel as if the towns people were afraid to ask Mr. Hooper about the veil because they felt as if it was an invasion of privacy if he does not directly tell them instead. Comparing this to todays society, I feel as if that this represents how we like to assume things of others without any facts behind of what or why something happened.
DeleteI feel like they were afraid because they probably didn't want to know if he did something bad because he was a minister
DeleteHow do we limit human connection in today's society?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think our version of this event is?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on how you interpret the veil. If you see the veil as an exposure of everything corrupt about humans (so, it's kind of a mirror), then I'd say reality TV serves the same purpose; it forces us to face our own sins, our own ugliness.
DeleteCould the black veil symbolize society "masking" themselves?
ReplyDeleteIt could symbolize that because when society masks itself, people don't comprehend the change most of the time and events can occur with people being accused for no reason.
DeleteTaking another route on what the black veil could symbolize, it could relate to how as a society we judge people on their looks before getting to know them. "Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful?" (Hawthorne). Here, Mr. Hooper describes how the townspeople had just made assumptions about the veil giving it such an awful character. This could show how odd it was that no one ever seemed to ask more about the black veiled but assumed to their own ability what they considered the 'worst.
Delete'
Yes, in the end of the story, Mr Hooper compares his veil to the false faces we as people hide behind. When we lie we hide behind a veil such as the one Mr Hooper has.
DeleteWhen it says, "Could Mr. Hooper be fearful of her glance, that he so hastily caught back the black veil?" is that because he might feel guilty about killing her?
ReplyDeleteI don't think he actually killed her. Here's my interpretation: Young people died all the time in Puritan New England because conditions were so harsh. Puritans didn't have scientific explanations for these deaths, so they were somewhat superstitious (remember the Salem witch trials?). My guess is that this young woman died of something they didn't understand; when they saw Mr. Hooper looking over her body with his black veil, they wanted there to be some kind of explanation there. When they saw him at the wedding the next day, they let their imaginations run away with them and imagined that the young bride was the same as the young dead girl from the day before. They preferred to blame someone rather than have no explanation at all.
DeleteWhy didn't they take off the black veil after Mr. Hooper demanded after his death?
ReplyDeleteI think that the towns people feared him so much that they did not want to take off the veil to see what actually was hiding underneath.
DeleteThey may have been afraid of seeing what he has been hiding for so long.
DeleteWere people afraid of Hooper because of the veil or was there something else?
ReplyDeletei think they could've been afraid that the veil had something to do with their god and how he could've been angry at them or something similar
DeleteI believe it was just because of the veil. This "new" look arose suspicion in the town and when the lady died the next day, the only reasonable suspect was Mr Hooper.
DeleteMy interpretation is that veil serves a mirror. People saw Mr. Hooper's black veil and projected their own sins and secrets upon it. So, what they were really afraid was themselves.
DeleteI think the Townspeople were afraid of who Mr. Hooper had become with the veil on. On page one it says "He had changed himself into something awful, by only putting the veil on." I think this means that they think the veil will change Mr. Hooper and that their afraid of this "new" him.
DeleteMr. Hooper was someone who was admired so that led the townspeople to be afraid of why he was doing something so weird like wearing the veil
DeleteHow did wearing the veil change Mr. Hooper?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it changed him but it changed everyone's perception of him.
DeleteIt said in the story that it made Mr. Hooper a "very efficient clergyman" pg 22 so it made him good at detecting other people's sins and wrongdoing.
DeleteI think it gave him somewhat confidence
DeleteOn page 1, when an old woman states that "He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face," is she looking down upon him because he's affecting religious practices or just because he looks bad with it on?
ReplyDeleteI think it's both
DeleteI think it has something to do with why he might be wearing the veil. typically a black veil is worn in cases of mourning like at a funeral. Maybe the townspeople are afraid that someone died and only Mr. Hooper knows about it.
Delete"through the reckoned a melancholy man, Mr. Hooper had a placid cheerfulness for such an occasion, which often exited a sympathetic smile where livelier merriment would have been thrown away." PG19
ReplyDelete- what is the Author trying to tell us in this moment?
I think it's interesting that Mr. Hooper is smiling throughout so much of the story, even at moments that must be heartbreaking for him. Perhaps the veil offers him a kind of peace; unlike the other Puritans, who have to constantly pretend to be pure, he actually is pure because he's wearing his sins upon his face.
DeleteI never looked at it that way!
DeleteWhat was the author's purpose of making the veil black? Also, what was his purpose of making Mr. Hooper the preacher of the town but claim on (Hawthorne 18) "a good preacher, but not a very energetic one:". And is there a connection between the two?
ReplyDeleteI think making Mr Hooper a preacher makes him seem more uncanny, because his title and reputation makes him seem good, but the veil suggests otherwise.
DeleteAnd black symbolizes mystery and evil. I don't know if there is a connection.
DeleteDoes the black veil symbolize internal struggles Mr. Hooper is struggling with that he's trying to hide?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it symbolizes a secret of his and maybe Elizabeth knows the real reason
DeleteThe black veil is kind of a membrane between the external and the internal; in other words, I think it's both. The veil perhaps represents his internal struggle with sin (as all humans struggle with sin, even though the Puritans didn't want to admit it). But he wears it on his face where everyone can see it, so his struggle has been externalized.
DeleteOn page one it states that Mr. Hooper's mouth and chin are still showing. Why do you think he chose to leave these parts of his face uncovered?
ReplyDeletebecause the eyes are the "pathway to the soul" and you can't really tell a persons expression without their eyes because they tell a story all in itself.
DeleteMaybe it was because he knew he was still going to be preaching and didn't want the mask to muffle his sermons.
Deletedid elizabeth leave mr hooper because she was scared of him? or did she leave because she didn't like how the town was scared ?
ReplyDeleteI think it could have been both. When the town began to dislike his look and become scared of him, she may have agreed with their reasons as to why they were feeling that way and may have just gone along with it.
DeleteI agree with you Cam, I feel like she left because of the opinions of the black veil and how the people were reacting to it but I also feel like Mr.Hooper was kind of shutting her out. I feel like it was both of their faults.
DeleteDoes the color of the veil correlate to race since the author has been known to write about race?
ReplyDeletei would be willing to bet that the veil is has something to do with mourning traditionally women would wear a black veil when they are mourning to hid their faces.
DeleteOn page 19 ,"At it's conclusion, the bell tolled for the funeral of a young lady." Do you think the fact that it was a funeral impacted the black veil or maybe the reason he's wearing a veil at all?
ReplyDeletewhat does mr. hooper's smile symbolize?
ReplyDeleteIt could symbolize that there has always been another side of the shy, non-energetic Mr Hooper and even with the veil covering his face, he's the same person underneath and nobody should treat him differently.
DeleteIs the town's oppinion/views of the color of the veil similar to past or present experiences Nathaniel Hawthorne has gone through?
ReplyDeleteWhy does Mr. Hooper not give a straight answer to why he is wearing the veil when Elizabeth talks to him about it?
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Hooper is scared to say it out loud to another human being.
DeleteThe one thing he repeats about the veil is that it's part of his mortal self, but not his immortal self (this is why he wants it to be removed when he dies). Do all humans wear a secret veil? By wearing an actual veil, is he more honest? Or maybe he wants people to see their own sins and their own struggles in his veil, so he refuses to give it a precise explanation.
Deletewhy do you think it was important that the story included the town's opinions of Mr. Hooper before he put on the veil?
ReplyDeleteThis shows that the veil is the reason people were scared, that there wasn't anything wrong with Hooper before.
DeleteDo you think the veil could possibly be for Mr. Hooper to feel a sense of peace and closer to God since he lives in a very religious community and he's a preacher?
ReplyDeleteI think he is wearing the veil because he feels the townspeople are hiding something. at one point in the story he does say that he will take the veil off when the rest of the townsfolk do.
DeleteI think why he wears the veil is he might have done something wrong. If it was a sense of peace then he would have asked to keep the veil on when he died.
DeleteThere is an hour to come when all of us shall cast aside our veils" Does Mr Hooper believe that all of the people in the room have a dark secret?
ReplyDeleteI think he does, most people have something bad they have done in their lives they don't talk about. Hooper is trying to encourage them to talk about it or become at peace about it.
DeleteI teach a book called East of Eden in my AP Lit class, and there's a great quote in there about every little boy thinking that he invented sin. In other words, people often fail to recognize that ALL humans are engaged in a battle between sin and purity, between good and evil. I don't think that Mr. Hooper's congregation is any more sinful than any other group of people. However, I believe that the Puritans (like many people today) chose repression over confrontation of the sin. As we learned from the Poe stories, burying your sins and secrets doesn't always turn out so great...
DeleteI think that when Mr.Hooper talks about other peoples veils he is talking about their sin and how we hide behind our sins he later says "If I hide my face for Sorrow, there is cause enough" sorrow is defined as a feeling of deep distress, disappointment, or misfortune. I think he is wearing the mask as a symbol of sin and that he will take his off when all the people stop hiding behind their sin
DeleteHow is that in today's society that we judge people on looks more than character?
ReplyDeleteEveryone says to not judge a book by its cover and I do think many people try hard to get to know someone and learn about then before they make judgement but no matter if we show it on the outside, the second we see someone thoughts/opinion/judgments are running through our heads good or bad. It's what we do after those thoughts that reveal if we are judgmental or not.
DeleteIt's also easier to judge people based on looks because it's the first thing we see
DeleteIn the middle of an argument between Elizabeth and Mr. Hooper, Mr. Hooper says, "Do not desert me, though this veil must be between us here on Earth. Be mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls! It is but a mortal veil--it is not for eternity!" For whatever reason why he wears the veil, whether it's to possibly hide guilt or pain and sorrow in his eyes, why does Mr. Hooper believe that marrying Elizabeth will help mend whatever has been possibly broken, specifically in the afterlife?
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the saddest parts of the story to me. I think he sees that human life is full of darkness; the veil is a manifestation of that. He might believe that pure love cannot even exist between two humans because humans are full of sin. But he does see the afterlife as a space where humans are free from their mortal bodies and thus free from sin.
DeleteI think that Mr. Hooper knows that Elizabeth makes him happy and keeps him from being by himself. Without Elizabeth, Mr. Hooper does not have anyone and is scared and that is why he is trying to convince her to stay
DeleteWhy do you think none of the town people dared to rip the veil off? Do you think that they were just so afraid of him that he would send them to hell if they took it off?
ReplyDeleteI bet that they were scared to remove the veil because they thought that something awful would be underneath or that they would possibly figure something out that they didn't want to know
DeleteI think they were scared to see who Mr. Hopper actually was. It's human nature to avoid things of the unknown so they didn't bother trying to make him take the veil off.
DeleteDo you think Mr. Hooper was actually involved of the death of the little girl?
ReplyDeleteI'm not totally sure but I have a feeling he did because he talked about how the veil is hiding his sin.
DeleteIt seems very suspicious that he started wearing the veil the day of her funeral, so yes I think he could have done it
Deletei think he was involved, since the other minister did the same thing after he killed a friend of his. and because that's probably seen as a sin so he probably thought he had to hide or punish himself
DeleteWhat happened when Mr. Hooper saw himself in the mirror? Why did he react this way?
ReplyDeleteOn page 21 it says, “And if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” What do you think the sin the he is repressing is?
ReplyDeleteat the tail end of the story, it says that another minister in Maine had done something similar after having killed a friend of his, did Mr. Hooper kill someone?
DeleteOn page 19 a towns person says " I would not be alone with him for the world. I wonder he is not afraid to be alone with himself!" Do you think this passage could mean that maybe she is also afraid to be alone? Maybe she is afraid of her sins and what she has done?
ReplyDeleteYes! She's projecting her own fears onto the veil. The color black absorbs all colors...maybe his veil absorbs / eases some of the congregation's troubles.
DeleteIs how Mr. Hooper wore a veil to hide something about him any different than how today people act different to fit in or keep other kinds of secrets?
ReplyDeleteNo, I feel people today wear masks all the time to hide or protect emotions. In Mr. Hoopers case, He actually wore a type of mask.
DeleteIt seems to be based on the same idea and unfortunately, people nowadays don't notice how much they are affecting those around them when they act differently or keep secrets. In both cases it can lead to people losing those who are truly close to them and loyal as well.
DeleteHow does Mr. Hooper relate to figures in today's society, whom if so?
ReplyDeleteDo you know anyone who wears a "veil"?
ReplyDeletewhy do you think it was important that the story included the town's opinions of Mr. Hooper before he put on the veil?
ReplyDelete