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ng to this 本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供funeral reflects his sufficient courage and a sincere wish of repentance. He is so repentant that this incident becomes a turning point of his destiny forcing him to wear a black veil to confess his previous sin for the rest of life. His firm resolution shows his valuable honesty which a hypocrite does not possess. Everyone has a secret sin or sorrow of one type or other. Mr. Hooper has chosen to make his black veil visible while others have kept their secrets in their own hearts. His quick response to mend what he had done is admirable and as a faithful messenger of God.

II. Unity of the hero’s personality
While many readers may view Mr. Hooper as a weak coward with a
sense of superiority and imbalance of mind, I prefer to see him as a
remarkable man of integrity, bravery, responsibility and dignity. Prior to and after his wearing the black veil, his individuality does not change.
Firstly he is a minister with good appearance. He is consistently gentle
and neatly dressed as if taken care of by a careful wife. Secondly, he
takes a stable responsibility for his religious faith and he is competent for his job. He achieves success in both his career 本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供and his life: “He acquired a name throughout the New- England churches, and they called him
Father Hooper ⋯ he had one congregation in the church, and a more crowded one in the church- yard.”Mr. Hooper has gained true love from Elizabeth as well as a good or even true friend, Reverend Mr. Clark who cares about Hooper and rides in haste to pray by the bed - side of the expiring Hooper. Mr. Hooper is a revolutionary man. He does not yield to hardships regardless of the bitter misunderstanding from the multitude nor did he submit to fate. As Hooper lies dying, he still refuses to lift the black veil: “On Earth, never! ”I view this utterance as the maintenance of fulfilling his ministerial duties till the last breath.
On the contrary, it is motivated by his hope for peace of mind in the after - life: “It is but a mortal veil—it is not for eternity! ”We must take special notice of Mr.Hooper’s smile. The minister’s smile is mentioned eight times and is associated with the light image. In four passages it is described as glimmering or gleaming. From the smile - light association, we can infer that the smile betokens Hooper‘s 本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供ties with his fellow men and his hold on his own sanity. It indicates that he has not been completely enveloped by the terrifying black veil which has multiplied his doubts about his own salvation.

V. Conclusion
In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Hawthorne reveals his fascination with New England history and daily life; his deep appreciation本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供 of the role of religion in the lives of the inhabitants of a small community; his sensitivity to the psychological complexity of human beings and their relationships with others. Since these aspects are compactly composed together with the subject of secret sin, the story involves various interpretations. To sum, this story is worth reading over and over to gain fresh insights.