Nathaniel Hawthorne portrait in the Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
Learning Targets for this unit:
1. I can draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.
2. I can explore topics dealing with different cultures and world viewpoints.
3. I can write an arguments to support a claim in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence
4. I can determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting
general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
5. I can adapt the elements of an artistic product to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks demonstrating command of appropriate technique and use of artistic tools.
In class: "Minister's" vocabulary quiz
We will review the reading from yesterday. Make sure you have finished the short story for Tuesday. There will be a short content-based reading quiz. There is a copy of the story on yesterday's blog.
Summary from day 1:
In "The Minister’s Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader is introduced to a pleasant scene in Milford, a small Puritan town where men, women, and children mill about enjoying the prospect of another Sunday. This peace is interrupted by the arrival of Reverend Hooper who is described, in as being “a gentlemanly person of about thirty, though still a bachelor…dressed with clerical neatness, as if a careful wife had starched his band and brushed the weekly dust from his Sunday’s garb."
What is most notable about this otherwise plain and unassuming man, however, is that he is now suddenly and inexplicably wearing a black veil that hangs from his forehead and covers his eyes and nose. All that can be seen is his mouth and the veil moves eerily as his breath disturbs it. The people of the town cannot hide their shock and many of them are immediately frightened. One old woman says, “He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face” and others generally agree that the Reverend has taken on quite a disturbing appearance, even though his polite and gracious behavior is the same as it was before donning the veil.
The Reverend’s preaching style, much like his appearance before taking up the veil, is quite unremarkable. The narrator says, “he had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild persuasive influence rather than to drive them thither” but the addition of the veil has made his preaching far more interesting. His listeners pay him rapt attention and feel as though the veil lends a sanctity and foreboding that his normal appearance did not invoke.
At this point in the plot, there is a definite turn in the way the people of the town perceive their minister. After the service, everyone stares at him and rumors begin to fly, especially since his sermon had to do with the notion of secret sin. No one can comprehend the minister’s black veil and they are even more disturbed by the fact that he does not seem to be acting out of the ordinary in the least. Everyone seems to agree that the minister’s black veil is sinister and clouds the otherwise pleasant visage of the familiar minister.
After the service, Reverend Hooper is called upon to officiate over the funeral of a young woman. His appearance disturbs all who are present and as he leans over the girl, “A person who watched the interview between the dead and living scrupled not to affirm that, at the instant when the clergyman’s features were disclosed [as he leaned over her and the veil moved] the corpse had slightly shuddered, rustling the shroud”. Although the narrator tells us that this was the observation of only one “superstitious” old woman, the rumor pervades the town and envelops Reverend Hooper in even more mystery. One of the people in the funeral procession swore, “the minister and maiden’s spirit were walking hand in hand”
. Later in the same evening, Reverend Hooper marries two popular and good-looking people from the town but his appearance is so disquieting that even the joyous occasion is marked with tension. Some of the onlookers associate the beautiful bride with the corpse from earlier in the day and no one feels comfortable allowing the veiled minister to officiate over such an occasion. Reverend Hooper even startles himself when he lifts the wine glass and sees his frightful reflection. This causes him to leave the wedding and dash away from the church.
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