The Minister’s Black Veil.ppt

The Minister’s Black Veil Main character: Mr. Hooper—a minister Place: a peaceful small puritan town Milford Main Plots Mr. Hooper was the minister of Milford. He has a good reputation. One day, he entered the church with a mysterious black veil hanging from his forehead and covering his eyes and nose. Everyone was frightened by his black veil and there was a stir among them. On that day, Mr. Hooper delivered a sermon(讲道) on secret sins and the things people hid in their hearts. After the meeting, people tried to interpret the black veil’s meaning. Some one said Hooper had gone mad, while others said he was covering a shameful sin. Main Plots On that afternoon, Mr. Hooper attended a funeral of a young lady, where the people fearfully gossiped that the dead woman shuddered under the minister’s gaze. That evening, he attended a wedding. When he made a toast to the couple, he was frightened by his own reflection in the mirror. Then he spilt the wine and rushed out tremblingly. Main Plots The next day, the entire town spoke of little else. No one dare ask the minister to remove the veil or explain its presence, except for Hooper’s fiancee— Elizabeth. However, he claimed it was a sign of his sorrows and refused to remove it. For the rest of Hooper’s life, he was conscious of the fear his veil installed in the town’s people. The veil caused children to flee and others to peep behind gravestones to get a look at his face. Main Plots At Hooper’s deathbed, a priest Clark prayed that Hooper allowed the veil to be removed, but Hooper resisted with surprising strength. Finally, Hooper died, with the black veil still on his face and he was buried with it. Symbolic Meaning Three symbolic meanings of the black veil: ★ the general secret sins that hidden in everyone’s heart. ★ the specific sin that kept in the minister’s mind ★ the way of self-salvation Symbolic Meaning the general secret sins that hidden in everyone’s heart. “Each member of the cong