Habitual Human Nature in The Minister's Black Veil

Within “The Minister’s Black Veil” story, Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates that human beings are creatures of habit; human beings prefer it when situations remain the same without changing. When change happens, human beings become uncomfortable. To this end, when Reverend Mr. Hooper comes into the meeting house with his shin and mouth covered with a black veil, parishioners illustrate discomfort in various ways. For instance, several female parishioners depart the meeting house even before the service is over, Similarly, a male parishioner named Goodman Gray claims that Reverend Hooper has become madr Likewise, the sexton finds it impossible to believe that the veiled figure is Reverend Hooper.

This essay analyses “The Minister’s Black Veil” to show that human beings are creatures of habit in light of the following aspects.

when Reverend Hooper comes into the meeting house with his shin and mouth covered with a black veil, several female parishioners depart; Gray claims that, for wearing a veil, Reverend Hooper has become mad; and the sexton finds it impossible to believe that the veiled figure is Reverend Hooper.  To illustrate that human beings are creatures of habit when Reverend Hooper comes into the meeting house with his shin and mouth covered with a black veil, several female parishioners depart the meeting house. This is despite the fact the service is not yet over. These parishioners leave the meeting house because they are accustomed to seeing Reverend Hooper sewing in the meeting house without wearing a veil around his face. Thanks to this custom, these parishioners cannot stand the sight of Reverend Hooper with a veil on their face.

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Consequently, these female parishioners leave the meeting house when the religious service is not yet over.

Through their actions, these female parishioners illustrate that human beings are creatures of habit. Likewise, by claiming that, for wearing the veil, Reverend Hooper has become mad, Gray illustrates that human beings are creatures of habit. It is striking that, before seeing Reverend Hooper’s covered shin and mouth, Gray considers Reverend Hooper to be of sound mind. Gray’s positive appraisal of Reverend Hooper is informed by the idea that Gray is used to seeing Reverend Hooper without a veil on his face. It is only after seeing Reverend Hooper’s black veil that Gray declares that Reverend Hooper has become mad. This negative appraisal of Reverend Hooper is informed by the idea that Gray is uncomfortable with Reverend Hooper’s black veil. Such discomfort causes Gray to refer to Reverend Hooper as a mad individual, Gray’s reaction demonstrates that human beings are creatures of habit.

Similarly, the sexton finds it impossible to believe that the veiled figure belongs to Reverend Hooper, thus demonstrating that human beings are creatures of habit. While evaluating this scenario, a reader would notice that the sexton has always been ringing the church bell to herald the arrival of Reverend Hoopert. Consequently, the sexton should be familiar with certain aspects of Reverend Hooper such as the walking style and general physique, Given this idea, the sexton should be able to identify Reverend Hooper even without looking at Reverend Hooper’s now concealed shin and mouth. From this analysis, it is puzzling that, thanks to the black veil, the sexton does not believe that the individual beneath the veil is indeed Reverend Hooper.

This situation would cause a reader to surmise that the sexton is accustomed to seeing Reverend Hooper without a veil. Now that Reverend Hooper has a black veil, the sexton does not believe that this is indeed Reverend Hoopert The sexton’s disbelieving attitude demonstrates that human beings are creatures of habit. In conclusion, “The Minister’s Black Veil” illustrates that human beings are creatures of habit. In this regard, when Reverend Hooper comes into the meeting house with his shin and mouth covered with a black veil, several female parishioners depart. Further, Gray claims that, for wearing a veil, Reverend Hooper has become mad. Moreover, the sexton finds it impossible to believe that the veiled figure is Reverend Hooper, It would be enlightening to investigate why Hawthorne explores the theme of habit.