The Minister's Black Veil is a parable that tells the story of a minister who chooses to alienate himself from his congregation by concealing his face with a black veil. Rev. Hooper does this to symbolize others in the community who put on the acts of righteousness and innocence to hide their sinful ways.
             As the story opens, the congregation of a small church in Milford, Connecticut is on their way to attend Sunday service. The sexton, a person responsible for the up-keep of the church, is ringing the bell to announce that the service will begin soon. His ringing in interrupted and stops abruptly when he is sees the Reverend Mr. Hooper coming from his home with a veil of black crepe covering his entire face, leaving only his mouth and chin visible.
             The people are surprised by Mr. Hooper's actions because they view him as a young and modest priest who has never acted unreasonable before. Many of them begin to think that he has lost his mind completely.
             Although Rev. Hooper wears a black veil to hide his face, he does this for a specific reason so that he may demonstrate how others in the community wear a mask to cover their sinful lives. No one has the privilege of gazing at Rev. Hooper's face because it is hidden. Because the sins of the people are hidden, no one admits to them. Rev. Hooper also does this in order to illustrate that he too is guilty of sin and the veil serves the purpose of keeping himself from seeing them when he looks into the mirror.
             In the parable it states, "The subject had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them" (1333). The point that Rev. Hooper wanted to prove is that individuals must own up to and be responsible for their actions.
             Rev. Hooper has chosen to wear this veil for the rest of the life and willi...