Renee Mtendera

Ms. Geiss
3B AP English III
24 Tuesday 2015
The Ministers Black Veil : Schizophrenia
Gothic literature would not be as demeaning and enduring without the characters who
accompany the dark and twisted roles, in which they play. Although many pieces of gothic
literature are composed on the grounds of dark imagination and hysteria, the tales entitle social
commentary pertaining into real life. By incorporating these components into their writing
Gothic are able to build daunting character profiles based upon the dark roles they play in the
stories. Nathanial Hawthornes The Ministers Black Veil, tells a story about a minister who
deals with an inner-conflict as he goes about his everyday responsibilities shielding a black veil
over half his face.
Poe uses opposing antitheses, heavy gothic diction, and repetition, to further the
characterization of the minister; portraying him as the antagonist against the people he ministers
every day. At the end of the story, the minister reveals his veil and announces that he only wore it
to prove that each and every person has a black veil over their face, whether it is physical to the
eye or not, it still exists. After reading this plot, it became clear that the minister clearly had a
mental disorder. Based on the literary devices incorporated with symptoms of delusion and
mental thought disorders, Poe wants his audience to believe that the minister has Schizophrenia.

The use of antithesis was used multiple times in the piece of literature, to show off the
ministers bipolar personality and traits. The quote, Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol,
and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of
multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends, depicts the ministers
stubbornness towards how he will not reveal his face from the veil. His reference to opposites
such as light and darkness, solitude and magnitude, strangers and friends confirms that he
does have symptoms of delusion and impaired thoughts, when giving his reasons for preserving
the distracting, dark veil on his face.
Hawthornes heavy gothic diction in this story furthers the ministers diagnosis because it
shows the personality disorder in which he obtains as the black veil, slowly becomes a dark
statement in which the minister soon proposes. By using words and phrases like good Mr.
Hooper, sadly smile, graver gait, inanimate, omniscient , and grievous affliction,
propose a tone of evil and good intertwined. Although Mr. Hooper is first proposed to the
audience as a respected godly figure, his decorous veil in which he wears on his face makes him
seem dark and ungodly. The fact that he smiles in sadly shows further signs of him living in
his own world of social conflict where he does not know how properly display emotions. His
omniscient presence scares others instead of welcoming them.
The repetition in the story illustrates the disorderly order in which the thoughts of the
character are displayed. The ministers mental delusions are incorporated into his perceptions
towards how he sees the people. In many parts of the writing the minister explains that the veil is
a barrier between him and the real world. He sees himself of a higher status once he announces
that he wears the black veil because everyone has a black veil. He sees himself as high authority
who can point out the faults in human nature by trying to obtain a point.

Hawthornes recollection of this story shows insight on the human flaw, that maybe the
minister is right. Every person does have a black veil over their faces. Disguising oneself from
the true darkness in which they already encounter, in their everyday lives. Although the minister
has Schizophrenia, there is legitimate social commentary on the actual issue that lies ahead.
Hawthornes uses of literary devices in this writing indeed show the symptoms of one with the
mental disorder. The ministers high perspective of how he saw human nature, definitely showed
such his true darkness in which he upheld.

Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Minister's Black Veil. N.p.: Token and Atlantic Souvenir, 1836.
Print.
"Schizophrenia.com." Schizophreniacom. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
"Symptoms & Treatments of Mental Disorders." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar.
2015.