1-6 done in socrative
6. Build an argument that explains how certain a reader may be that Hawthorne knew of and understood the power of rhetoric. Choose specific passages from the text to support your claims. (This one is all about rhetorical analysis. You're welcome!)
Hawthorne’s understanding of rhetoric is apparent throughout the text, within the first page Hawthorne effectively changes his tone from a happy and cheerful to dark and gloomy. He uses a rhetorical question, “ "Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil?". This is a rhetorical question because the answer is implied that people are cowering away from him simply because he is wearing a black veil. He also uses imagery to carefully depict the dark and gloomy tone quite effectively, “The brides cold fingers quivered in the tremulous hands of the bridegroom”. Hawthorne uses all the rhetoric within his short story to help create that dark, gloomy, and creepy feeling during the reading.
7. Hawthorne was not a small critic of Transcendentalism, with its constant proddings for people to tap into the inner-light, and avoid conformity as individuals tap into Nature and the over-soul. How does Hawthorne seem to criticize the basic tenants of Transcendentalism with "The Minister's Black Veil"? What argument does Hawthorne seem to be most critical? Be sure to use specific pieces from the text to support your claims.
Hawthorne was obviously not a fan of Transcendentalism, the story is about the complete opposite of nature, God, and bettering yourself to become closer to God. This story has a very dark tone to it, it is Dark Romanticism, not Transcendentalism. Dark Romanticism has a very pessimistic nature, so the main argument he is making is that people are not always good and humans have many secrets. So, his short story is not about nature and how to become a better person. It’s about the evils of mankind and that we all have our own dark and unspeakable secrets that we are ashamed of.
8. Finally: Hawthorne carefully avoids ever mentioning what Hooper has hidden. That said, from what you can tell, what is the most likely sin that the Reverend Hooper has committed? Explain the basis for your claim with solid argumentation. (Syllogism, enthymeme, logical reasoning).
The most likely sin Hooper has committed is adultery because he attended that young girls funeral and when he bent down over her she shuddered about "seeing" his face under the veil. This is can be argued because if Hooper had an affair with the young girl in the casket only she would know his sin and upon "seeing" his face she shuddered because she knew what his sin was. Also, this can be related to the book "The Scarlet Letter" a woman had an affair with a minister and after that she had to wear a big red A on her chest to atone for her sin. Also, Hooper would not even take off the veil for his own wife, this means that he is too ashamed of his sin to show his own wife his face. So obviously, his wife does not know why Hooper wears the veil, which confirms the assumption that the sin he has committed must be so terrible and inappropriate that he would not show his wife his face, causing the reader to assume his sin of adultery.