The Minister's Black Veil was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story was published in 1836. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1806 in Salem Massachusetts. He has an ancestor named John Hathorne, who was a judge in the Salem witch trials and never regretted his actions. Nathaniel changed his last name from Hathorne to Hawthorne to hide his relatives. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825. His works of fiction were considered part of dark romanticism. His themes often center on morality, sin, and redemption (Clendenning). The minister's black veil comes with Parson Hooper, the reverend of Milford, who arrives with a black veil covering his face. The people of the town begin to gossip, some say he has gone mad, while the theme of this part of the story is dark romance. He shows another towards the end of his story, which is sin. Puritanism is also shown throughout his story, as it forms an important part of Hawthorne's background. Self-alienation is also shown, due to Parson Hooper wearing a black veil causing people to ostracize him. Their entire attitude towards him changes, which leads him to live his life alone. This leads to the symbolism shown in the story. In the sentence “That piece of crape, in their imagination, seemed to hang before his heart, a symbol of a terrible secret between him and them,” shows the symbolism of the black veil. Represents the sins of Parson Hooper. She wears the black veil to show that she has sins and doesn't hide them like everyone else in town does. This is why he thinks they are hypocrites, because everyone sins and just doesn't show it. People speculate as to why she wears the black veil. Eventually, people stopped talking to him and seeing him as a leader. At one point, Parson Hooper had friends and now he will die alone. His lover, Elizabeth, leaves him because he refuses to remove her veil. The plot of the story is that Parson Hooper tries to overcome the town gossip and make himself accepted by the people. However, his plan fails and they reject him. "Mr. Hooper had a reputation as a good preacher, but not a forceful one: he strove to bring his people heavenward, rather than push them there," says Hawthorne. The sermon he delivers with the black veil over his face is the same style and manner that he gave in the last sermons .I think Parson Hooper becomes weak when he changes his appearance to a black veil. This also causes a negative effect on the community of Milford and shows this towards the end of the story, “Mr. Hooper smiled sadly, at the pale faces of the worldly crowd as he passed.”