The burden of sin

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
November 15, 2007
Journal #22 Nathaniel Hawthorne

Quote:
"Its gloom, indeed, enabled him to sympathize with all dark affections. Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hooper, and would not yield their breath till he appeared" (Hawthorne 1318).

Summary:
People are crying out for Mr Hooper, dying people. Mr. Hooper is a man with extraordinary power who does not belong on the in the flesh and blood world. People who are about to cross into the afterlife see the power that Mr. Hooper holds.


Response:
I wanted to write about another topic in this short story but I felt compelled to write more about Mr Hooper's power and his veil. The above quote is a very powerful one because it shows the extent of Mr. Hooper's influence. I may have been wrong when I said that Mr. Hooper was a quiet man who kept to himself. He may have been quiet but from the context of this quote Mr Hooper's seems to have been making his rounds with the people in his community who are about to die. This says something very important about Mr. Hooper, he may not belong with us on this world. Just as Jesus Christ's true life did not belong until after he passed away the same goes for Mr. Hooper.
When Mr. Hooper gets into a fight with his wife about the veil he says how the veil is on a temporary "crape" in the eternal world he will no longer have it. This is important because it points toward further proof that Mr. Hooper has a purpose after he is long passed away. The veil may act as a symbol of the sins that he carries for people. With this heavy weight on his shoulder he eventually passes away only to start his true purpose.

I keep coming back to this comparison between Jesus Christ and Mr. Hooper. I by no means am trying the undermine Jesus but I feel there is a similarity between the two that should be pointed out. Mr. Hooper wears the black veil as a way of capturing society's sins. This is what made him so powerful, the ability to carry all the darkness, sorrow and hatred of society's sins yet still be able to get up every day and teach people the word of God.