Journal Entry 38, Title: Response to the veil

The congregation in “The Minister’s Black Veil” responded to the black veil immediately after they saw it. They were very curious about the reason why the Minister wore the black veil and began taking random guesses. Some of the people were very terrified as they think the black veil as a black and ominous thing. I think the congregation’s reaction won’t be considered reasonable in our modern time, but it might probably be reasonable in that time, because their lives revolve solely around religions. Mr. Hooper acted as a sign of purity and a symbol of a great soul to the congregation, but when Mr. Hooper wore the black veil, it somewhat cast doubt on the congregation’s beliefs, and because the beliefs are the center of the congregation’s lives, they are terrified. I think the congregation did not overreact because that kind of reaction towards that kind of things was considered reasonable in the past. I think that if we were in a PAS school meeting, and Pamela went up in front wearing a black veil, we wouldn’t have had any reaction stronger than being mildly curious. I think I will just be curious of the reason Pamela did such a thing, and I will ask my classmates about the reason. On the other hand, if it was something that meant a lot to us, we would have a reaction similar to the Puritan congregations. For example, if Pamela went up and pulled out a gun, we would certainly have a very big reaction. I think a person living in a Puritan community and a person living in modern-day Taiwan will have different reactions to different things. We will only react strongly to something that matters to us, modern day people wouldn’t have cared if they see someone talking with a black veil on their face. Most modern day people will only think that person is retarded or just plain weird.