How to identify and develop the theme of the story "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The theme of Hawthorne's story is a familiar one of hidden
human guilt. Hawthorne believed that all humans were partly wicked, at least in their
thoughts and fantasies, and that they conceal this dark side of their characters behind
masks of friendliness, politeness, and integrity.The pessimistic German philosopher
Arthur Schopenhauer expresses this view in the following
words:

O for
an Asmodeus of morality who for his minion rendered transparent not merely roofs and
walls, but also the veil of dissimulation, falseness, hypocrisy, grimace, lying, and
deception that is spread over everything, and who enabled him to see how little genuine
honesty is to be found in the world and how often injustice and dishonesty sit at the
helm, secretly and in the innermost recess, behind all the virtuous outworks, even where
we least suspect them. 

Henry
James wrote that Hawthorne's was an age-old truism which Hawthorne seemed to regard as
his personal discovery. James also contended that Hawthorne was not as concerned about
human wickedness as he seemed, but that he liked to use it for dramatic purposes, as he
did with such success in his novel The Scarlet Letter. It may be that "The Minister's
Black Veil" was conceived more for its dramatic effectiveness than for any moral it was
intended to preach.

Holden Caulfield in J. D. Salinger's
novel  The Catcher in the Rye  seems to have discovered, or rediscovered, the truth that
people hide their real selves behind masks, which psychologists now call "personas." The
people of Hawthorne's time and place were more concerned about matters of conscience
because they sincerely believed that they could be punished for their sins with eternal
fire and brimstone, and they were reminded of this every Sunday at  church. Reverend
Hooper was using a new tactic by wearing a black veil wherever he went, gently reminding
people that they were all sinners and that they might be able to fool one another but
that they would all have their sins revealed and severely punished on Judgment Day.