Tone is the way an author looks (implied or stated) at an
audience or a subject in a text.
The tone in Hawthorne's
short story "The Minister's Black Veil" is one of doubt. Mr Hooper dons the veil in
order to test the faith and acceptance of his parishioners. Prior to wearing the veil,
Hooper's parishioners thought him to be self-disciplined and rational. Once he begins
wearing the veil, his parishioners, wrought with dismay, begin to turn against him. The
rumors behind his reasoning begin to run rampant.
By
wearing the veil, Hooper shows that people are easily swayed by things they do not
understand or cannot comprehend. Therefore, the tone of doubt shows Hawthorne's (through
Hooper) inability to trust in society and the way their beliefs
waiver.
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