As children, we were often told not to steal cookies from the cookie jar because our names would be put on Santa's "naughty" list. Even if minor, the theft of a single cookie is an example of sin. According to the dictionary, a sin is defined as a “violation of divine law,” but does a child's desire for a sugary chocolate chip treat really fall into that category? The sin may be blatantly obvious or it may be secret. One of the most often recurring themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne's works is the idea of ​​secret sin. The stories “The Minister's Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are no exception to this common motif; despite the differences in how sin is presented in both of these tales. The symbol of secret sin is represented both spiritually and physically in Hawthorne's works, allowing his disgust for human hypocrisy to be evident. One of the literal symbols of Hawthorne's secret sin is the veil in "The Minister's Black Veil." The story describes a man, named Reverend Hooper, who one day appears before the congregation on a Sunday morning wearing a mysterious black veil that covers his entire face, except his chin. Members of the congregation begin to suspect that Hooper is hiding something behind her black veil. “The whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hooper's black veil. This, and the mystery hidden behind it,” Hooper's veil is a physical representation of human sin. In one of his sermons he preaches about secret sin, making everyone in the room feel uncomfortable as they recite their secret sins in their heads. One of the reverend's thoughts is that "those sad mysteries that we hide from our loved ones and that we would like to hide from... middle of the paper... are a characteristic of human nature. Secret sin" and hypocrisy are intertwined in the plots of both “The Minister's Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown”. Hawthorne teaches us that sin can take both a physical and spiritual form, as seen in the dark veil Reverend Hooper wears over his face. The story of Goodman Brown creates the idea that no one is free from sin and believing otherwise could potentially cause your destruction. Hawthorne's view of human nature is clearly seen in the way he presents both stories. Both the Milford congregation and the people of Salem share the same hypocritical traits that Hawthorne sternly denies by having those people lead to the main character's destruction. Hawthorne's ultimate lesson, however, is that no one, not even the most innocent of children, will ever be able to secretly steal the cookie from the cookie jar...