Two literary works compared "The minister's black veil" and "Incidents from the life of a slave" are two stories that have had the greatest impact on me since assigned readings. Interestingly, both of these stories were written around the mid-1850s. The first reading focuses on our sin and the second on the issue of slavery. Both sin and slavery appear to be two concerns that had once corrupted this country. Some might argue that it continues to do so. In my opinion, prejudice, discrimination, and sin still occur in the United States. People are not always treated fairly, the Have Nots, and those who are, the Haves, tend to be sinners, as demonstrated by their actions of what best interests them. By analyzing these works, I intend to provide evidence that, even though more than a hundred years have passed, people are still sinful and susceptible to being slaves. In the first work, many readers, including myself, concluded that the black veil represents sin. The protagonist, Reverend Hooper, wears a veil over his face to show the citizens how repugnant sin can be. The townspeople wonder why the reverend wears such a garment, but never truly understand his intentions. I believe the misunderstanding is symbolic of the way people react to sin today. People have difficulty understanding why they occasionally sin. Sometimes they even have difficulty recognizing sin, even if it is their own. These two defects symbolize the reverend's veil because people have difficulty understanding it and they represent sin. This latest work revealed what it meant to be a "slave". Before this work was published no one really knew how these women were treated. The author, Harriet Ann Jacobs, made the point that in that… medium of paper… at the forefront of her mind she would die. Both of these stories have had a huge impact on my life. For starters, I am a person of color and to some extent I can somewhat understand what many African Americans experienced during the 1850s. Another reason why these stories had an impact on me is because I have made some mistakes in the past, i.e. I have sinned. I like the first story because I admire the reverend's passion for being open about his sin. In the story he goes so far as to further “wear” the sin of all the citizens. In conclusion, prejudice, discrimination and sin continue to occur in our country. By analyzing these works I hope to spread awareness of the people who are not always treated fairly, the Have Nots, and those who are, the Haves, tend to be sinners, as demonstrated through their actions, about what best interests them.