Preview

Summary Of The Beholder And Birthmark

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
224 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of The Beholder And Birthmark
Outline
Intro- “Birthmark” and “Eye of the beholder” compare thematically Themes as universal as beauty and perfection present themselves in literature many times. Two such examples are within The Birthmark and Eye of the Beholder, one as a social construct and one presented as a result of an overbearing husband. Through their comments on what beauty really is and why we as humans seek perfection, the two share many traits, and their messages are similar, though they take different routes to get there.

Go chronologically through plot points in stories that lead us to the themes
First Paragraph-
The Birthmark
Beginning-archetypes
Sets up a perfect woman with one “bad” trait
Husband is logical scientist
Wife is full of love for him
Middle-
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Grotesque Old Woman Analysis
    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Grotesque Old Woman Analysis

    He is perhaps challenging the viewer to see more that physical beauty but rather an internal need to be desired regardless of our outer shell or weathered state. He used detail and traditional symbolism of beauty in the clothing, headdress, the red rose, the seductive corset, and the lifted chin and soft eyes. Perhaps the timeless review and contemplation of intent was in fact Massys true intent of this piece, as it has withstood the test of time as a historically famous work of art. The initial dislike for the woman drew me in. The complexity of the painting made be find aesthetic beauty, and the content itself keeps me perplexing on the possibilities of intent. It is truly a respectable and intriguing display of art and…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Universal Truths Revealed in Lord of the Flies
    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Universal Truths Revealed in Lord of the Flies

    Due to the fact that it is an allegory, it reveals multiple universal truths about human nature. These universal truths about human nature can be viewed as flaws. Flaws, however, are very important. They play a key role on this novel.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Appendix L Com/220
    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Appendix L Com/220

    McMicheals, Roger. A Deeper look at Beauty. New York: Graymark, 1995. The quoted material is taken from page 22.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme in Lenses
    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Theme in Lenses

    Imagine for a moment a world where there are no feelings or warmth, no smiles or tears. A world where people are no longer people, but pieces of metal. We would only see this world as dead, not beautiful. Leah Silverman’s Lenses foreshadows this imaginary world as our future. The message that the way we are made, as unique individuals, is the most beautiful is conveyed through the main character Corinne’s thoughts, emotions and viewpoint.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender Roles In The Birthmark By Nathanial Hawthorne
    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page

    Gender Roles In The Birthmark By Nathanial Hawthorne

    The Birthmark”, written by Nathanial Hawthorne portrays how gender roles can psychologically affect a human due to perspectives from those who play an influential role in a person's life. Georgiana, one of the protagonists of the short story, had a red birthmark located on her cheek. She had no shame in the red birthmark, as people always claimed it to be “attractive”. This displays gender roles towards women, as it seems as if what only matters is the physical looks of a female, not her personality.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beauty In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beauty In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark

    Beauty is the eyes of the beholder. One man’s beauty can be misery for another. For perfectionists it can be difficult to find the perfection. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” is a story of a couple’s foolish search for perfection which ends with a tragedy. Georgiana, who is the victim of god’s small mistake, is one of the main characters in the story. On the outside, she looked so in love with her husband that she was able to give up her life to satisfy him. On the inside, she was an egotistical woman who wanted everyone to admit that she was the true definition of beauty.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Hawthorn's the birthmark essay
    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hawthorn's the birthmark essay

    Jules Zanger in her essay, speaking of the Unspeakable: Hawthorne's "The Birthmark," talks about the different interpretations of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark.” one of the interpretations she talks about “regards the mark on Georgiana Aylmer's cheek as the external sign of her human [and] imperfect condition.”(Zanger, 364) She goes on to talk about Georgiana’s husband Aylmer who tried to remove the mark on her face because it kept her from being perfect. She talks about how people understand that Aylmer’s decision to surgically remove his wife’s imperfection was “either scientific, rational, reformist presumption, or of too aspiring an idealism.” (Zanger, 364) Zanger talks about a lot of things in her essay at the beginning, but she focuses mainly on the gender roles of society of the nineteenth century and how it is shown in the story. The male dominance of the nineteenth century, because Aylmer made the decision and his wife agreed in order to please him in spite of her opposing the idea and initially refusing to remove the “birthmark” that many considered charming, and a sign of her “angelic “being. Zanger addresses the gender roles of the time, when men had their roles in society and women had theirs. Zanger describes Aylmer as dominant, which was the norm. Males were dominant in the nineteenth century. They enjoyed more freedom than females. At the time women lived lives not very different from the lives of slaves; women were like slaves back then. Women had less privileges than males, for example females had no right to vote, no right to education, females were barred from universities, and they were only allowed to work at low-paying jobs; their sole purpose was to marry and reproduce. These dominant natures of men at the time as described by Zanger are shown through the characterization of Aylmer and his wife Georgina. Aylmer in the story is very domineering. Before they were married, Aylmer thought that…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Imperfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark
    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Imperfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark

    In the story a woman named Georgiana is a very beautiful woman with one imperfect blemish, which is a birthmark in the shape of a hand on her cheek. Her husband Aylmer has a fascination with the birthmark which leads him to hate it. He eventually decides that he will attempt to rid her of the birthmark using medicine. After several unsuccessful tries at ridding her of the birthmark, Georgiana comes to the conclusion that it would be better if they were dead, as they wouldn’t have to suffer through the imperfection of the birthmark. However, in the end Aylmer finally rids Georgiana of the birthmark. Although Aylmer is overcome with joy, he fails to realize that Georgiana has been killed by the absence of the birthmark. Now filled with grief, Aylmer comes to the realization that without the one imperfection, Georgiana was no longer human. The demise of Georgiana rings true partially as to what Aylmer says earlier on about his beloved. “You are fit for heaven, without tasting death!” Aylmer proclaimed. Without her birthmark, Georgiana essentially became a perfect angel, but it did not come about without the ultimate…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Birthmark'
    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Birthmark'

    Aylmer’s wife is a beautiful woman with pale white skin. Georgiana’s nearly perfect beauty is flawed with the hand on her cheek. It is a birthmark deeply interwoven within her face. It is in the shape of a tiny hand, such as one…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beauty Jane Martin Summary
    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beauty Jane Martin Summary

    The play, “Beauty”, explains the story about two foolish girls, fighting over a magical wish to receive a feature that each other has. Although it is heart wrenching that each of these girls are begging to change their features, it shows us the play’s underlying message; We will always have problems that will affect us. The author of the story, Jane Martin, shows us this simple message along with a comical aspect.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Obsession In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Birthmark'
    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Obsession In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Birthmark'

    A short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Birthmark”, is a short story about a newly married couple and the husband becomes obsessed with his wife’s birthmark. The birthmark is a symbol in the text. The text reads as follows “The crimson hand expressed the ineludible gripe in which mortality clutches the highest and purest of earthly mould, degrading them into kindred with the lowest, and even with the very brutes, like whom their visible frames return to dust. In this manner, selecting it as the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (Booth 215 ). Hawthorne is telling us the readers that love is not perfect using the symbol as the birthmark itself. The husband, Alymer wants to control nature to try to fix this birthmark , but in all reality it is his insecurity. Alymer wants perfection in his wife and this perfection does not exist.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In The Birthmark
    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Symbolism In The Birthmark

    In Hawthorne's short story, "The Birthmark," he examines that nature is supposed to be imperfect and cannot be changed. Hawthorne's main character, Aylmer is a static and stock character who does not change and is a mad scientist. He is determined to remove his wive's birthmark and is in denial that nature is imperfect and not everything can be changed. Hawthorne examines the theme that nature is supposed to be imperfect he shows it through Aylmers thoughts about how nature works. Aylmer is a part of nature himself and tries to achieve perfection by making his wife perfect and removing the birthmark. Lastly, Hawthorne uses symbolism to once again portray that nature cannot be changed and it is meant to be imperfect. The dream Aylmer has a deception…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    'Perfection In The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne
    • 118 Words
    • 1 Page

    'Perfection In The Birthmark' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a 19th century story that demonstrates that people are obsessed with perfection. Perfection does not exist in the human world because everything has flaws. “The Birthmark” is a story about a man named Aylmer that is disturbed by the birthmark of his beautiful wife, Georgiana. He wants to remove the birthmark because he thinks that the birthmark is an awful imperfection that will make his wife look hideous. It also shows that Aylmer is self-centered because Georgiana gave in to satisfy his interests, even though he often fails at every experiment he conducts. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about how obsession over a tiny imperfection leads to physically and emotionally harming a loved one.…

    • 118 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Birthmark--Wicked Good Essay
    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Birthmark--Wicked Good Essay

    Too often in this world does man attempt to perfect nature. Tampering with this sort of element most commonly leads to a disaster to come extent. Because man is never satisfied, he is constantly vying for perfection, regardless of the outcome. Such is the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "The Birthmark." Aylmer's persistent attempt to perfect nature is the cause of Georgiana's demise and the affirmation that when man tampers with such a powerful component terrible things may occur.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mr. Monkey
    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mr. Monkey

    In the essay, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self” by Alice Walker, is about self-realization, and that the world is what we make it to be. As a child Walker describes how she abused her beauty for her father’s approval. This kind of attitude was further encouraged by the society of which she is from. She grew up hearing praises from people such as “oh, isn’t she the cutest thing”. Walker goes through many different changes and her realizations about herself, that she goes through throughout her life. In the end Walker realizes that she has the whole world at her fingertips and can succeed whenever she wants to with beauty or without beauty. To show how big of a part beauty played in Walker’s life, she uses rhetorical strategies like tone when she shows herself as a child and then as an adult to convey what the experiences she has learned. She also uses allusion about the poems she made. She also uses mood to show the emotional attitude she has toward her beauty.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More