The Birthmark Research Paper
The Birthmark Essay
What are the parameters of God within “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne? There are many factors within the story that can be compared to religion and/or God. The relationship between Aylmer and Aminidab will be discussed, as well as the time period of which this tale was written and the mentality of the people in that time period.
First off, one must know when the story takes place to better understand the narrator’s point of view. According to Hawthorne, “The Birthmark” takes place in “the latter part of the last century” (Hawthorne 418). Hawthorne’s story is set in the late 1700’s, even though it was written in the 1840’s. There is no evidence of it taking place in America.
The scientific realm was still dominated by Newtonian thinking, even though Sir Isaac Newton issued his dynamic compositions in the mid-1600s. Newton enlightened everyone on the fields of physics and mathematics so that the world can figure nature out by the use of proper scientific methods. This Newtonian Era …show more content…
In the passage, “With his vast strength, his shaggy hair, his smoky aspect, and the indescribable earthiness that incrusted him, seemed to represent man's physical nature; while Aylmer's slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of the spiritual element” (Hawthorne 422), Aminidab is the symbol of man's earthly, physical half. Aylmer is the symbol of man's dignified, spiritual half. Secondly, the name Aminidab is the name of a high priest in the Bible, therefore to think that Hawthorne's character is also meant to symbolize the men of religion is not far-fetched. In contrast to Aylmer’s character, which symbolizes the men of science. In the story, we see that Aminidab, the man of religion, is the servant Aylmer, the man of science. This could be considered the observation of the era that Hawthorne is living in rather than a personal value of
What are the parameters of God within “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne? There are many factors within the story that can be compared to religion and/or God. The relationship between Aylmer and Aminidab will be discussed, as well as the time period of which this tale was written and the mentality of the people in that time period.
First off, one must know when the story takes place to better understand the narrator’s point of view. According to Hawthorne, “The Birthmark” takes place in “the latter part of the last century” (Hawthorne 418). Hawthorne’s story is set in the late 1700’s, even though it was written in the 1840’s. There is no evidence of it taking place in America.
The scientific realm was still dominated by Newtonian thinking, even though Sir Isaac Newton issued his dynamic compositions in the mid-1600s. Newton enlightened everyone on the fields of physics and mathematics so that the world can figure nature out by the use of proper scientific methods. This Newtonian Era …show more content…
In the passage, “With his vast strength, his shaggy hair, his smoky aspect, and the indescribable earthiness that incrusted him, seemed to represent man's physical nature; while Aylmer's slender figure, and pale, intellectual face, were no less apt a type of the spiritual element” (Hawthorne 422), Aminidab is the symbol of man's earthly, physical half. Aylmer is the symbol of man's dignified, spiritual half. Secondly, the name Aminidab is the name of a high priest in the Bible, therefore to think that Hawthorne's character is also meant to symbolize the men of religion is not far-fetched. In contrast to Aylmer’s character, which symbolizes the men of science. In the story, we see that Aminidab, the man of religion, is the servant Aylmer, the man of science. This could be considered the observation of the era that Hawthorne is living in rather than a personal value of