Critical Essay 4 Close Reading “The ’Birthmark” that was written a little over a century ago by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ seems to be an early story of our modern fascination with physical flawlessness. In looking at today ’s society‚ it is simple to see that humans are fascinated with perfection. This fascination may be for physical perfection‚ emotional perfection‚ or career perfection. Unlike today ’s society‚ where flawlessness is wanted by the person directly involved‚ the character in this
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has hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Aylmer becomes engrossed with Georgiana birthmark that keeps his wife from becoming perfect and decides to remove the birthmark through his science. In “The Birth-Mark” Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes Georgiana weak self-conscious‚ the birthmark‚ and the concoction to emphasis the theme of striving for perfection. Aylmer critical perception of Georgiana birthmark hinders her self-confidence. Aylmer constant glances at his wife’s birthmark caused extreme
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Like most stories and novels by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ “The Birthmark” is an allegory and much of the allegorical meaning is derived through Hawthorne’s use of symbolism. Since Hawthorne is engaged in the telling of a moral tale‚ it is only fitting that many of the symbols in “The Birthmark” pertain to deeper allegorical meanings. (Nicole Smith‚ 2007) Of the many symbols used within this story‚ Hawthorne’s use of the birthmark symbolically characterizes the sinful imperfections of mankind
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noticeable symbol is Georgiana’s birthmark on her cheek. Her birthmark is a tiny red spot on her cheek in the shape of a small hand. In the story it says‚ “some fairy at her birth-hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant’s cheek” (340). At the beginning of the story Georgiana has grown so tired of the birthmark she says‚ “Either remove this dreadful hand‚ or take my wretched life!” (342). Aylmer‚ her husband the scientist‚ decides to take up the task of removing the birthmark. He tries a few different
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A Little Bit of Happiness Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ a great American gothic writer‚ wrote many different‚ amazing stories including the classic novel‚ “The Birthmark”. The Birthmark is about Aylmer‚ his wife Georgiana and the birthmark that lays upon her cheek. One day‚ Aylmer asks his wife whether she has ever thought about removing the birthmark on her cheek. She cheerfully says no but grows serious when she realizes that he asked the question seriously. Many people have told her the mark is a charm
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imperfection? In Nathanial Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark‚” that is exactly what scientist Aylmer has the opportunity to do. Aylmer is a scientist who “values head more than heart”(Rucker 445). After persuading beautiful Georgiana to marry him‚ Aylmer becomes disgusted with a small birthmark on Georgiana’s left cheek‚ causing him to dwell on the idea of using his extensive knowledge of science to cure her of this hideous defect. Hawthorne argues in “The Birthmark” through characters‚ symbolism‚ and circumstance
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witness this event. The Birthmark story takes place in a time where some individuals thought that spells and magic existed‚ and that alchemy was a sure way to cure any illness or imperfections of the body. In this time‚ even the most prestigious scientist thought that people’s illnesses could be cured by merely creating a concoction with the components of Mother Nature and with a little assistance from the spiritual world. Birthmark also centers around a hand shaped birthmark‚ on the cheek of a newly
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Morrison Sula’s birthmark represents Sula’s reputation throughout the book. You will see her reputation change from a positive outlook to a negative one. In beginning Sula’s birthmark is being characterized as a stemmed rose‚ but towards the end of the book it changes from something pleasant as a rose to something that’s unpleasant and dreadful like her mother ashes. Birthmarks have many different meanings in so many different cultures. There are some myths that associated birthmarks that are caused
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perfect-beauty along with sacrifice. “The Birth-mark” is a story authored by Nathaniel Hawthorne about love between Aylmer and Georgiana. Aylmer was a scientist who‚ in order to make his wife ( Georgiana) perfect by her charming glory‚ attempts to remove her birthmark from her skin. Going through “The Birth-Mark” you become forced to reconsider human desire for perfection and its appropriateness. The story touches the emotions of readers forcing them to misinterpret the actual meaning of perfect beauty. No one
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The Death-Mark: Vanity in Marriage Marriage has always been a social staple that’s been ever-present in America before it was even colonized by Europeans. It has changed over time as cities expand and communities grow. Marriage during the Renaissance was definitely different from marriage during the Dark Romantic Period due to the changes not only in groups‚ but the changes in individuals thinking. During the Dark Romantic Period‚ an abundance of previous ideas were challenged‚ one of them is marriage
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