Comparing Perfection In The Birthmark And Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories, “The Birthmark” and “Young Goodman Brown” tell an intriguing story. In “The Birthmark” we are introduced to a newly wedded couple. Aylmer is a misguided yet accomplished scientist who is married to the beauty Georgiana who is an example of perfection except for her one flaw, a birthmark. Nathaniel uses Aylmer to explore the obsession with human perfection, as he struggles with the ‘birthmark’ that decks his wife’s face. Aylmer obsession and struggle to achieving physical perfection is achieved through the usage of symbolism, foreshadowing, and allusion. In “Young Goodman Brown”, our protagonist Goodman Brown is exposed to the evil among his puritan town and struggles to remain a ‘goodman’ as he tries to keep

In “Young Goodman Brown” The woods are characterized as devilish, frightening, and dark as said in the story, “..the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and thick boughs overhead, so that, with lonely footsteps, he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.” (Hawthorne 3) In this Hawthorne shares the point of view of 17th century Puritans, who believed that the New World was something to fear and then dominate. He as well mentions Salem in context to the Salem Witch Trials. For example, Hawthorne uses the names of Goody Cloyse and Martha Carrier. Two of the “witches” killed at Salem, for townspeople in his story. The devil refers to seeing Goodman Brown’s grandfather whipping a Quaker and handing Goodman Brown’s father a flaming torch so that he could set fire to an Indian village during King Philip’s War. Hawthorne usage of this shows that the Salem Puritan town has always had a dark dubious side lurking behind them. His wife Faith, is, of course, symbolic of his faith, and is used as a foil to develop Goodman’s fall into evil. “Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her caps while she called to Goodman Brown” (Hawthorne 1 ). The pink ribbons that Faith has on her cap represent her purity. The color pink is associated with innocence and ribbons are a modest, innocent decoration Faith is a stand in for the beliefs of his Christian faith. All the evil people he meets in the woods are trying to lead him away from her/it, but he resists. Still, the awful things he sees means that, when he eventually returns, he finds her/it not as comforting as before. Hawthorne also conveys allusion and allegory within his story by the reference of Genesis from the bible. As well as the story