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Critical analysis of the birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Symbolism in the birthmark by hawthorne
Body image in today's society
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Being beautiful, being perfect, is what most of society cares about in this day and age. For example, people value getting rid of any to all imperfections, like having a bit of baby fat, or getting rid of scars. People are put down by the comments of strangers, and more so the comments made from people of their inner circle. People feel ugly and hate themselves for things that they have no control over. Some do radical things to get rid of these imperfections by getting surgery or taking pills. Even though not all people judge minor blemishes the view of one’s self is the most important view a person could have, and if that identity is under attack it could ruin a person 's self confidence. The story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne also has aspects of self-confidence and identity that are relevant to the current times.
Many people today feel like their faces are hideous, and the same can be said for Georgina from “The Birthmark”. Almost any- physical attribute can be considered ugly to oneself, and to others, depending on what the others
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Almost always people are encouraged to change themselves to meet the standards of the media and advertising. There are the few that see nothing wrong with a person for how they look naturally; however, those few usually do not have as much impact as the ones who cause said insecurities. There is so much about the human condition in “The Birthmark” which are still relevant for modern society, even though this story was written 150-200 years ago. One could say that it is sad that things like this are still a problem; maybe even more of a problem than they were before, with people being obsessed with perfection. There is a solace though; the number of those who see nothing wrong with physical diversity is growing. Maybe someday the story "The Birthmark" will no longer be
Hawthorne's "The Birth-Mark" deals with the discrepancy between the strength of nature and the strength of science. Hawthorne's protagonist, Alymer, represents the world of science, whereas the strength of nature is represented by the birth-mark on Alymer's wife Georgiana's face. Alymer becomes obsessed with her birth-mark and, using his scientific knowledge, attempts to remove it. In this essay, I will show that Alymer's obsession results from his scientifically influenced way of thinking in categories, and also from his arrogant perfectionism, two character traits which are shown in this excerpt from the text. These character traits interfere with his moral conscientiousness and eventually caquse his downfall at the end of the story.
Since the beginning of time, people have lived by the expression, or at least heard
Societal constructs of bodily perfection have a massive influence on both genders and on all ages. If you look at any magazine, you will see women constantly being compared to each other, whether it is in the “who wore it better” section or in the “do’s and don’ts” part of the magazine, comparing body images and overall appearances. All parts of the media that encompasses our daily lives are especially dangerous for young and impressionable teens because they see people being torn down for trying to express themselves, and are thus taught to not only don’t look like “don’ts”, but also look like the “do’s”. This is dangerous in that women in the magazine set very high standards that teens want to emulate, no matter the cost to themselves or their health. Celebrities have the benefit of media to make them appear perfect: Photoshop and makeup artists conceal the imperfections that are often too apparent to the naked eye. Viewing celebrities as exhibiting the ideal look or as idols will, in most cases, only damage the confidence of both young teens, and adults, and warp the reality of what true “beauty” really is. It makes teens never feel truly content with themselves because they will be aiming for an ideal that is physically impossible to attain and one that doesn’t exist in the real
Sure, some of us have this great confidence within ourselves about looking great, but that does not hold true for everyone. I understand the pain or disgust, or even disappointment one feels when they look in the mirror and say, “I wish I could change this or that about myself”. Although this piece is written about the author’s life, it holds meaning and connects with for many people; one only has to dig deep enough to find one. For me, it was to realize what is important in life can change, adapt and that we must explore our inner selves and find our own path in life.
We all are unique in a different way; our body is different just like our face color. Thin, fat, thick, or over weight each one of us is different from everyone else, this is what make us individual. By changing your body it’s like taking away your identity and personality. The author suggest that plastic surgery is being done from one women pulled from exactly the same face structure and mostly they all look the same. Most people think when they get cosmetic surgery done they’re becoming in with their own ideas on what they wanted to look like, but if you really think about most people undergo surgery hoping to look better and to look way different that they use to. It is unfortunate because one shouldn’t feel the need or necessary to alter their face or body to look more beautiful or perfect. People should have a surgery to change their inside instead of outside. Most of the things we do are to feel included and to feel like someone is paying some attention to us. Society don’t really pay attention or care about that one fat girl who sits in the cafeteria by her self with a big nose and an ugly face, but that girl with a long hair, a perfect smile, and face structure is one that everyone remember. It is just so unfair and sad that society have to tell us what beautiful and what
Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Often times scientific advancements attempt to recreate perfection and disregard nature’s way of being. “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the disconnection and battle between science and Mother Nature. Hawthorne creates the character, Aylmer, to show the science side of the spectrum and to show the extent it could go to. The protagonist, Aylmer, believes that with science anything can be done. Aylmer is a very intelligent and famous scientist who has worked in various fields and on various projects. Although he is very successful He is consumed with his idea of scientific perfection and he lets it fog up his vision of his wife. His wife, Georgina, is described as being basically perfect except for a small red mark on her cheek that burdens her husband. The
Uttering heartless words to a partner about their flaws is a reflection of one’s insecurity in the relationship. The short story “The Birthmark” gives readers insight into Aylmer, a questionable scientist who fails at experiments, and his wife Georgiana, an obedient wife who fulfills her husband’s commands. Aylmer is insecure and as a result denigrates Georgiana about her birthmark to purposefully make her despise the mark. Georgiana never thought of her birthmark as a flaw because men were enchanted by her fairy-like miniature hand with a shade of crimson. However, Georgiana being the good wife that she is, agrees to become her husband’s experiment to get the birthmark removed in order to make Aylmer happy. In this story it is evident that
There is a thin line between love and hate. Love is having a strong affection for another person, place, or thing and sometimes, it makes people do crazy things. Whether it is a woman chopping off hair due to a bad breakup or placing permanent tattoos on the body for commitment, one will go to major extremities to satisfy their passion for love. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, “The Birthmark,¨ a psychotic scientist strives for perfection not only leading to the death of his beautiful wife, but overall attempting to have power and control over nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism and foreshadowing to display the thematic complexities of mortality and human imperfection that the birthmark personifies psychologically and symbolically in the
In today’s society, it seems that we cannot turn the television on or look in a
It is hard to say that one is human and perfect at the same time. Human beings are not capable of achieving perfection; if that would be so, humans would stop being humans. By nature the human race is full of flaws, some appearing as early as in the womb. From defects in the body, to defects in the mind, to the mistakes that one makes in quotidian life, it is impossible to deny that human imperfection exists. To try to manipulate humans into perfection is not only impossible, but it takes away the very essence of being a human being. The short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorn, illustrates this teaching through the character of Aylmer, an ambitious and devoted scientist who is appalled by his wife Georgiana’s birthmark, believing it to be a perceivable sign of her human flaws and eagerly waits to remove it from her cheek. This story raises riveting questions such as, what is humanity all about, can human beings ever achieve perfection through science, is Hawthorn attacking science or a wider issue, and more significantly, should science take the place of God. Through the use of symbolism in “The Birthmark”, Hawthorn indirectly implies that imperfection is an essential part of being human and that science should not interfere; thus he is hinting his personal views toward science and its limitations over nature.
In the short story, “ Birthamrk”, the main characters defining aspect of her identify is a port wine stained birthmark on her face. She has always struggled with the mark on her face, which made her feel uncomfortable; she believed that she would be prettier if she did not have the mark on her face. The character had the birthmark removed when she was twenty-three but, “she has waited patiently from the time she was fourteen” to have it removed. After it was removed she still felt self-conscious. The character believed that people who met her after her aesthetic surgery would feel differently about her. Moreover, she did not choose this identity for herself, because she...
Everyone dreams of being “perfect”, but what they don’t know is that they are perfect. One just has to see within themselves. Everyone is uniquely and secretly beautiful, but that gets taken away because it is not what society wants. What society wants is for women’s self-esteem to be broken so that they can be morphed into a product of someone else's idea of perfect. In “Barbie Doll” Piercy argues that the pressures put on women by society affect their self-esteem. No one needs to change who they are for anyone. If anyone wants to change, they should change for themselves! Being you is all that really matters. The key to beauty is confidence. Something that everyone should keep in mind is that, don’t let someone change who you are, to become what they need; otherwise you don’t need them in your
...Cosmetic surgery has opened the door to deeper insecurities. He dealt with them by abusing alcohol and drugs. Michael Jackson had a warped view on what beauty is. I had once read, “Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.” (I Am the Messenger) (Zusak) Cosmetic Surgery has taken away the true sense of beauty. Adolescents believe that beauty is only skin-deep, though in reality beauty comes from within. Together, we must take a stand and decide what’s important, looks or the ability to see past a person’s appearance and to see the true definition of beauty, not a man-made perception of it.
Flipping through the pages of Vogue's latest edition, 23 year-old Susan seems quite upset. She struggles with the thought of lacking the perfect body and delicate features in order to be considered attractive. Surprisingly, Susan is not alone in this kind of an internal struggle. In contemporary society, every other woman aspires to have the lips of Angelina Jolie and the perfect jaw line of Keira Knightley. Society today looks down upon individuals that do not fit in, whether in terms of body shape or facial attractiveness. This forces them to consider the option of 'ordering beauty.' Since cosmetic surgery is no longer a social taboo in America given its widespread popularity, more people are promoting it which ultimately affects the rest of the world due to the unwavering influence of American culture. Cosmetic surgery should be deterred in the US because it promotes the idea of valuing appearance over ability, gives rise to unrealistic expectations, and brings with it high cost to society.
There are over seven billion people on earth and every single one looks different. No matter how much people say that being different is unique, they are wrong. Society has set a beauty standard, with the help of the media and celebrities, that makes people question their looks. This standard is just a definition of what society considers being “beautiful.” This idea is one that mostly everyone knows about and can relate to. No one on this planet is exactly the same, but people still feel the need to meet this standard. Everyone has two sides to them; there is the one that says “you are perfect just the way you are”, while the other side puts you down and you tell yourself “I have to change, I have to fit in.” There is always going to be that side that cares and the one that doesn’t.