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The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Transcript
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Figurative Language & Symbolism
Narrator and P.O.V
Discussion Questions
Intro to Hawthorne
- 3rd person omniscient: the narrator is unknown but he seems to know the thoughts of both Aylmer and Georgiana
- This point of view makes the story less personal.
- Irony, symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing are often seen
- Irony: By wanting to perfect his wife using science to remove the birthmark, science is what ends up killing her
- Symbolism: the birthmark
- Imagery: very detailed descriptions of birthmark and his wife's perfect skin
- Foreshadowing: Aylmer's experiments go"awry," he has a dream of cutting off her birthmark (cutting her life short)
- What do you think made Aylmer all of a sudden want to remove the birthmark after their marriage?
- Could the birthmark represent more than a human flaw? Such as maybe a flaw in their marriage that is unknown?
- Should we change nature with science? Why or why not? (hint: the use of cosmetic surgeries in today's society)
- What are some imperfections of your own??
- Born in Salem Massachusetts in 1804
- Related to John Hathorne who was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials and is said to have added the "w" into the name
- Hawthorne's writing is considered part of the Romantic movement in literature
- Some of his other famously known works include Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlett Letter
- The Birthmark is a short story
Theories Applied
Characters/Setting
Recap of Short Story
- Psychoanalytical Criticism
- Post Structuralism
- A story of obsession in being physically perfect
- Aylmer is a scientist and a philosopher who loves both his work and his wife Georgiana
- He sees the tiny hand shaped birthmark on her left cheek as an imperfection and insists that she has it removed because it "shocks" Alymer
- Georgianna then too becomes obsessed with the removal of the birthmark and allows her husband to remove it with science
- In the end, Aylmer succeeds in removing the birthmark. As it slowly fades away so does the life of his wie and she dies.
- Aylmer: dynamic, antagonist, antihero. An intelligent scientist who strives for perfection
- Georgiana: dynamic, protagonist. Beautiful loving woman with a flaw
- Adminadab: minor character, static, flat. Assistant to Alymer who sees Georgiana for her real beauty hence the reason she thinks Alymer cannot remove it.
- Setting: in Alymer's and Georgiana's house which is where Aylmer keeps all of his experiments, tools, and books.
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