Birthmark Essays (Examples)

Birthmark
Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" is an ironic story in which man's faith in science as the ultimate savior of humankind is demonstrated to be misplaced. Ever since science has come to the forefront of human knowledge, people have continually increased their faith and thus their dependency on it. In a way, science has become a new form of religion, one in which people place their faith to solve what they see as their everyday problems. However, too much faith in science's ability to solve problems has created a situation where people turn to science to solve problems that are not there. Because science has already solved many of life's major problems, such as certain diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries, people seem to look for new problems for science to solve for them. "The Birthmark" is a perfect example of how a person can turn…

Georgiana is beautiful and doesn't even think about the birthmark until her husband points to it and then goes into a deep state of misery because of that. In order to relief her husband of the misery, she agrees to drink the potion which leads to her death.
Emily on the other hand is not so obliging. Though she has suffered enough at the hands of her father who wanted to keep all men away from her so she could be a real lady, but Emily doesn't let her life end like Georgiana. She doesn't meet her death because of a man but instead takes his life and then meets her own death in due course of time. Emily was a victim of a stern father while Georgiana was a victim of a perfectionist. In both cases, these women suffer but while Emily takes revenge, Georgiana dies a silent death.…

To Aylmer, the birthmark represents more than an annoyance. He "possessed this degree of faith in man's ultimate control over Nature" and viewed the mark as an opportunity to demonstrate his dominion over Nature. Instead of appreciating Georgiana, Aylmer sought to transform her, to change an essential part of her being. As the narrator states, the mark was "deeply interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her face."

Removing the birthmark would give Aylmer tremendous power: over Georgiana as well as over Nature and God. Indeed, he took his wife's life in the process. Thus, Hawthorne inserts feminist commentary into his short story. Aylmer demonstrated his power and revels drunkenly in his triumph: "he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present." The birthmark symbolizes the beauty that can be discovered…

Birthmark
In his book, The Birthmark, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the conflict of science and nature that exists deep in the human psyche. Hawthorne's seemingly simple story of Aylmer, Georgiana and Aminadab reveals much about Hawthorne's attitudes toward science and progress. In the telling of their story, he creates an effective allegory about the role of science in the modern world. Ultimately, Hawthorne's story warns the reader of placing science on a pedestal above more human concerns.

Georgiana's birthmark represents the fact that not everything within nature is perfect. It is a reminder that the beautiful and kind Georgiana is capable of death and sorrow that afflicts the human spirit. After their wedding, Aylmer becomes obsessed with the birthmark, and he finally convinces Georgiana that her birthmark is ugly and unsightly; instead of the charm she believed it was. In this sense, Aylmer abuses the power and credibility he has amassed…

HAWTHONE'S BITHMAK AND YOUNG GOODMAN BOWN
Hawthorne was born 1804 and brought up in Salem, Massachusetts to a Puritan family. When Hawthorne was four, his father died. After this incident he was mostly in the female company of his two sisters, an aunt and his retiring mother who was not close to her offspring. Hawthorne was known as a reserved personality but during four years at college he established close friendships with his male classmates, several of which he continued for life. "Young Goodman Brown" was published in 1835, when Nathaniel Hawthorne was 31 years old. "Birthmark" was published as a short story in Mosses from an Old Manse in 1846.

Writing style relating to ethics and symbolism

Hawthorne is known as an American omanticist and his style influenced by such noteworthy authors as Herman Melville, William Faulkner and Henry James. His work enlightens the real characters in the society,…

small, crimson birthmark on Georgiana's cheek represents humanity and its inherent flaws. It defines Georgiana as an individual, as a human. Aylmer saw the birthmark as a symbol of Georgiana's earthly mortality, and as "a symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death." Georgiana is seen as a perfect specimen of beauty, except for the birthmark. Without the birthmark Georgiana would be perfect at a divine level, but its presence gives her undesirable earthly qualities. Her inner and outer beauty is marred by the birthmark, which distracts Aylmer from noticing and appreciating her positive qualities. The birthmark does have a connection to Faith's pink ribbons and Hester's scarlet letter in the way that they are all symbols of humanity. They all represent the way imperfection is a necessary human quality. To be flawless is to be inhuman. The hand shaped birthmark puts a grip on Georgiana's life,…

Reductive Entrapment: Hawthorne's "The irthmark"
In the essay "When We Dead Awaken" by Adrienne Rich, the author frankly alludes to the artistic captivity that male writers place women in, arguing that women have always been trapped and explored by poets [footnoteRef:1]and will no doubt, continue to suffer this experience. While some might argue that women are acting as the muse to the poet, and the male poet is placing women upon a pedestal, this is far too simplistic a viewpoint to hold, as Rich demonstrates. Rather, poets create these one dimensional women and enshroud them between the words of the poem, locking them into this eternal reality. In this case male poets are exerting a form of artistic tyranny. Yet as Rich shows us, this state of captivity is indeed a reductive place to be, with all meaning diminished into a battle of holding on to beauty and youth, implying…

irthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the story of a man consumed by the pursuit of perfection. He seeks absolute knowledge and absolute control, and imagines that he has discovered great scientific absolutes including the nature of the very heavens and the reason volcanoes erupt. After he marries, he becomes obsessed by a small birthmark on the cheek of his otherwise flawlessly beautiful young wife. His obsession with perfection combined with his scientific hubris leads to the death of his wife. Ironically, in death, the hated birthmark finally fades. The story demonstrates the danger of hubris in assuming that science will have all our answers, that we can manipulate life to meet our arbitrary standards.
Hawthorne demonstrates the protagonist, Aylmer's, obsession through various references. In the opening paragraph he says Aylmer.".. had made experience of a spiritual affinity more attractive than any chemical one. He had left his laboratory to the…

He does not care because he is greedy. Victor is the same way. He wants the knowledge of how nature works. He is curious and this eventually gets the best of him. He says, "I would sacrifice my fortune, my existence, my every hope, to the furtherance of my enterprise. One man's life or death was but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought" (Shelley 13). Victor realizes the folly of his ways but it is too late to salvage anything that he has lost. Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler agrees with this assumption, noting that the irony of the story is that, "at the culmination of his research, the moment of his triumph, all Victor's pleasure in life ends" (Hoobler 159). Both men are consumed and actually believe that they possess some of the characteristics of God.
Both men suffer from their selfish…

Personal Responsibility: "Rappaccini's Daughter" versus "The Birthmark"
Both Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" and "The Birthmark" contain similar themes of the dangers of human pride, specifically male pride, and arrogance. In both stories, male figures in the name of science explicitly tamper with the fate of the women in their care. In the case of Rappaccini, the sorcerer-like figure slowly poisons his own daughter so she cannot come into contact with anyone without poisoning them herself. In the case of "The Birthmark," the scientist Aylmer is obsessed with removing his wife Georgina's birthmark to the point that it kills her. The blindness of these men to their own ambition causes them to destroy what they ostensibly wish to save.

"The Birthmark" begins with an exchange between Aylmer and his wife that underlines the fact that his obsession with the birthmark is solely his own and has little to do with his…

"
Mather 22)

Hawthorne clearly stepped away from the Puritan ethic by consistently alluding to the existence of the earthly supernatural. Though this was a fear of the Puritans, clearly it was associated with Satan and possession of the living. In Hawthorne's works the supernatural was associated with less grand sources, such as those seen in Young Goodman Brown. (Hoeltje 39-40) Hawthorne allows his characters to explore concepts that would have been those deemed heretical within the Puritan settings of the works.

In The Birth-Mark, Hawthorne associates the active expulsion of character traits of humanity clearly results in the death of the whole.

The line of divergence in "The Birth Mark" is indicated by its name. e all have our birth-marks, -- traits of character, which may be temporarily suppressed, or relegated to the background, but which cannot be eradicated and are certain to reappear at unguarded moments, or on…

ith real sense of self, she will have a skewed look at the world around her. In her eyes, she is empty, as is the world.
Nel is grounded but this does not mean she is complete. Sula is labeled a wild child because she is not conventional like those around her. She moves to get herself away from Bottom and has several casual affairs with men. hen she returns, the townspeople view her as wicked. Those in her town call her a "roach" (112) and "bitch" (112) and her death is a welcome relief. She has an affair with Nel's husband, which makes Nel look like nothing short of an angel in the novel. Sula's life was not nice and neat. Nel married and had children, which was something of a traditional lifestyle for a woman. In short, Nel conforms to what society expects of women. Sula decided not…

Morrison most probably wants to emphasize that Sula is stronger than Nel because she is in control of her life.

The end of the book presents readers with Nel's acknowledgement that she enjoyed seeing Chicken Little's death.

Morrison's Sula is meant to induce a state of rebellion in readers as they are influenced in believing that it is wrong for them to act in accordance with society's laws, considering that the system is apparently flawed. The inhabitants of Bottom are barely able to sustain themselves in the beginning but gradually come to be more and more efficient in improving conditions in the area. In spite of his eccentric nature, Shadrack is one of the most influential individuals in the town.

Nel and Sula are the products of Bottom's environment but they struggle to be different from the rest of people. Even with this, Sula is the only one who actually…

This is an interesting point-of-view about Aylmer and it works with his character. Others identify Georgiana's birthmark as something that is essentially hers and therefore, should remain with her. Shakinovsky goes even further to say that it is a "metaphor for her identity, her sexuality, her being" (Shakinovsky). Aylmer is blind to this fact altogether. He cannot see that "in removing the mark, he removes all there is of her" (Shakinovsky). He could not accept the fact that he could not just remove a portion of her -- it was all or nothing.
Shakinovsky reinforces the point that all of the characters in "The Birthmark" realize that Georgiana cannot be separated from her birthmark, except Aylmer. However, as the story progresses, the birthmark becomes "Aylmer's object, and since, as the sign of her subjectivity, it represents Georgiana, it becomes she who is his object" (Shakinovsky). Again, we see how Aylmer's…

Minister's Black Veil" and "The Birth-mark:" Hubris
Many of Nathaniel Hawthorne's works are seen as a critique of Puritan ideology and the dangers of having a judgmental attitude. "The Minister's Black Veil" illustrates the Reverend Hooper's vindictive and narrow-minded attitude not to others but to himself. He punishes himself in perpetuity for some unnamed sin although at the end of his life, right before his death, he proclaims that all human beings wear a black veil of sin, not just himself. "The Birth-mark," in contrast, depicts the dangerous overconfidence of a scientist who is certain that he can render God's creation better than God himself in his attempts to change his wife's appearance. But while Aylmer's actions are more obviously arrogant, both men are essentially acting as judge and jury over others on earth, rather than leaving that judgment to God himself.

At the beginning of "The Birthmark," Aylmer's quest…

Not only was Annabel Lee's love strong, but she was beautiful as well. This notion of beauty and love are linked in a continuous dream-like state for the speaker. This speaker's first wife was able to make him experience a type of love that he had never known before her or since knowing her. Even though Annabel Lee is gone, the speaker tells us that she is still a powerful force in his life and:
Neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. (30-3)

In "Ligeia," we see the ephemeral attached love.

hile human hearts may not stand the test of time, we know that love will surely prevail as one of the constants of the universe. In fact, the pleasure and pain of love are two things that Medieval audiences share with audiences from…

In this regard, Meyers concludes that, "As for Flory, environment has been too much for him, for he is not really alcoholic or crapulous by nature, and he regrets it when a girl from England arrives to stay at Kyauktada; she is a poverty-stricken little snob on the look-out for a husband, but he has not seen a spinster for a decade, and he succumbs on the spot whereupon his discarded Burmese mistress makes a scene in front of her and every one else, and he ends by committing suicide" (Meyers 52). hile it may seem that Flory simply got what he deserved given his wishy-washy nature and lack of fortitude when it came to standing up for his friend, Dr. Veraswami when put to the test, but the suicide of the protagonist provides a useful literary vehicle whereby Orwell advances the plot and highlights just how shallow the friendship…

I do not believe that wearing glasses or make-up is wrong, even though this is an enhancement of the human body by improving one's life by being able to see, or covering blemishes and unsightly birthmarks that might make an individual self-conscious. Is selecting the best sperm donor really so much different than a man or a woman basing his or her choice of a mate upon that individual's appearance, intelligence, and lack of unpleasant 'skeletons' in the genetic closet? Svaulescu's idea that one has a moral obligation to screen for genetic defects or to personally improve the human race through reproduction makes one queasy, but the idea of leaving everything up to nature, in theory, would mean an end of folic acid for pregnant women or even birth control.
But really, the ultimate argument for allowing patients to attempt to engineer their offspring by selecting 'better sperm' may be…

Such evidence as there is can be taken up at a later time. But of one thing we can be sure. If Virginia was the prototype of Eleonora she was not the model for Morella or Berenice or Ligeia."(Quinn, 255)
These feelings can also be inferred from Poe's letters to Mrs. Clemm, Virginia's mother:

I am blinded with tears while writing this letter-- I have no wish to live another hour. Amid sorrow, and the deepest anxiety your letter reached -- and you well know how little I am able to bear up under the pressure of grief -- My bitterest enemy would pity me could he now read my heart -- My last my only hold on life is cruelly torn away -- I have no desire to live and will not but let my duty be done. I love, you know I love Virginia passionately devotedly. I cannot…

Maternity Nursing, Labor & Delivery / Newborn
Labor and Delivery Terms

Para: Para refers to the number of live births a woman has had (it might be a stillbirth, or twins, or even triplets) past the 20-week gestation period (Zimmerman, p. 116).

Gravida: this refers to the number of times a woman has been pregnant, whether she actually gave birth, had an abortion or a stillbirth (Zimmerman, p. 116).

Amniotic Sac: this is a membrane around which the fetus is surrounded. It is a strong series of membranes that is visible after 7 weeks of gestation. (Jurkovic, et al., 2011).

Cervical Effacement: this phrase refers to the measurement of the expansion of the cervix as the baby gets closer to being born. hen the cervix is 50% effaced, it is halfway to being ready for the baby to be born (Jurkovic, et al., 2011).

Cervical dilation: Slowly but surely the…

Oedipus is at once a King of courage and judicial propriety, and also one in whom there is a tendency toward pride. Underlying it all, however, lays a great and secret blemish that awaits his discovery. It is through this secret mark - a birthmark of sorts - that fate, or the fates will eventually lead him to his downfall. It will be his character traits of courage, honesty and integrity, however, in combination with an ego and pride that are more closely related hubris that will actually bring about his inevitable acts of self-destruction via free will. In many ways, Oedipus was created as a perfect specimen through whom Sophocles could effectively deliver one of the most dramatic of ancient Greek tragedies.
ith generous measures of irony Sophocles provides tantalizing situations intended to hold the attention of the audience that knows the secret blemish of Oedipus long before he…

Pigmentation
The problems relating to skin pigment are associated with symptoms of the skin appearing faded or deeper than the usual or often spotted and blemished. (Skin pigmentation disorders) The unusual skin development and unusual pigmentation of the skin is seen to present at the time of birth or develop at the later stages. (Benign Skin Growths and Pigmentation Disorders) The skin pigmentation disorders seem to arise over a large number of races and conditions. (Nacinamide Helps to Lighten Skin) Some problems like albinism are considered exceptional phenomenon about a single case arises in every 17000 people. Other cases like age spots are very common. (Skin pigmentation disorders) Irrespective of the fact that it is quite harmless in its effects in most of the cases, however, the growth and pigmentation disorders warrant thorough watching for any other variations that may mark a development of cancerous skin cells. There are several…

She does not accept a world in which their native land has fallen and they have no emotional reaction to leaving it. So she negotiates an identity which has lost something. When her husband cannot accept this identity, and then apparently abandons her at the train station, she negotiates the idea of an identity that is strong enough to survive and find love and gratification and recognition without him. When her husband cannot accept that identity and cries out that it is unbearable, she is forced (again) to recant it... In that moment, her husband kills her salesman-brute-lover as surely as he killed her dog. Is it any wonder that when she creates a noble, good lover in her mind, she conceals it from him for fear he will kill it... Or kill them both, by forcing her to again deny her dream self? When she tells him "Perhaps I…

NICE Guidelines -- Midwives during postpartum
The ole of Midwife per NICE Guidelines

Pregnancy and childbirth is, in the majority of cases, a normal life event that proceeds to an uncomplicated outcome and can be effectively managed by a skilled midwife attendant. This also extends to assisting new mothers with postpartum care. The midwife is recognized as a responsible and accountable professional who can give the necessary support, care and advice during the postpartum period and provide the necessary care for the infant.

NICE guidelines recommend that new mothers and infants not be separated within the first hour. The midwife should encourage skin-to-skin contact -- before asking about feeding methods. If breastfeeding is the mother's preference, it should be encouraged within the first hour. During the first 24 hours after childbirth, midwives should ensure the woman's well-being and care by documenting blood pressure results and first urine voids within the…

Wife Bath: Feminism Chaucer
Chaucer appears to create the Wife of Bath shine intentionally from the rest of the characters in the novel; she has been possibly one of his most controversial figures since her contradictions as to what she states and just what she does. The writer's formation of her character offers one significant objective which has been to surprise his readers. Chaucer chooses to consider each and every bad attribute that ladies were thought to have in those times and also the outcome has been Alisoun. This kind of vivacity and boldness had been seldom observed in female fictional figures of that era (Oberembt 287).

The Wife Bath: Feminism Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales had been written towards the end of the Fourteenth century, however it was left incomplete. It has been setup as numerous stories within one story. The primary frame has been a travelling crowd…

Pan's Labyrinth
The movie 'El Laberinto del Fauno' with 'Pan's Labyrinth' as English translation of the title directed by Del Toro revolves round the issue of the reason behind story telling. Although it is fact that in traditional fairy tales the validity and authenticity of magic and wonder is not questioned yet many characters in modern fairy tales fiction as well as movies are shown arguing that magic does not exist. Why it is so that several stories conclude at the end that magic that the character and audiences experience while going through a story either reading it or watching in the form of a film is dismisses like a dream? is it so that some characters insist to privilege truth upon lies in the fiction fairy tale and films is merely setting up the corny argument that some lies tell a greater truth than just facts?

The current essay…

Spina Bifida is one of the many birth defects neonates are at risk of. However, this particular defect is unique because it is characterized by problems in the central nervous system (CNS) and it has a low death rate. The causes of this medical condition are quite difficult to determine as they are subject to hereditary and environmental elements. Simply put, Spina Bifida refers to a situation where the spinal cord is not fully developed. In extreme cases, the spinal vertebrae could be so badly formed that the delicate spinal cord is left unprotected. In most cases, the spinal cord suffers damage due to this. The baby could suffer from reduced brain function and poor transmission of commands to affected organs. This slightly damaged link from the brain to the body tissues and organs leads to poorly developed body systems. There are other associated problems with this spinal defect even…

The Yellow allpaper and the Problem of the Unhelpful ManCharlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860 and descended from a proud line of rhetoricians (Silcox). Having a way with words was in her blood. Her parents separated when she was a child, and she became accustomed to a degree of independencebut when she was pressed into marriage, she found the arrangement to be oppressive and it contributed to her having a mental breakdown. The response of her husband was to give her the rest cure recommended by Freud and other high-profile physicians of the time (Silcox). Gilman did not want such a treatment, and her story The Yellow allpaper is a representation of her attitude about it: she believed that women in general suffered from a kind of neglect from men, who viewed them as inferior beings. If there was to be any cure for a womans mental breakdown it…

Kyin is aware of the boundaries that exist but he is determined to overcome them. His ambition to become a member of the European Club corrupts him. His immediate boundary is Flory's friendship with Dr. Veraswami. Veraswami comes across as one of the decent people in the novel in that he does not allow himself to become involved with the depravity that Kyin does. Veraswami expresses a selflessness in that he allows Flory to confide in him but in this act, he is crossing a boundary because he is peeking at a side of the European life he would have never known otherwise. He delights in the Europeans loyalty to one another but he is also able to see the best and worst of this culture. It is also worth noting that while he is surrounded by these boundaries, he never loses sight of his own identity.
Boundaries are flexible…

Come devil! For thee is this world given..." This passage reflected Goodman's surrender to the wilderness, to the state of disorder that made him discover that he is weak and sinful. The presence of Faith in the first part of the story was also the only time that Goodman felt his strong faith in God. However, upon entering the wilderness, Faith his wife had not only disappeared, but Goodman's faith in God (and even himself) as well. Hawthorne made readers realize that human nature is in fact "naturally savage," and it is only fitting that Goodman's inherently savage nature would be discovered and uncovered (by him) in the wilderness.
Even towards the end of the story, Hawthorne continued to haunt his readers with the theme of wilderness inherent in the hearts and minds of humanity. Posing the question, "Had Goodman rown fell asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a…

If you think it is Amontillado, then it surely is." Instead, Fortunato seals his fate, because with all of his actions, he validates the notion that Montresor actually needs his opinion. This is the great injury Fortunato has committed, over and over: he believes that his skills at judging spirits are the equal of, or possibly superior to, those of Montresor. It reminds me of the wicked witch who is compelled to condemn Snow White to death because a magic mirror tells her Snow White is prettier than she, the witch, is.
Montresor has taken precautions all along the way to make sure he will be able to handle his friend when the time comes, plying him with alcohol along the way, so that by the time Fortunato gets to the end of the final passage, he is unsteady on his feet, either from the wine, or his illness, or…

Sula
It is well-known that evil people exist in the world. These sociopaths have no values. They do not care who they harm or how. Fortunately, there are few individuals like this who have no conscience. Most people are instead shades of good and bad. They are not always good, nor are they always bad. At times their behavior is exceptional; other times they may say or do something wrong toward someone else. The book Sula by Toni Morrison highlights these blends of human persona. "The narrative [Sula] insistently blurs and confuses . . . binary oppositions. It glories in paradox and ambiguity beginning with the prologue that describes the setting, the Bottom, situated spatially in the top" (McDowell 80). In Morrison's book, it is easy to see such characters as Sula as a "bad woman" or Nel as a "good person," yet as one looks beyond the obvious, vagaries…

Tale as Told by another Character: Sweat - Zora Neale Hurston
Sweat

The spring came along with its flare of sunny afternoons in Florida on that particulate Sunday afternoon. For a given number of women in the small village populated by the black persons would be thinking of what the family would have for supper. However, for Delia Jones, she was still in bed, thinking of her previous life when she was still young and pretty. Then the thought of her poverty and suffering stricken husband hit her mind, and the trail of cursing and lamentations flowed from her mind; and eventually found their way into verbal words oozing from her mouth like the waters of the spring streams of the Amazon. Sure, this situation was getting to the peak of the humiliation and underpinning of poverty and suffering that she could take.

Delia sat up in her bed of…

Idyllic, Idolizing, Late Victorian Tears
The poem by the Victorian poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson entitled "Tears, idle tears," has the unfortunate status of having its become such a common phrase in modern parlance, that the reader finds him or herself bracing his or her ear for more and more cliches as the poem progresses. In other words, one hears that tears are idle so often, one can easily forget, not only that Tennyson said, "I know not what they mean," but that the poem attempts to express the seriousness of futility of grief, or outward displays of affection by calling tears idle, in that they do no real work in the world. The use of 'idle' in multiple variances of meaning, from impractical and lazy, to idyllic, to idolizing is in fact quite profound and sophisticated, yielding a poem with a compact linguistic and stylistic structure.

It is also…