Comparing Araby And The Birth-Mark By James Joyce

Aylmer begins to dream about removing this mark from Georgianna’s face. As he explains the dream to Georgianna, he explains

Aylmer is an opposite representation of C. JoyBell’s quote because he loses sight of his love of Georgiana for scientific perfection, without any self reflection upon the matter. Moreover, Aylmer’s want to dispel Georgiana's birthmark produces a change in his feelings toward her. When discussing the birthmark and a possible removal with Georgiana, Aylmer said, “‘you [Georgiana] came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature… as being the visible mark of earthly

For instance, when Aylmer felt miserable, she felt miserable too. Nevertheless, it can be seen that then she demonstrated a total opposite attitude, a strong woman who challenges his husband to go ahead with his experiments. A girl with no fear at all. Far from being the typical woman in her house, she is educated and intelligent, and she is able to read and understand the intricate experiments that her husband documents in his diaries. With them she understands how his husband's love for her is, and she accepts it, and that Aylmer's lofty ideals condemn him to permanent dissatisfaction. She also knows that her husband's attempts to erase the birthmark will not succeed. In spite of this, she voluntarily takes the concoction he offers. The drink finishes with the birthmark, yes, but also with her, who says goodbye to her husband making him know that his search for divine perfection has made him despise the best the earth could offer. Therefore, with all those decisions it can be seen that she has the will to do it and she can make her own decisions. She is completely different from Aylmer. She understood and was aware about what happened to the birthmark, and why she died.

In “The Birth-Mark,” Aylmer, a natural philosopher, became obsessed with a hand shaped birthmark on his wife’s face. Being completely consumed by the notion of imperfection that graced the face of his wife, Georgiana, he attempted to remove the mark which resulted in her death. Aylmer views Georgiana’s birthmark as something more than a

Once Aylmer had become consumed by the idea of this “imperfection,” it impacted his ability to function and live with a sense of normality. An example of this “anxiety-fueled obsessive thought” can be found on page 12 of Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown & Other Short Stories” where the narrator says, “…but seeing her otherwise so perfect, he found this one defect grow more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives.” It becomes apparent that Aylmer is going to continuously be plagued by this birthmark by dealing with crippling anxiety as it becomes “more and more intolerable.” His obsession continues to grow as the story progresses and becomes a much more serious issue. This can also be seen on page 12 where it is written, “With the morning twilight, Aylmer opened his eyes upon his wife’s face and recognized the symbol of imperfection; and when they sat together at the evening hearth his eyes wandered stealthily to her cheek, and beheld, flickering with the blaze of the wood-fire, the spectral hand that

The thought of perfection became so much of an obsession for Aylmer that he only noticed the imperfection on her cheek, “. . . he could not restrain a strong convulsive shudder (342).” Aylmer became so affected by just the little crimson hand on

Aylmer, the protagonist of Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” takes on the challenge to remove the blemish from his wife’s cheek to satisfy his own spiritual strivings and to redeem what he sees as a failed career. The ways in which human perceptions of reality are preordained and tempered by the individuals who appears to be peripheral to the larger conflict between humanism and science; however, they are really at the very heart of it. We see how Aylmer’s sudden obsession with his wife’s blemish is essentially referring to his own sense of identity.

In his short story "Araby", James Joyce portrays a character who strives to achieve a goal and who comes to an epiphany through his failure to accomplish that goal. Written in the first person, "Araby" is about a man recalling an event from his childhood. The narrator's desire to be with the sister of his friend Mangan, leads him on a quest to bring back a gift from the carnival for the girl. It is the quest, the desire to be a knight in shining armor, that sends the narrator to the carnival and it's what he experienced and sees at the carnival that brings him to the realization that some dreams are just not attainable.

“The Birthmark”, a story about science and a warning to females that men will try to sexualize them. Aylmer, the main character in the story, has a really strong obsession with trying to remove his wife’s birthmark on her face. He was so obsessed with it, that it ended up taking over his life, he had dreams about it and he even told her that he couldn’t stand to look at her because of her birthmark. Aylmer wasn’t the typical human being in any sense, he is considered a mad scientist, and he had no ethics in what he does and is willing to try anything. He loses focus of his life and can’t love his wife for the woman he is. Hawthorne was the very opposite of this in real life, he married a sick woman, Sophia Peabody, she had poor health and it prolonged the marriage. But Hawthorne married

Soon after Aylmer tells his spouse that the mark on her face bothers him, she practically begs him to remove it. Aylmer is more than happy to remove the birthmark and has no doubt that he can do so. While discussing the removal on page 316, he tells Georgiana that he “feels fully competent” to “render [Georgiana’s] cheek as faultless as its fellow.” He goes on to describe the sense of triumph he will feel when it is finally corrected. He only cares about the removal of the birthmark and not what may happen to his wife. Even though the mark bothers him, he reveals to Georgiana that “even [he] rejoices in this simple imperfection, since it will be such a rapture to remove it” (Hawthorne 318). This shows that Georgiana is not the love of Aylmer’s life, but rather science. He puts all of his faith directly into it. Barbara Eckstein states that “Aylmer’s study of minute details becomes a system of belief for Aylmer” (517). Even after Georgiana faints on page 317, Aylmer is “without alarm; for he was confident in his science, and felt that he could draw a magic circle round her within which no evil might intrude” (Hawthorne). This seems ludicrous to most people, but Aylmer had absolute faith in

Portrayed as spiritual and intellectual in contrast with his crude laboratory assistant Aminadab, Aylmer becomes disturbingly obsessed with a birthmark on his wife’s countenance. The plot of the short story revolves around the man’s attempt in removing the mark, which results in the death of Georgiana. In the very beginning of the story, the audience discovers through the narration that Aylmer views his wife’s birthmark as more than a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin. In reality, the primary reason why he becomes severely obsessed with the birthmark is because in his eyes, the mark symbolizes something. Aylmer proceeds to further clarify his inner thoughts by replying to his wife, “This slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Mays 340). Although Georgiana is initially mortified and even goes as far to question the existence of the marriage between them, the narration later sheds light and explains that the precise reason why Aylmer is excessively bothered with the birthmark is because he regards Georgiana as virtually the embodiment of perfection. As a consequence, perceiving a flaw on his wife’s image that clashes with the concept of her beauty inevitably leads him to feel aggrieved and begin to judge the birthmark as a dangerous blemish residing on her skin.

In “The Birthmark”, the relationships and behaviors of the characters play a significant role in the story by revealing more than the story itself does . Through the character’ different actions, characteristics, and behaviors, Nathaniel Hawthorne gives a deeper insight into his life, such as revealing his worldview to his readers, and also gives insight into a more relevant story. Hawthorne’s transcendentalist worldview is conveyed through Aylmer’s and Georgiana’s obsessions, Aylmer’s manipulation of nature, and the birthmark.

In her story, "Araby," James Joyce concentrates on character rather than on plot to reveal the ironies inherent in self-deception. On one level "Araby" is a story of initiation, of a boy’s quest for the ideal. The quest ends in failure but results in an inner awareness and a first step into manhood. On another level the story consists of a grown man's remembered experience, for the story is told in retrospect by a man who looks back to a particular moment of intense meaning and insight. As such, the boy's experience is not restricted to youth's encounter with first love. Rather, it is a portrayal of a continuing problem all through life: the incompatibility of the ideal, of the dream

The story “Araby” as told by James Joyce is about a young boy that is fascinated with the girl across the street. But deeper down the story is about a very lonely boy lusting for her love and affection. Throughout the story, we see how the frustration of first love, isolation and high expectations breaks the main character emotionally and physically. James Joyce uses the first-person viewpoint to tell this story which helps influence the plot, characterization, themes, and understanding of the main character.

     Even under the best of circumstances the transition from childhood into adulthood is a long and dreary journey that all young men must encounter in life. A road that involves many hardships and sacrifices along the way; and when that road is a lonely one, with only oneself to rely upon, the hardship intensifies to become destructive to those involved. This is particularly true in the story “Araby,” where James Joyce portrays the trials and tribulations of a young boy’s initiation into adulthood. Many of the boy’s problems lie in not being able to come to grips with the harsh reality that no matter how much he