Comparing Power In Bodega Dreams And The Birthmark

In the short allegory “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a newly-wed couple becomes consumed by the existence of a small birthmark on the wife’s face. When the wife, Georgiana, allows her husband Aylmer, a scientist, to remove the birthmark, both realize that Georgiana will inevitably sacrifice her life for the sake of its removal. As the story progresses, so does the confliction of the newlyweds as they realize exactly what the birthmark symbolized to and for each other. Hawthorne’s hallmark use of symbolism also provides a ‘perfect’ glimpse into the mindset of two themes of psychological conflictions: perfectionism and codependency. Hawthorne seems to share this story as a possible moral of the hidden pathos we place upon the ones we love, and the invisible marks or standards we place upon ourselves for the ones we love.

In the story “The Birth-Mark” Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates a man with an obsession for perfection of the human body. With a desire to reach the ultimate level of perfection, Aylmer’s obsession ultimately creates a path of destruction that tragically ends in the death of his devoted wife, Georgiana.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” are both fictional short stories written in the 1800s. Although these are two different scenarios, both tend to share several similarities. They deal with relationships between a man and woman, experiments, and ironically ends with a twist that readers don’t expect.

In “The Birthmark”, a short story by Nathanial Hawthorne, the use of the archetypal conflict Nature vs. Science, the character of Damsel in Distress, and the symbol of the Incurable Wound show how easily beauty is overlooked in the endeavor for perfection.

Romantics see nature as utterly perfect, but, upon closer inspection, everything in the world has some tiny flaw that makes the subject no less beautiful than if it were without; true romantics accept these flaws and consider them perfection. There is no such thing as the perfect specimen because of microscopic anomalies naked to the human eye. In “The Birthmark,” a romantic short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, a scientist named Aylmer, marries the most beautiful woman the world has to offer, but feels that her flaw makes her imperfect and ugly instead of more beautiful. While his removal of the birthmark is an act of science that opposes the views of romantics everywhere, his motives of doing such are truly romantic. While these two opposing characteristics seem too contradictory to work in harmony, Hawthorne manages to wrap them both up into one main character.

The author of Bodega Dreams puts a lot of emphasis on the latin community and how as a community people try to help each other out because they realize that they are alone because the government is not going to help them. Willie Bodega has a vision and wanted to help his community by fixing it it. He invested a lot of money in trying to fix it something that the government did not do. In one part of the book it talks about how something will happen in the community and if people don't talk about it lt=ot then the authorities will not do anything about it (ernesto quinonez 64). Bodega wanted to help his people because many people expect the worse from the spanish community. We are destined not be successful because society always expect the

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

In Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark”, Aylmer feels that his wife Georgiana is a miracle and that she is perfect. Her only flaw was the birthmark in the shape of a hand placed on her cheek. Instead of focusing on all her Georgiana’s perfections, Aylmer only focused on one of her flaws, the birthmark. Aylmer constructs a statement about her birthmark saying that, “It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain.”(Meyer 345)

In “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and in Margaret Atwood’s “Lusus Naturae”, the theme of mortality and the theme of man vs. society are very apparent. Characters in both stories are ostracized by their family members because of their natural appearance. In “The Birth-Mark, Aylmer, views his wife Georgiana’s birthmark as a immense flaw in her beauty. He sees it as human imperfection and he tries to remove it and lower her self-esteem. In “Lusus Naturae”, the protagonist in the story (who is coincidently never named) is part of a family who does not accept her because of how her physical appearance looks like. The family's interpretation of the horrible ugly characters is what creates the struggle for the characters. Both stories suggest that degrading someone because of their physical appearance is unethical because most of the time they

Sin, a dark and powerful force, twists the soul and warps the mind to the point where it leaves society with unconquerable difficulties in everyday life. Nathaniel Hawthorne, quite successfully, uses literature to its full potential in order to express sins presence in life. He uses the short story, “The Birthmark” to express this theme. In this story, a man by name Aylmer for the first time sees a small defect in his otherwise beautiful wife, Georgiana. When Aylmer mentions it to her, she feels hurt, but it does not seem to affect her self-image. However, as time went on, the birthmark started to bother her causing her to believe she was flawed and in need of fixing. With the assistance of Aylmer's servant, Aminadab, Aylmer creates a miracle drug that would cure his wife of her imperfection: the birthmark. The possibly deadly drug incites fear in her husband; however, the blemish on her face troubles her, as well as her husband, to the point where she believes her life means nothing unless she could get it removed. After much meticulous preparation, the wife takes the cure. At first, everything seems well as her birthmark faded, however soon everything goes wrong, and Georgina has a terrible reaction. Soon after taking the cure she dies, leaving Aylmer heartbroken and alone without his wife. In, “The Birthmark,” Nathaniel Hawthorne brings to light sin’s presence in society through the use of allusions, symbolism, color, and beauty.

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne during the American Renaissance, the short story “The Birth-Mark” details the events of a brilliant scientist and natural philosopher named Aylmer who obsesses about his wife Georgiana’s birthmark in the shape of a tiny hand on her left cheek. The symbol of the birthmark causes the plot to advance in the story, as Aylmer is compelled by this red mark to act upon his emotions. Aylmer views his wife’s birthmark as an imperfection in her virtually flawless beauty and as a result, attempts to it via a potion that he strongly believes cannot fail. His interpretation of the birthmark creates conflict in the story, which is shaped by the symbolic meaning that he attributes it to. Aylmer’s failure to accept his wife’s appearance for who she is leads to misunderstandings, pain, and ultimately, death.

In this short story, Hawthorne uses symbolism to emphasize the strange shape of the 'earthly imperfection' (204) and his desperate need to change it. The shape of the birthmark 'bore a

Nathaniel Hawthorne is respected as “one of the great masters of American Fiction” (“Hawthorne, Nathaniel” 363). He is an accomplished author who wrote novels as well as children’s literature. However, Hawthorne’s strength is American short story; his “haunting” tales are undeniably responsible for establishing this genre as a “significant art form” (“Nathaniel Hawthorne” Columbia 1). He is known for his “penetrating explorations” of the conflicts within one’s conscience and the consequences that plague his characters, as a result of their disobedience (“Nathaniel Hawthorne” 1). These “dilemmas” of the “human condition” are prominent in his story, “The Birth-Mark” (Tuerk 1). Mosses of an Old Manse, is a compilation of short stories; which

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.

Although we may mask our insecurities with false confidence and bravado, deep down most people crave perfection. As the majority of us learn as we age, this idea of “perfection” is unobtainable. The older we get, the more we tend to accept the flaws and imperfections that make us individuals. However, there are others who never learn the hard lesson of acceptance. Instead they spend ridiculous amounts of money on surgeries, creams and concoctions in order to rid themselves of these marks and insecurities. It’s a constant battle, a fork in the road if you may, between science and nature. On one side there’s the high-road of nature and acceptance, and on the other there’s the scientific shortcut that, in reality, just continues to mask the original problem. The Birthmark leads us to believe that this is perhaps a topic Hawthorne struggled with himself. Hawthorne clearly displays his decided distaste for science and its unnatural ways in his short story, The Birthmark.