... it seems that she is a complex character with incongruent qualities. For example, when Aylmer deemed her face, "came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature," (Hawthorne 148) and her beauty mark as, "the visible mark of earthly imperfection," (Hawthorne 148), Georgiana chastises him ... !" (Hawthorne 148). Later on, Georgiana shows a change of heart when she becomes uncomfortable around Aylmer whenever he sees the tiny, "crimson hand," (Hawthorne 150), thus motivating Georgiana to submit in fulfilling Aylmer's desire to get rid of her birthmark. How? Georgiana would address the topic .....

• Word Count: 590
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and their desire to achieve what they cannot have, becomes the dominant theme in this story as well as Hawthorne's other relevant works. "You came so nearly perfect from the hand of nature, that this slightest defect shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection." A dissatisfaction with imperfection and a desire for perfect mortality, whether gained naturally or scientifically, is ... the theme implied with this excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne's, "The Birthmark". By using contrast, Hawthorne develops a distinct division between mortal truths and scientific ideals. The sm...

• Word Count: 929
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... musters courage and loses his weakness which was replaced with the powerful character that confronted without fear. Chillingworth is not a very amiable character to the reader , but on the other hand he is a very shrewd and sharp person, with a malignant air surrounding him. He went through a great deal of pain, his ship sank and he was the only survival, then he ... "haunted by satin" character. This discerning quality of his made him recognizes the way Dimmesdale looked at Hester and Pearl, he also noticed the habit of Dimmesdale of putting his hand on his chest showing his physical p...

• Word Count: 746
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... decide to move to Europe, a decision which energizes both of them. When Hester tries to convince Pearl to kiss her father, she responds, "Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town?", and Hester responds that he will not in the near future. Dimmesdale remains steadfast with his belief that he must not reveal his secret ... ...

• Word Count: 1174
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... : Is this act of shunning positive or negative? Is it good or bad to punish someone for their wrongdoings? the answer to these questions vary depending on the situations at hand. For example it is very necessary to shun someone who has physically harmed a woman it is against the law and immorall to all of society, females are not normally built ... ...

• Word Count: 1654
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... enjoy his writings, which deal mainly with guilt, evil, shame, retribution, and generational curses. Each of these themes coincides with emotions that Hawthorne experienced because of his great-great-grandfather's hand in the Salem Witch Trials. Nathaniel Hawthorne used the guilt and shame he felt as a muse to write his short stories and novels as he wrote about plots and characters ... ...

• Word Count: 646
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... some, including Georgiana at one point, the birthmark, according to Hawthorne, is a beauty mark that "[m]anywould have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand [the birthmark]" ("The Birthmark" 466). Based upon this view, the birthmark is a beautiful mark that is not a flaw, but a blessing. This embracing of the birthmark as a blessing ... ...

• Word Count: 1568
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... A, her reception by the townspeople is defined as "Meagre, indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders at the scaffold. On the other hand, a penalty which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be invested with almost as stern a dignity as the punishment of death itself" (Hawthorne ... ...

• Word Count: 1003
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... for his actions, he remains silent about the truth even when he forces Hester to confess her lover's name in public. According to Chillingworth, he is often seen "holding his hand over his heart, as was his custom whenever his peculiarly nervous temperament was thrown into agitation " (Hawthorne 115). Since he is a strong believer of the Puritan faith, his guilt weighs ... ...

• Word Count: 557
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... whether Cereno is actually a leader or an imposter. "If, indeed, there be any wickedness on board this ship, thought Captain Delano, be sure that man there has fouled his hand in it, even as now he fouls it in the pitch" (28). As usual, however, Delano quickly dismisses this idea of evil and his prejudicial mindset takes over. " ... ...

• Word Count: 1557
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... using herself as an example of what could happen if one revolves her life around a man, she shows them how it could lead them to a tragic life. Hester knows first-hand that her passion for a relationship with Dimmesdale is what leads to her ultimate downfall which makes it necessary to give the other women advice on what not to do. Hester ... ...

• Word Count: 1733
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... themes in American literature since the beginnings of colonialism. Puritanism's repressive intolerance challenged the people of the 17th Century, as portrayed in The Scarlet Letter. The 1800s, on the other hand, were inundated by an emerging consumerist society, which Thoreau adamantly rejected. Today, social deviance has a much larger scope and context, yet the pattern of societal intolerance remains the same. This ... ...

• Word Count: 789
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of his community. Moreover, in her last moments of mortality, Beatrice replies to her father's rationalizations that she "would fain have been loved, not feared."" Father Hooper, on the other hand, chooses quite the opposite: to be feared instead of loved. He believes that he must continue his presentation in order to prove his point that all people conceal themselves with ... ...

• Word Count: 673
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate