... quest for immortality in their literary works. Renowned author Nathaniel Hawthorne demeans the notions of perfection and humans "acting with the Hand of God" in his short story "The Birth-mark". He achieves this by creating a story where a scientist, Aylmer, attempts to remove a hand-shaped birthmark from the near perfect face of his wife Georgiana, but fails when the removal results in ... literary friends, a marriage, and a daughter, Hawthorne became engulfed in "his consuming interest in the nation's history, particularly the Puritan past; his exploration of the psychological and emot...

• Word Count: 1523
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... which take the shape of stories centered all on this major theme, of the quest for a private, inner identity as a major human experience. As the Americans were the first to define the short story as a specific literary form (1842, E.A. Poe), it is self-evident that their attempt to depict their search for identity through it ... symbolic act, that of joining in on the laughter of the mob. In Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, the quest for identity undertakes deeper meanings, which spring out from the exploration of the darker side of human nature. Either in The Black Cat or The Cask of Am...

• Word Count: 2241
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Scarlet Letter. The marketplace is to stand for religious doctrine and Puritanical code, and the forest wilderness is to present the evil of human nature, at times it works against its purpose and serves as an explanation for why things happen the way they do. To support thesis ... White Mts. with Franklin Pierce. Aside from his importance as a novelist, Hawthorne is justly celebrated as a short-story writer. He helped to establish the American short story as a significant art form with his haunting tales of human loneliness, frustration, hypocrisy, eccentricity, and frailty. Among his m...

• Word Count: 2453
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Goodman Brown," conforms to the model of a hero's quest. The story contains many aspects of a heroic quest. Hawthorne, known as one of America's greatest authors, wrote short stories and novels from about 1825-1860. His works are noted for their psychological probing into human nature, especially its darker side. Hawthorne wrote "Young Goodman Brown" in 1835. (World 118) Goodman Brown, the main character in ... the story, is the hero. As commonly done in a hero's quest, Goodman Brown leaves ... all that was wicked in his heart", (Dover 32) he could not ever return to a state of blind f...

• Word Count: 1815
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... he insists on removing Georgiana's blemish and connection to humanity to fulfill his conditional love, which is seeing Georgiana as perfect. However, Aylmer's attempt to destroy the birthmark and Georgiana's human nature fails. Katherine Snipes, literary critic and author of Robert Graves, believes the following: "Hawthorne casts all blame for the tragic outcome on the misguided husband [Aylmer], who is ... others. Despite the views of others, humans' flawed nature must be accepted as a significant part of humanity. Humanity's flawed nature also refers to people's spiritual imperfections ...

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

... , published in 1850, and The House of Seven Gables, published the following year. They became an immediate success. When you see the title of this short story "Young Goodman Brown", you can infer some things from it at first sight. That, for example, it is about a young character and that he ... of the author being part of a community so religious, he is probably using this method of the allegory. If we analyse the structure of this short story, it can be divided it into an exposition, development, climax and resolution parts. The exposition will comprehend from the beginning until the m...

• Word Count: 2367
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... been the anguish of his life had returned upon him - (137). Though she is but a young little girl, Pearl illuminates the limited nature of Dimmesdale's confession, and she solidifies his inability to reveal himself to the town. Examining Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in the ... the Reverend mounts the platform, Chillingworth storms through the crowd, and begs him to hold back. We well understand at this point in the story that the physician has grown dependent on the satisfaction he gains from Dimmesdale's suffering. Chillingworth states, " there was no one pl...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the blacks, he actually admires them and their submissiveness, which is condescending on it's own, but he does not see them as fully human. "Captain Delano's nature was not only benign, but familiarly and humorously so" (41). He continuously refers to the blacks as animals, saying that Cereno is ... to serve and work for the whites. The idea of the blacks overpowering the whites was unheard of. Though "Benito Cereno" is a fictional story, it still has a very real context. San Dominick is a slave ship and is a part of the transatlantic slave trade, in which blacks were ... to Nathaniel Ha...

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

In this short story "Young Goodman Brown,"" Nathaniel Hawthorne creates an image of innocence compromised in the face of the evil of the world. The way the story is presented leaves a question open as to whether Young Goodman Brown's experience was real or a vision. Nathaniel in this story does what he often does in his fiction novels; he juxtaposes light and dark, good and ... issues unresolved and that hints at the moral struggle in the world without truly resolving. As well as, raising the issues about human behavior. Hawthorne brought profound moral and psychological insight into his fict...

• Word Count: 1340
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... benefit to internal beauty. The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a perfect example of the conflict between external and internal beauty. The setting of the story is at a science laboratory. The exterior of the lab is calm, while the interior is murky and cold. The main character, Aylmer, was a ... at times unsure of Aylmer's reasoning. Aylmer loved Georgiana with undying passion, but this love was inseparable from his love of science. After a short while, Aylmer discovered that something about Georgiana made him feel uncomfortable. She had a birthmark on her cheek, which grew more a...

• Word Count: 1415
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... should be expected of a piece before it becomes used as an example of bioethics. Gillespie is interested in bioethical advances that may better human life by treating diseases and serious genetic mutations rather than the views of his predecessors who were interested in bioethics as a solution for ... the birthmark he will have succeeded in his mission to reject Puritan rules. Perhaps this is the reason for the excitement portrayed throughout the short story as the surgery date approaches. Aylmer expresses his feelings of excitement about the procedure when he says, "I feel myself fully c...

• Word Count: 1544
• Approx Pages: 6

... exploration of the many themes apparent in the novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters in the story to help develop the themes of identity in society, the nature of evil, and secrecy versus exposure of sin. To begin, the theme of identity in society is developed through ... W. Abbott states, "But Little Pearl "gem of the purest water "what shall we say of her? That if perfect truth to childish and human nature can make her a mortal, she is so; and immortal, if the highest creations of genius have any claim to immortality. " Here it is shown ... by far the ...

• Word Count: 1923
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

... lost in the woods, Goodman Brown is confronted by a devilish character who tries to turn him to do his bidding. However in the short story "The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe writes in the first person point of view from the perspective of Montresor, the diabolic narrator of ... two men are walking down to the catacombs and Fortunato notices the Montresor coat of arms. Fortunato says, "I forget your arms." And Montresor replies, "A huge human foot d"or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel" (1317). Peeples quotes, "The Montreso...

• Word Count: 2414
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... developed his talents as a writer by his short fiction works and other novels including "The House of the Seven Gables" and "The Marble Faun" (The American Novel). Hawthorne's works focused on what can be called the darker side of human nature. Many of the concepts Hawthorne wrote about included ... truth is what will set people free. Dimmesdale struggles with wanting to live a religious life and dealing with the hypocrisy of his own sinful nature. In chapter twelve, Pearl calls to Dimmesdale asking him to reveal his own connection to herself and Hester. Dimmesdale refused to join Pearl ...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

... citizen, and his reputation is spotless. He is on good terms with the community, and its leaders. He is the social ideal, yet his moral nature is poisonous. "He has put his devilish lust of vengeance in the place of god, and day by day he worships it, and performs its bidding ... and physically. "Hester sinned only through passion, but her lover through passion and concealment, and her husband through "violating, in cold blood, the sanctity of the human heart." (Carpenter 1602). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne "sets a masquerade before us, telling us many of the secrets hidden behind th...

• Word Count: 1373
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... he can not see this, but rather he sees the optimistic future which Hester and he had discussed. Dealing with guilt and the difference between Nature and Civilization, two themes in this novel, are dealt with in this passage. Through the use of an extended metaphor in this passage, as ... journey. But he leaped across the plashy places, thrust himself through the clinging underbrush, climbed the ascent, plunged into the hollow, and overcame, in short, all the difficulties of the track, with an unweariable activity that astonished him. He could not but recall how feebly, and with what fr...

• Word Count: 1256
• Approx Pages: 5

... going" (qtd. in Punch Lines, Hutson). This quote has a direct irony in correlation to Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of "Young Goodman Brown". Hawthorne's profound short story is a pilgrimage to revelation for one devout Christian man; the idea that mankind, being himself, is not without sin and far from saintly perfection. This ... greatly. As a result, he alienates himself from his wife Faith and the community he resides in. Hawthorne's usage of allegory and symbolism in this story shows how perilous excessive pride, moral superiority, and religious zealotry can be to one's mortal existenc...

• Word Count: 1393
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... and shrank from your own sin, contrasting it with their lives of righteousness and prayerful aspirations heavenward. Now are ye undeceived. Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again my children to the communion of your race. Bartleby the Scrivener by German ... things. Boss-narrator, very patient with Bartleby. Gingernut-little boy who always brought them their ginger cakes and apples. Around 12 years old. Turkey- Short English man, around 60 years old. Morning he was nice then at dinner hour he turned insolent, then would change back to compliant. Ni...

• Word Count: 2205
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School