The Unattainability of Perfection: A Critical Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”

paragon is nonp areil of the most sought-after qualities in society. People atomic number 18 ordain to shell out large sums of m unityy for dieting plans, training regimens, and malleable surgery all in an attempt to be perfect, whether that means having a slim waist, a defined core, or a more enchanting nose. However, nobody is blurless. Even if an individual alters their physical appearance to what they believe to be perfect, they volition nonetheless have other, non-physical faults that pull up stakes limit their ability to give extraneous paragon. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a 19th century American writer, expressed his feelings about the weeability of beau ideal in his fiction.In particular, in The Birthmark, Hawthorne uses the birthmark as a sign, the film of Georgiana, and the foreshadowing of Georgianas death to promote the unrealistic constitution of perfection Hawthorne highlights the impracticality of paragon so that society, in general, volition stop going to great lengths onerous to achieve the unachievable and, instead, exit their collective age more productively. To dismay with, to endorse the improbability of perfection, Hawthorne establishes Georgianas birthmark as a sign of earthly imperfection.For instance, the birthmark is described as being the fatal smirch of humanity which Nature stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain (Hawthorne 14). From this, it is evident that the birthmark represents, not yet the deathrate of humans, but that while humans are mortal, perfection is elusive. Hawthorne goes so cold as to indicate that the birthmark is a tokenism of his wifes liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death and that it is a symbol of imperfection of which the spectral flip wrote deathrate (14).Although Georgiana is other a beautiful woman, her birthmark keeps her from being flawless. Hawthorne promote s the unrealistic temperament of perfection in that, even though many may be relatively close to achieving perfection, there will always be one small factor that stands in the way in Georgianas case, it is her birthmark. Moreover, Hawthornes characterisation of Georgianas physical attributes, most notably her birthmark, accentuates the unlikelihood of achieving perfection.Specifically, in the centre of Georgianas left cheek there was a odd mark that wore a tint of deeper crimson, which imperfectly defined its shape amid the contact rosiness (13). It is interesting to note that, although Georgiana is labeled a gorgeous woman, the however aspect of her physical appearance that Hawthorne describes in detail is that of her birthmark the symbol of imperfection. Hawthorne does this intentionally to fully emphasize the notion that perfection is unattainable and that it is incorrectlyfulness for people, such as Aylmer, to believe other.Furthermore, Aylmer deems his wifes birthmar k as having an almost fearful distinctness whose shape bore not a little similarity to the human relegate (13). From this, a connection is do between the birthmark and mortality, in that Georgianas birthmark is depicted as being in the shape of a human hand and not, for example, the hand be douring to G-d. This serves as a reminder that Georgiana is human and that, so wide as that is the case, it is unfeasible to achieve perfection of any kind.Similarly, Hawthorne evokes the unlikelihood of attaining perfection by foreshadowing Georgianas death. For instance, Aylmer fantasys of attempting an operation for the removal of the birthmark, whose tiny attain appeared to have caught hold of Georgianas heart Aylmer was resolved to cut it forward (15). Even in Aylmers vision, it appears difficult to achieve perfection and the dream world is not reality. As a result, Hawthorne is commenting on the fact that, in the real world, it is virtually impossible to attain flawlessness.L ater on, Aylmer insists that Georgiana touch the perfect and beautiful flower which no sooner suffered a blight, its leaves turning coal-black as if by the agency of fire (18). From this, Hawthorne makes the point that perfection is unattainable. The moment Georgiana touches the otherwise perfect flower, the plant dies foreshadowing Aylmers impending failure. This failure, in addition, is foreshadowed when Georgiana, practice session through her husbands folio of past experiments, discovers that his most brilliant successes were almost invariably failures (20).This example of foreshadowing Georgianas death, again, indicates that their intention for perfection is not a fruitful one. To advocate the degree of difficulty associated with achieving perfection, Hawthorne, in his short story The Birthmark, employs the birthmark as a symbol of imperfection, characterizes Georgianas physical attributes, and foreshadows Georgianas death from this, Hawthorne hopes people will acknowledge the stupidity inherent in assay to be perfect and use their period to accomplish more realistic goals.It is evident that Hawthornes outlook on the inability to achieve perfection is sensical. For example, people the world over overhaul not only time, but their hard-earned money, on various products and endeavors that they believe will bring them closer to perfection. However, no matter how close these people name, they will never be fully capable of obtaining perfection. Instead of bewitchting ductile surgery, a toupee, using steroids, or dieting excessively, people would be make reform off accepting who they truly are. That is the closest anybody will ever get to achieving perfection.The Un achievability of matinee idol A Critical Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthornes The BirthmarkPerfection is one of the most sought-after qualities in society. People are willing to shell out large sums of money for dieting plans, training regimens, and fictile surgery all in an attempt to be perfect, whether that means having a slim waist, a defined core, or a more good-natured nose. However, nobody is flawless. Even if an individual alters their physical appearance to what they believe to be perfect, they will nonetheless have other, non-physical faults that will limit their ability to attain perfection. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a 19th century American writer, expressed his feelings about the attainability of perfection in his fiction.In particular, in The Birthmark, Hawthorne uses the birthmark as a symbol, the characterization of Georgiana, and the foreshadowing of Georgianas death to promote the unrealistic nature of perfection Hawthorne highlights the impracticality of flawlessness so that society, in general, will stop going to great lengths trying to achieve the unachievable and, instead, spend their collective time more productively. To bring with, to endorse the improbability of perfection, Hawthorne establishes Georgianas birthmark as a symbol of earthly imp erfection.For instance, the birthmark is described as being the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain (Hawthorne 14). From this, it is evident that the birthmark represents, not only the mortality of humans, but that while humans are mortal, perfection is elusive. Hawthorne goes so farther as to indicate that the birthmark is a symbol of his wifes liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death and that it is a symbol of imperfection of which the spectral hand wrote mortality (14).Although Georgiana is otherwise a beautiful woman, her birthmark keeps her from being flawless. Hawthorne promotes the unrealistic nature of perfection in that, even though many may be relatively close to achieving perfection, there will always be one small factor that stands in the way in Georgianas case, it is her birthmark. Moreover, Hawthornes characte rization of Georgianas physical attributes, most notably her birthmark, accentuates the unlikelihood of achieving perfection.Specifically, in the centre of Georgianas left cheek there was a quaint mark that wore a tint of deeper crimson, which imperfectly defined its shape amid the contact rosiness (13). It is interesting to note that, although Georgiana is labeled a gorgeous woman, the only aspect of her physical appearance that Hawthorne describes in detail is that of her birthmark the symbol of imperfection. Hawthorne does this intentionally to fully emphasize the notion that perfection is unattainable and that it is wrong for people, such as Aylmer, to believe otherwise.Furthermore, Aylmer deems his wifes birthmark as having an almost fearful distinctness whose shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand (13). From this, a connection is make between the birthmark and mortality, in that Georgianas birthmark is depicted as being in the shape of a human hand and not, for example, the hand belonging to G-d. This serves as a reminder that Georgiana is human and that, so long as that is the case, it is unfeasible to achieve perfection of any kind.Similarly, Hawthorne evokes the unlikelihood of attaining perfection by foreshadowing Georgianas death. For instance, Aylmer dreams of attempting an operation for the removal of the birthmark, whose tiny obtain appeared to have caught hold of Georgianas heart Aylmer was resolved to cut it away (15). Even in Aylmers dream, it appears difficult to achieve perfection and the dream world is not reality. As a result, Hawthorne is commenting on the fact that, in the real world, it is virtually impossible to attain flawlessness.Later on, Aylmer insists that Georgiana touch the perfect and engaging flower which no sooner suffered a blight, its leaves turning coal-black as if by the agency of fire (18). From this, Hawthorne makes the point that perfection is unattainable. The moment Georgiana touches the o therwise perfect flower, the plant dies foreshadowing Aylmers impending failure. This failure, in addition, is foreshadowed when Georgiana, exercise through her husbands folio of past experiments, discovers that his most polished successes were almost invariably failures (20).This example of foreshadowing Georgianas death, again, indicates that their intention for perfection is not a fruitful one. To advocate the degree of difficulty associated with achieving perfection, Hawthorne, in his short story The Birthmark, employs the birthmark as a symbol of imperfection, characterizes Georgianas physical attributes, and foreshadows Georgianas death from this, Hawthorne hopes people will acknowledge the foolishness inherent in trying to be perfect and use their time to accomplish more realistic goals.It is evident that Hawthornes outlook on the inability to achieve perfection is sensical. For example, people the world over spend not only time, but their hard-earned money, on various pr oducts and endeavors that they believe will bring them closer to perfection. However, no matter how close these people get, they will never be fully capable of obtaining perfection. Instead of getting plastic surgery, a toupee, using steroids, or dieting excessively, people would be better off accepting who they truly are. That is the closest anybody will ever get to achieving perfection.