Lecture Three: Following Societal Standards

 

    In "Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Alymer, performs a deadly science experiment on his wife to remove a birthmark he viewed as imperfection. In class, we discussed this story is an allegory: objects, people, and actions are representation or connect to a larger meaning outside the narrative. The larger meaning has a social, political, or religious meaning. The birthmark can mean people's obsession with imperfection. In this lecture, we all created our own theme that related to the story. Some of the following themes the class created were following beauty standards, sacrificing yourself, insecurities, and morality. This story overall demonstrates many themes because Alymer ultimately murdered his wife trying to make her "perfect" even though she was already perfect. He faced conflict within himself and conflict after he inflicted his wife's death. His wife was willing to undergo the experiment although all his past ones have failed. "Birthmark" by Hawthorne is still a story that relates to modern day. People strive for perfection although it may not be attainable. There are cosmetic surgeries that can alter a person's appearance or photoshop to enhance their pictures. Although the story was written years ago, it still resonates with society today which is why I enjoyed this lecture. It forced me to critically think and gain more knowledge about society currently.