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How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Irony In The Birthmark

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After his wife suffered a miscarriage, author Nathaniel Hawthorne was motivated to write a short story titled “The Birthmark”. Written in 1843, this story delves into ideas about mortality as well human perfection. As an intelligent and creative writer, Hawthorne dives into serious topics such as seeking human perfection and playing with ideas of mortality. Not only does this story hint at ideas of seeking human perfection, but it shows the consequences of dealing with such serious matters. To briefly summarize this story, it begins by describing newlyweds Aylmer, a skilled scientist, and Georgiana, a beautiful woman with only one imperfection. Georgiana has a red, hand-shaped birthmark on her cheek. In the story, Aylmer quickly becomes obsessed …show more content…

Throughout Hawthorne’s short story, he used irony to enhance and bring about dramatic effect within his writing. For instance, Hawthorne used irony when describing the removal of Georgiana’s birthmark. Specifically, the narrator states “It was true. The hand on her face had been her link to life” (Hawthorne, 1843), this situation is ironic because, in Aylmer’s efforts to make Georgiana perfect, he took away her vitality. Aylmer was so invested in taking away her one imperfection that he could not see the consequences of his actions. Furthermore, irony is seen within this story due to Aylmer’s blindness to the true meaning of life. Aylmer became so obsessed with making Georgiana perfect and proving that he is capable of doing so, that he made Georgiana’s life horrible and killed her in his efforts. Ultimately, Aylmer's actions and desires lead to his own wife’s downfall. Furthermore, there is irony connected to the elixir Aylmer created. Aylmer stated that the elixir “cannot fail” (Hawthorne, 1843) and to prove the effectiveness of the elixir he poured some into a dying plant and brought it back to life. In proving its effectiveness, the readers believe the elixir will work, however, the readers quickly learn this is not true. Ironically, the one thing that Aylmer believes can make Georgiana perfect is the one thing that kills her. All in all, Hawthorne’s use of irony enhanced his story and made for a more exciting and unpredictable ending. Just as irony is used to do this, symbolism is another key literary device used within Hawthorne's

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