Comparing Death And Darkness In The Birthmark And The Yellow Wallpaper

Lightness and darkness is a common theme throughout literature, most writers use it through symbols in their writing. In Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death” and Hawthorne’s story “Minister’s Black Veil” both portray themes of lightness and darkness using symbolism throughout.

Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.

There are stories that have been written that can be similar and different in many ways. This can be seen through the story, “Death of a Moth” by Virginia Woolf and Annie Dillard. Both writers share a similar topic, though their style of narration can compare and differ in many ways. A theme throughout the story is death. Both authors take on a different view of death. While death can be seen as a haunting experience or the end of a life. There are other interpretations that can be made on this one topic. Both authors have twists in their stories with different ideas, which aid to reveal their narration and expression regarding death.

In these three literary pieces a prevalent theme is death. Death may be defined as the end-ing period of physical life. However, throughout the development of these stories, it was possible to distinguish plenty of physical but even non-physical death as well. This absolutely

Short stories are just what they sound like, short stories that build up to the point with no unneeded information. In various cases, short stories continue a book series or is a continuation of a book when the characters’ are years older. In other cases, short stories are stand alone stories that get right to the point and do not leave people hanging. Edgar Allan Poe is an author of over thirty short stories and around sixty-nine poems. These short stories are what has helped to create a legacy for short stories for over forty years and still are. Most of Poe’s stories have an eerie feeling due to him suffering from depression from all of his family members passing away. The story “ The Cask of Amontillado” is referred to as one of the best

Edgar Allan Poe is a famous well known writer known for his dark and gothic horror stories such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and many others. The well-known author had a rough life which dealt with a lot of death, so most of his stories revolve around this idea. In “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Masque of the Red Death” Poe uses similar themes or darkness to convey tone and conflict throughout the story. His writing style is dark and revolves around one main concept: death. Edgar Allan Poe uses diction and syntax, setting and conflict, and characterization in his writing style to develop his stories.

Samuel Butler once said, "If life must not be taken too seriously, then so neither must death.” Both death and suffering are normal in life. Death and suffering can and will happen during a person's life. Death is unavoidable, and is a form of closure. On the other hand, suffering is a way of living and is brief. Edgar Allan Poe's stresses these themes in his stories. The two stories where death and suffering are most evident are "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death". Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" illustrates that death and suffering shouldn't be feared topics for they are a part of life.

When reading a story, people do not often think about how much it might relate to another story they have read in the past. In “The Birthmark” Georgiana simply wants her unique birthmark removed from her face. Similarly, in “Barbie Doll” the unnamed young lady wants her nose and legs removed. In both of these stories the reader can see that these women are chasing society’s idea of perfection. The short story “The Birthmark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the poem “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy have almost the exact same theme because both of these short works of fiction are about a woman that is influenced by her peers to become

Edgar Allen Poe is a critic of short stories and poetry, and often puts his own theories into his writing. Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” falls into this category in the idea of the single effect. The short story starts with the Narrator going to visit his old friend, Roderick Usher because of a letter Roderick writes to him. The Narrator goes to the house and spends time with Usher, but all starts to go array when Roderick thinks his sister is dead and buries her. She comes out of her tomb and jumps at Usher and the House of Usher falls and Roderick dies. Poe argues that all short stories should have a single effect; a feeling the author should make the reader feel. The single effect of “The Fall of the House of Usher” is terror. Poe creates the single effect of terror through the settings, characters, and elements of the story. He does this through the setting of Usher’s room and Madeline’s tomb; through the characters of Roderick and Madeline Usher; and through the element of the Haunted Palace.

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne during the American Renaissance, the short story “The Birth-Mark” details the events of a brilliant scientist and natural philosopher named Aylmer who obsesses about his wife Georgiana’s birthmark in the shape of a tiny hand on her left cheek. The symbol of the birthmark causes the plot to advance in the story, as Aylmer is compelled by this red mark to act upon his emotions. Aylmer views his wife’s birthmark as an imperfection in her virtually flawless beauty and as a result, attempts to it via a potion that he strongly believes cannot fail. His interpretation of the birthmark creates conflict in the story, which is shaped by the symbolic meaning that he attributes it to. Aylmer’s failure to accept his wife’s appearance for who she is leads to misunderstandings, pain, and ultimately, death.

Can you imagine a world without imperfections? A world where everyone is perfect is unattainable, but if scientifically there were a way to eliminate imperfections and life threatening diseases, presumably, many people would be curious. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark,” the author explores the idea of perfection with the help of science. Modern examples of this are mentioned in articles posted on NPR.org and time.com, genetically modifying DNA in human embryos has become largely controversial. By using a method called CRISPR, first, it identifies the defective gene, and then it cuts and repairs the gene, not only for that embryo, but for generations to come. With all the scientific knowledge that we are gaining, we

Marriage unites two people for better or worse, in sickness and health, until death they do part. In earlier times, some people might say wedding vows were taken more seriously; other say divorce was different back in the day. Looking at Katie Chopin and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who both exemplify martial vows in their short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Birthmark.” It is clear in one instance, it was because divorce was different but then on the other hand the stories demonstrate the seriousness of the wedding vows. However, these stories express a husband-dominated relationship, in which the men possess ideals such as possession, perfection, and being all knowing.

In "The Fall of the House of Usher" Edgar Allan Poe talks about the true darkness that can come from being alone. Darkness and death seem to be common themes in many of Poe's works, but especially in this particular story. Death is often defined as, "the termination or extinction of something" (American Heritage Dictionary). "The Fall of The House of Usher" is written not to present a moral lesson or truth to the reader; but simply for the author to present a sense of terror to the reader. Poe's mind works this way and also works in a very effective technique to animate his actual thoughts and his thought process. Poe's use of many literary devices captivate even the reader's imagination in the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher". Many critics believe that Poe writes this way because of his isolation from the world, while others believe differently; but what is the real reason Poe writes the way he does?

Death is often displayed in literature, showing how would people react towards it . Whether its in "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin, "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, or even "The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield, death appears to be unavoidable. Although these are different short stories, death is applied, but the author's interpretations differentiate.

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale, “The Birthmark,” the dominant theme is love conquering self, though there is also present the theme of alienation resulting from the evil within mankind. This essay intends to explore, exemplify and develop this topic.