Describing human connections and the possibility of making these connections is rather difficult since the obstacles and avenues for meaningful connections differ according to the invidivdual, as are the connections that we yearn for equally specific to the person. Because the nature of human connections can be both vague and ambiguous, we will discuss works by Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Nathaniel Hawthorne in order to expand our understanding of relationships and connections, in addition to what they encompass. In “Bartleby the Scrivener,” Melville considers that sharing heritage in addition to the social nature of humans makes us desire to be connected to one another, possibly to perserve mankind. Walt Whitman suggests that humans
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He agrees that previous knowledge grants us some benefits, but admits that we are still clueless in understanding the universe and still helpless against nature. Hawthorne writes, “All these antique naturalists stood in advance of their centuries, yet were imbued with some of their credulity, and therefore were believed, and perhaps imagined themselves, to have acquired from the investigation of nature a power above nature, and from physics a sway over the spiritual world” (“The Birth-mark” 652). Alymer relies on science and technology for his experiments, but he is left with a mere understanding of pseudo science to aid in his removal of Georgina 's birthmark. In the end, Alymer is unable to remove Georgina 's birth-mark and she ultimately dies from his procedures. Many of Hawthorne 's characters seems to be victims of peer pressure, since they often make impulsive decisions based off the actions of others. Because humans are easily imprinted on by society, we can argue that our perceptions of others and ourselves are often inaccurate and misguided, meaning that our connections are based on false assumptions. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne writes, “Elders of the church have whispered wanton words to the young maids of their households; how many a woman, eager for widow 's weeds, has given her husband a drink at bed-time, and let him sleep in her bosom; how beardless youths have made haste to inherit their fathers ' wealth; and how fair damsels...have dug little graves in the garden, and bidden me, the sole guest, to an infant 's funeral” (627). We typically associate the relationship between husbands and wives, priests and their congregations, sons and fathers, or mothers and daughters as meaningful
He agrees that previous knowledge grants us some benefits, but admits that we are still clueless in understanding the universe and still helpless against nature. Hawthorne writes, “All these antique naturalists stood in advance of their centuries, yet were imbued with some of their credulity, and therefore were believed, and perhaps imagined themselves, to have acquired from the investigation of nature a power above nature, and from physics a sway over the spiritual world” (“The Birth-mark” 652). Alymer relies on science and technology for his experiments, but he is left with a mere understanding of pseudo science to aid in his removal of Georgina 's birthmark. In the end, Alymer is unable to remove Georgina 's birth-mark and she ultimately dies from his procedures. Many of Hawthorne 's characters seems to be victims of peer pressure, since they often make impulsive decisions based off the actions of others. Because humans are easily imprinted on by society, we can argue that our perceptions of others and ourselves are often inaccurate and misguided, meaning that our connections are based on false assumptions. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne writes, “Elders of the church have whispered wanton words to the young maids of their households; how many a woman, eager for widow 's weeds, has given her husband a drink at bed-time, and let him sleep in her bosom; how beardless youths have made haste to inherit their fathers ' wealth; and how fair damsels...have dug little graves in the garden, and bidden me, the sole guest, to an infant 's funeral” (627). We typically associate the relationship between husbands and wives, priests and their congregations, sons and fathers, or mothers and daughters as meaningful