Introduction: Our modern day construction of beauty is used as a benchmark for women to strive towards. In Nathaniel Hawkin’s The Birthmark and The Twilight Zone’s Eye of the Beholder, the authors flip our notion of beauty on its head, by criticizing its implications in today’s society, raising the question “who should determine what beauty is?” and showing that beauty is more than just skin deep. The two authors achieve their purpose of denouncing the social concept of beauty through the uses of irony, characterization, and isolation.
Subject 1- The Birthmark
Lit Technique 1- In The Birthmark, isolation is a huge part of the story as Georgiana is locked in a room by herself.
“Georgiana would live in a beautiful room he had prepared nearby, …show more content…
In a sense, Georgiana is outcast from other human contact, because she is not seen as ugly by her husband, causing her to have to wait in a room until her birthmark disappears. The fact that she has to go through this type of treatment is absurd. Nevertheless, due to a simple birthmark, Aylmer is the one to decide that she is not beautiful.
Lit Technique 2- Irony is displayed in The Birthmark to juxtapose Aylmer's thoughts with those of Georgiana’s past lovers.
“Male observers who did not praise the mark simply wished it away so that they did not see it. After his marriage, Aylmer discovered that this was the case with himself.”
Conversely, everyone considers Georgiana beautiful except for one person, that being her husband Alymer, this is very ironic due to the fact that he’s the only person that doesn’t see her as beautiful. This raises the question how does someone decide what is “beautiful”? What is thought as beautiful to everyone else is not even close to beauty in Aylmer's …show more content…
Doctor Bernardi has looked deeper under those bandages and has seen a real human underneath there.
In places where Aylmer loses sight of his humanity, Doctor Bernardi maintains it, by seeing that even though Janet might be ugly, she is still a human being and should be regarded as such. He goes on to say how it is unfair that she will be outcast and that the state doesn’t have “the right to make ugliness a crime!”
Conclusion: Through the uses of irony, isolation, and characterization, the authors of The Birthmark and Eye of The Beholder, question and criticize our modern concept of beauty in two completely different ways in order to see how much power we truly give in to it. The Birthmark isolation is used in a literal way, as Georgiana is locked in a room, unlike Janet Tyler in Eye of the Beholder, who is isolated from society. Irony in The Birthmark is used to display the differences between the thoughts of Aylmer versus everyone else, while in Eye of the Beholder it is used to highlight the differences between Janet Tyler’s face and the faces of everyone else. Lastly, in The Birthmark characterization is used to show the change in Aylmer that leads to the loss of his humanity, while in Eye of the Beholder, characterization leads to Dr. Bernardi not only finding his, but Janet Tyler’s as
Subject 1- The Birthmark
Lit Technique 1- In The Birthmark, isolation is a huge part of the story as Georgiana is locked in a room by herself.
“Georgiana would live in a beautiful room he had prepared nearby, …show more content…
In a sense, Georgiana is outcast from other human contact, because she is not seen as ugly by her husband, causing her to have to wait in a room until her birthmark disappears. The fact that she has to go through this type of treatment is absurd. Nevertheless, due to a simple birthmark, Aylmer is the one to decide that she is not beautiful.
Lit Technique 2- Irony is displayed in The Birthmark to juxtapose Aylmer's thoughts with those of Georgiana’s past lovers.
“Male observers who did not praise the mark simply wished it away so that they did not see it. After his marriage, Aylmer discovered that this was the case with himself.”
Conversely, everyone considers Georgiana beautiful except for one person, that being her husband Alymer, this is very ironic due to the fact that he’s the only person that doesn’t see her as beautiful. This raises the question how does someone decide what is “beautiful”? What is thought as beautiful to everyone else is not even close to beauty in Aylmer's …show more content…
Doctor Bernardi has looked deeper under those bandages and has seen a real human underneath there.
In places where Aylmer loses sight of his humanity, Doctor Bernardi maintains it, by seeing that even though Janet might be ugly, she is still a human being and should be regarded as such. He goes on to say how it is unfair that she will be outcast and that the state doesn’t have “the right to make ugliness a crime!”
Conclusion: Through the uses of irony, isolation, and characterization, the authors of The Birthmark and Eye of The Beholder, question and criticize our modern concept of beauty in two completely different ways in order to see how much power we truly give in to it. The Birthmark isolation is used in a literal way, as Georgiana is locked in a room, unlike Janet Tyler in Eye of the Beholder, who is isolated from society. Irony in The Birthmark is used to display the differences between the thoughts of Aylmer versus everyone else, while in Eye of the Beholder it is used to highlight the differences between Janet Tyler’s face and the faces of everyone else. Lastly, in The Birthmark characterization is used to show the change in Aylmer that leads to the loss of his humanity, while in Eye of the Beholder, characterization leads to Dr. Bernardi not only finding his, but Janet Tyler’s as