Themes, symbols, and motifs come alive when you use a storyboard. In this activity, students will identify themes and symbols from the story, and support their choices with details from the text.
As a classroom activity, students can track the rich symbolic writing Hawthorne uses throughout “The Birthmark”. In the example storyboard above, the creator has focused on Hawthorne's use of Puritan ideology through symbols and themes in "The Birthmark".
Throughout the story, the theme of imperfection is implied in multiple ways. First, imperfection is suggested with Georgiana’s birthmark, then later with Aylmer’s journal entries about his not-so-perfect experiments. Finally, in the end when Georgiana dies as a result of the quest for perfection, it is found that there is no such thing.
Within literature, a universal theme is man's pursuit for scientific advancement and knowledge and its effects. In the story of “The Birthmark”, Aylmer's quest to rid his wife of her imperfection through science shows the reader how naive and narrow-minded man can be. Just because someone has the power or knowledge to do something doesn’t always mean it should be done.
The birthmark is a symbol of man’s imperfection or flaw - which also symbolizes man’s mortality. Looking at the story from a Puritan perspective, the birthmark could be an allegorical symbol relating to man’s fall from Eden. The allusion is that Alymer looks at Georgian as being almost perfect, without the birthmark she would be the epitome of Godly perfection. From the Christian perspective, all men are made in the image of God; however, after Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, man was inevitably flawed. The birthmark is a concrete symbol of this flaw.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in "The Birthmark". Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Connect new readings to major themes from "The Birthmark" during class discussions. This helps students see recurring ideas across texts and deepens their understanding of universal concepts.
Encourage students to look for symbols in different texts you read together. Ask them to compare those symbols to the birthmark in Hawthorne’s story, fostering critical thinking and text-to-text connections.
Create a classroom anchor chart listing key themes and symbols from "The Birthmark". Update it as students encounter similar ideas in new literature, making abstract concepts more concrete.
Assign students to small groups to analyze how themes like imperfection or scientific ambition appear in other stories. This collaborative approach boosts engagement and supports peer learning.
Invite students to write about a time when imperfection or striving for perfection affected them. This personalizes the theme and helps students relate literature to real life.
The main themes in "The Birthmark" include imperfection (man's inherent flaws), the pursuit of scientific knowledge and its consequences, and the conflict between nature and perfection. The story explores how striving for flawlessness can lead to unintended and tragic results.
The birthmark symbolizes human imperfection and mortality. It serves as a reminder that all people are flawed, referencing biblical themes of man's fall from grace and the impossibility of achieving godlike perfection.
Use storyboards to help students visually identify and illustrate recurring themes and symbols. Have students support their choices with evidence from the text and write brief descriptions explaining each example. This activity encourages critical thinking and engagement with Hawthorne's literary techniques.
The theme of imperfection is central because it highlights the dangers of obsessing over flaws. Hawthorne uses Georgiana's birthmark to show that the pursuit of perfection can lead to destructive consequences, emphasizing acceptance of human limitations.
A highly effective activity is to have students create a storyboard that identifies and illustrates key symbols like the birthmark. Students can then write short descriptions for each cell, explaining the symbol's meaning and its significance in the story.