Write an essay of 700-800 words in which you discuss how Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Birthmark” conveys the theme “ flawed nature of humanity and
limitations” through the use of symbolism, characterization, and irony.
– Your essay should revolve around a strong thesis statement, which should appear toward the end of your essay’s introduction while including the three
literary elements.
– Remember that your purpose in writing this essay is to make connections between the three literary elements and the theme of the story.
– Explain how the author uses each literary element to create the story’s theme. You need to provide ample textual evidence from the story to support your
points. Primary source in-text citations are required (the story is the primary source). This means that you need to provide the page number in parentheses
each time you provide a quote from the story.
– Make certain that your essay is written in consistent third person point of view. This means you will refer to ‘readers’ when discussing the experience of
reading the story, and not use first person (“I, me, my, our”) or second person (“you”).
