...Frankenstein: The First Modern Monster Story When we hear Frankenstein the image that many of us think of today is that of a mindless monster with bolts in his neck who wishes to terrorize anyone who crosses his path. This image is far different from that of the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In Shelley’s novel Frankenstein’s monster is smart, caring, and he posses near super human strength and speed. Frankenstein is thought to be heavily influenced by of many of the places and events in Shelly’s life. For example many of the scientific themes are thought to be influenced by the scientific revolution which was being analyzed during the romanticism period which is when Frankenstein was written. Frankenstein is often considered to be the first modern monster story because it deals with many modern issues, it has many differences from earlier monster stories, and because it is written using a modern romanticism writing style. The most prevalent modern issue dealt with in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the boundaries between religion and science. In the novel Victor uses science to create life which is something that only God can do. Frankenstein’s monster compares himself to Adam and Victor to God when he says, “Remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.”(Shelley 66), this quote is an example of Shelley relating religion and science. During the period of Enlightenment science...
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...Jacob McKinnis Professor Bess Fox Major Women Writers 3 November 2015 Romanticism in Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, is well known throughout the world as a classic piece of gothic literature with elements of disturbing and macabre imagery. It is easy then to overlook the many ways in which Frankenstein is a primary example of Romanticism due to the characteristics of the way it was written and the time period in which Mary Shelley lived. Shelley’s Frankenstein is not meant to be looked at as a purely gothic piece of literature but rather a literary work of Romanticism that masquerades as a horror story. To start with, the monster created by Frankenstein is paramount to the representation of Romanticism in the novel. The monster is a Romantic hero because of the rejection it must bear from normal society. Wherever he goes, the monster is chased away because of its hideous appearance and its huge size. Shelley makes an effort explaining how often that people in conventional society reject that which is out of the ordinary or that which is unnerving and disfigured treading on the borders of our society. It’s hard to blame the monster for what happens to him, and Shelley provokes from the reader a sympathetic response for a creature that has been established as a misunderstood and lost soul in a world it was never meant to live in. The monster tries to fit into a regular community, but because it is grotesque to look at and does not know the social norms...
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...Claudia Casale May 08, 2013 Romanticism Romanticism was a period of time where Authors were making a lot of references towards nature, emphasis of emotions and also of imagination and intuition. Mary Shelly and William Blake are two Authors that wrote during the romanticism period. Both authors address the romantic period in their writing. Both others uses nature as one of their themes throughout their writing. Mary Shelly uses the idea of romanticism in Frankenstein by putting escape of nature and high regards towards the weather. As an example weather which represent the feeling of the monster Tim, “When the sun had recovered its warmth, and the earth again began to look green … I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure… and I even raised my humid eyes with thankfulness towards the blessed sun which bestowed such joy upon me”(98). Mary Shelly used nature to describe feelings and emotions throughout the novel. As an example, after a dreadful winter of cold and rejections, Tim the monster feels his heart ease as spring arrives. Also, another writer during the romanticism was William Blake. Blake makes powerful emphasis on imagery throughout his poems, and might used few stanzas about nature. In the The Tyger he does not specify where the setting is but in line 2 he writes “In the forest of the night”. In his poem he writes about the Tyger which is the main focus of the poem. Since the Tyger is a wild creature, he might refer to nature and makes the setting a little...
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...FRANKENSTEIN AND BLADE RUNNER EXAM NOTES Module A: Comparative study of texts and context. Comparative: compare and contrast Context: EVERYTHING, values and perspectives ANALYSING MOVIES Cinematographic Editing Frame composition Colour/group/shade Sound/ music Script/dialogue Acting qualities. EXPLAIN How frank represents the context of 1818 are both warnings to the evil of technology And blade runner context of 1982 BLADE RUNNER CONTEXT Ridley Scott is reflecting values by reacting against them. The biggest link that both are dealing with besides the excesses of sciences. -consumerism -industrialism topics being reflected in blade runner -greed -development at any cost Post war era, out of the Vietnam War. Computer industries booming and Ridley Scott reflects this throughout the movie. Los Angeles is filled chosen as an example of industrialism. Economic rationalism- states that the economy dictates everything that happens in society. The Reagan& the Thatcher administration created a free economy whereby the government had less intervention with businesses this in turn created a great class distinction where the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. This idea is reflected in the movie by the idea of “onworld” and “offworld” lands where only the rich can afford to live away from the dead...
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...“IT’S ALLIIIIIVE!!!” Everyone knows the famous line from pop culture’s Frankenstein where, surrounded by fantastical science equipment, Dr. Frankenstein, aided by his hunched assistant, Igor, zaps life into a grotesque monster within medieval castle under the cover of a dark and stormy night. At the epicenter, a creature awakens while the mad scientist cackles maniacally. It would be equally shocking for most, however, to find that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the original, poses a quite different, almost anti-climatic, scene–void of any shouting, Igors, and with no clear depiction of the creature’s endowment of life-giving forces. In fact, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein contrasts heavily to the pop culture Frankenstein in many aspects, namely,...
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...Frankenstein Essay Assignment For this essay, you will choose a focus in the novel, Frankenstein, and create an original argument based on it. Your writing may be strictly literary analysis or it may take the form of a compare/contrast essay that works to connect an aspect of the novel to concepts or events outside the book. You are free to choose whatever focus you like in the novel. A good starting point is to consider what aspects of Frankenstein interest you most as you read it; for example you might be particularly drawn to the monster’s development, the relationship between Victor and Walton, Victor and the monster, the role of women, the nature vs. nurture debate, the importance of companionship, or the role of nature in the book. Here are some topic ideas that you may choose if you would like to connect the novel to outside sources: 1) Psychology/Identity formation- research child development, nature vs. nurture, and connect what you find to the monster’s development in the novel. What does Shelley’s novel seem to suggest about how identity is formed? Compare and contrast Shelley’s views with your research. 2) Philosophy- Shelley was heavily influenced by Locke and Rousseau, two major philosophical thinkers. Read excerpts of their works, and apply concepts from their writings to the novel. 3) Shelley’s biography- If you are interested in learning more about the writer behind the story, this is a good option for you. It won’t take you long to see...
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...Frankenstein and Blade Runner Although written more than 150 years apart from each other, and with very different mediums of production both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scotts Blade Runner reflect upon the societal concerns of their times in order to warn us of the consequences of overstepping our boundaries and unbridled technological advancement. Subsequently, it becomes evident that despite their temporal and contextual differences, both texts are in fact linked through their common concerns and concepts. Frankenstein was written in 1818 at the height of the industrial revolution. Frankenstein is infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. The story is partially based on Giovanni Aldini's electrical experiments on dead animals and was also a warning against the expansion of modern humans in the Industrial Revolution. Blade Runner, on the other hand was written in 1982 at the beginning of the age of computers. The movie is set in Los Angeles in 2019 inside a post-modern, post-industrial and post-apocalyptic city. The world is devoid not only of nature, but children, sunlight and “real” animals. In the opening scene, film noir characteristics, such as disoriented visual schemes and heavy reliance of shadows and rain are used to show the vast yet dwarfed city. This leads us to believe that this city is a result of past consequences where nature has not just...
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...Romanticism Unshackled: a Study of the Modern Prometheus The most remarkable aspect about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the ability to label the novel in so many different ways amongst many genres, ranging from science fiction, to fantasy, to horror, and have all of them be correct. At such a young age, Mary Shelley constructed a narrative so revolutionary, intricate, and involved that it is still pertinent to be written about in college essays almost 200 years after it was written. As the author, Shelley is often attributed with vast creative intellect, and rightly so, as is evidenced while reading through her novel. It is imperative to recognize, however, just how much influence her colleagues—the Romantic poets—had on the ideas that became manifested in her writing. Frankenstein should bear the title of Romantic literature because the novel embodies trademark Romantic ideas, situations, and characteristics throughout the text. In an attempt to categorize any novel as Romantic, however, one must first attempt to identify what, exactly, makes a work Romantic. A group of poets, including the likes of William Blake, Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Lord Byron and—Mary’s husband—Percy Shelley, who are commonly credited as being the ground-breaking authors of the Romantic movement (Ferguson). A prime example of this method of poetry was introduced in the 1798 collection, Lyrical Ballads. This work, written by Wordsworth and Coleridge, is a compilation...
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...Romanticism and the Birth of Realism Romanticism and the Birth of Realism Romanticism was an artistic movement that swept through most of the civilized world during the late 1700th and early 1800th centuries. Romanticism became a way of cultural expression in response to the previous movement of Classicism, which had been a period of order and rule as well as being long-winded and traditional. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the root word of Romanticism, “romantic” as being marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized. (Merriam-Webster, 2014) This is very much a summary of the entire period. The Romantic period has several significant contributions to the arts. Comedy was added to the drama as well as folk tales being part of entertainment. Poetry became shorter and less intense. Famous poet Robert Blake, who was largely overlooked during the Romantic period, donated several of his writings. Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection from Blake that has gained a popular notoriety in our current day. Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein which was a macabre story of crude medical experiment that put life into pieces of cadavers that were sewn together that eventually come to life. The meaning of the story is extremely fantastic considering the age that it was written. It is considered one of the earliest examples of science fiction. The Romanticism was also a reaction to the industrial...
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...Brett Jacobs March 24, 2014 Mrs. Zink English III Loving Frankenstein When reading most books today people are likely to compare what happens in the book to their real life experiences. Readers do this frequently in many different kinds of books from horror novels to love stories. While reading the novel Frankenstein, though it may not be the first thing on a readers mind, after being done with the novel people cant resist the urge to go back and understand the relationships between many of the main characters and why some of the characters did what they did. Mary Shelley the author of Frankenstein is known for creating relationships in novels and either leaving them unexplained or making the reader question what she was trying to reveal about society and its shortcoming though a specific characters relationship. While reading Frankenstein this happened many times with multiple relationships such as the one between Elizabeth and Victor, Victor and the monseter or the monster and society. Almost every character revealed speaks to the most inner thoughts people have. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, the reader comes to understand the human condition in many ways. In this particular novel, many times loneliness comes into effect and changes how the character acts and reacts to each other and their surroundings. When Elizabeth is first introduced into the book she is portrayed as a lonely character. She is an orphan and seems to have a assortment of problems and never to...
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...Romanticism and Realism According to the Merriam Webster dictionary (2014), art is defined as anything that is thought to be beautiful or expresses important ideas and opinions. Today I will be comparing two periods of art from the 18th and 19th centuries, Romanticism and Realism, and looking at their contributions to society and how each has had their own influence on the future art world. Romanticism is the earlier of the two art periods, and was first identified as a movement around 1800. Romanticism flourished in Britain and France up until the mid-nineteenth century. Romanticism can be defined as "A movement in literature and the fine arts, beginning in the early nineteenth century that stressed personal emotion, free play of the imagination, and freedom from rules of form." (Webster, 2014) This art style puts an emphasis on imagination and emotion. This new art form came about as a result of the after effects of the French Revolution and in defiance with the Enlightenment movement. Romantic art tends to express the true force of nature, with all of its uncontrollable power and unpredictability, unlike the controlling nature of the Enlightenment movement. A few of the Romantic artists include Gustave Courbet and Jean Francois-Millet. (Galitz, 2004) Some of the very notable characteristics of the Romantics are the use of emotion, excess instead of moderation, spontaneity, nature, subjective, use of symbolism, and mystery. (Clark, 2011) Romanticism came about during...
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...1818, by an “anonymous” author, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus has inspired numerous adaptations, remakes and parodies across different literary genres. Reprinted again in 1831, this time with an introduction written by Mary Shelley acknowledging her authorship, Frankenstein through its discrediting of science and the omnipotence of nature, confirms ands challenges our own habitual understandings of the world around us. The habitual understanding I will be focusing on is western hegemonic rationalism and the dominance of science as the ruler and explainer of my universe in comparison to the earlier more romantic ideology of Shelley’s time. Frankenstein also carries a warning about ambition. In a society that believes ambition to be a good thing, Shelley attempts to revel catastrophic consequences for humans over come with the quest for glory and science’s obsessive and overly ambitious nature. Western hegemonic ideal is the cultural identity that has conditioned me, becoming habitual, normal and routine. However, Shelley was privileged as she was writing at the beginning of the scientific enlightenment era, and could therefore identify what would be lost if science and technology were to usurp the position of God, nature and fate. Art, emotions, passion, suffering, humility etc were to be restricted into liminal spaces, creating a world not unlike Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World. Romantic philosophies have been endorsed in Frankenstein through the downfall of Victor...
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...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title · Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...
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...ELITISM As Romanticism began to fade, the product of its impact on education became apparent. The emphasis on university-educated specialists began to tell as the number of active classical scholars doubled from 141 working in 1750 onwards to 350 post-1850. Half of these scholars were working in Germany. Because of this the growth of a new predominately German class of educated bourgeoisie, the Bildungsbürgertum, had a huge impact on classical scholarship and European scholarship as a whole. The Bildungsbürgertum was a bourgeoisie social class. What distinguished them was university level education, which was mainly theological or classical. Certain class traits were widespread; they were defined by insularity, isolationism, and an utmost...
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...Student’s name: Professor’s name: Course title: Date: Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Birthmark Literature is more than a description of a single life story; its aim is to work universally. In this sense, symbolism of any text is a link that unites the factual and metaphoric plans. So, Hawthorne’s symbolism in Birthmark is his way to tell the readers more than he actually says by writing a science fiction story. The character trying to remove his wife’s birthmark is an example of human obsession with perfection, which makes the modern world sick. Yet, imperfection is the sign of being alive, so it is impossible to reach perfection without dying. Besides, the characters of Aylmer and Georgiana are symbols, too, and embody science and nature, respectively. Finally, the symbolism of the story reveals the issue of repressed and sick femininity. Speaking of symbolism, it is quite natural that it is Georgiana’s birthmark that is the core symbol. Aylmer is a successful scientist whose discoveries border on the supernatural. He seems to be quite happy with his beautiful wife, yet it suddenly strikes him that her birthmark is a spot that tars her beauty. As a researcher and alchemist, he is obsessed with achieving the maximum result, and it is true that artificially created objects can be flawless unlike living people. However, he is so deepened into the realm of science and technology, that he sees his whole life through that lens, and is unable to appreciate nature as it is...
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