...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 his narrative, Victor uses words such as “fate” and “omen” to hint at the tragedy that has befallen him; additionally, he occasionally pauses in his recounting to collect himself in the face of frightening memories. tone · Gothic, Romantic, emotional...
Words: 51140 - Pages: 205
...examining the foundations for which it is built”(3) as well as exploring the Danielewski’s use of labyrinths throughout the novel. The thesis in this paper is the idea that House of Leaves is all about labyrinths and that everyone involved in the novel, including the reader, is faced with their own personal labyrinth which they must overcome. Hamilton is able to support this argument by pointing out that the novel is a “four level split”(4) by saying that Will and Karen, Zampano, Truant, and the editors are all on different level and that “Each level of Danielewski’s text involves characters attempting to navigate the maze of self.”(5) To bolster her argument that everyone involved with the novel on all levels faces their own labyrinth, she quotes Wendy B. Faris who says: The labyrinth is no longer a special dwelling constructed for a particular monster, but rather a house where everyone lives.” (Faris p. 181, 1998) Once it is made clear that each person has their own personal labyrinths they must face, Hamilton then goes into great detail and gives meticulous descriptions of the labyrinth that all of the characters face. She starts with the lowest level of the narratives with Will and Karen Navidson. The labyrinth that she says that Will and Karen have is their relationship. Hamilton’s explanation to what must be worked on in their relationship is Karen’s insecurity...
Words: 930 - Pages: 4
...weak to work, and Auschwitz III–Monowitz another labor camp, which held prisoners who worked at a German chemical factory, IG Farben. The killing methods ranged from being lined up at a wall and shot to being put into ‘showers’ that realized a toxic gas. Once the prisoners were dead, they were then burned in the crematoriums at the camp. Essentially the prisoners of the labor and death camps were treated as objects and not as the humans that they were. Many might even go as far as refer to the Germans as heartless for doing the things that they did to the innocent Jews and other monitories. Art Spiegelman’s Maus shows the effects of the German’s dehumanizing treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust and proves that the Germans were monsters toward everyone being victimized in the Holocaust. Art Spiegelman is an American cartoonist who wrote Maus in the early 1900s. Maus is a cartoon depicting the Holocaust. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father as a Polish Jew that survived the Holocaust....
Words: 1947 - Pages: 8
...testifies to the inhumanity of man. What is important to note is the way this links in to a vital theme of the novel, which is the presentation of the creature himself. He starts off innocent and wanting a relationship with his maker. It is the way that he is shunned by his maker and by humanity and treated cruelly that forces him into cruelty, but this cruelty is only paralleled by the monstrous nature of humanity as displayed in incidents such as the trial of Justine. We cannot expect the creature to be good when he has no model of goodness on which he can base his behaviour. * Frankenstein's lack of personal responsibility lead to tragedy? 1. Victor's decision to make the monster and then doing nothing to take care of him demonstrates his selfishness and unwillingness to accept that what he does has consequences not just for him but also for many others. He creates the monster to bring himself...
Words: 5247 - Pages: 21
...Of Monsters and Men: How Humanity Incites Monstrousness in Grendel and Frankenstein All too often on a daily basis do people judge others based on their physical appearance or other superficial criteria. Generally, close-minded individuals perceive anything foreign or a deviation from the norm as offensive or even as a threat. We would like to think that we are not prone to such a fault, but this foible is ingrained in human nature. Literature has examined this aspect of humanity on a magnified scale by using monsters as a metaphor for those we judge; the novels Grendel by John Gardner and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley are as much character studies on humanity as they are stories about monstrousness itself. The monsters in each novel certainly...
Words: 1270 - Pages: 6
...The X-Files is one of the brilliant examples of television series, originated as a cult show and dawned into the renowned show among a wider range of audiences, including the academia. For nine seasons, the show ran for about ten years. After becoming so popular, The X-Files developed two films for dedicated fans across the world. One may wonder what is it that makes a long running show consistently interesting to the general audience, fans, scholars, and even critics. A possibility is the usage of metaphor and genre in order to explore wider themes that are not immediately apparent to the viewer regarding subject matter. To put it simply, The X-Files goes beyond the limitations of horror and sci-fi. The creation of The X-Files emerged when a new and upcoming company called Fox joined network competitors such as NBC, ABC, and CBS. Fox, as a forerunner in showing television where viewers could not find anywhere comparable, embraced the unusual and controversial series based on the paranormal and bizarre phenomena. The show follows two FBI agents who investigate the paranormal from two different viewpoints, a believer and the other a skeptic. The X-Files on the Fox network was beginning nightly hour-long shows directed towards the teen to middle-aged viewers. In order to become popular for such a broad range of viewers, the series needed to attract these masses using a language they understood and meeting their expectations, such as desired genres. The mixture of the target viewer’s...
Words: 2787 - Pages: 12
...Emotional Appeal in the Narrative of Frederick Douglass In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass adopts a critical tone as he openly discusses his journey to freedom in an attempt to deconstruct the positive view of slavery through the realities he experiences as a slave. Douglass, an educated slave, wrote the memoir after escaping to freedom as a means of informing the public about slavery as an abolitionist. Douglass utilizes emotional by detailing events that occurred during his time as a slave in order to evoke pity, anger, and fear in order to compel his audiences to regard the institution of slavery as deplorable. Douglass tends to highlight instances in which slave’s personal relationships are destroyed in order...
Words: 1901 - Pages: 8
...CHAPTER ONE METHODOLOGY, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter sets out to examine the methods used in this study, the importance of methodology in research and it also, examines the types of theories necessary for the study. METHODOLOGY This refers to the theoretical approach(es) employed in the work. It is the systematic study method that are, can be, or have been applied within a discipline. Methodology here refers to both methods of data collection and method of data analyses. Field work is the very first step to come up with this work. The method use in collecting data in this study are based on interviews and personal participation in the performance which serves as primary sources.in order to collect data, the researcher acted as part of the audience meanwhile, the performance was recorded without the performers knowledge because it would have been difficult for materials to be collected through other methods such as dialogue, for example. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Theoretical framework refers to the concept that are related to the research topic to determine the statistical relationship the paper will measure. The approach that will suit this topic is the sociological approach. In the sociology of literature, Diana Laurenson and Swing Wood argue that: Essentially the scientific objective study of man, society, the study of social processes, seek to answer the question of how society is possible, how it works, why it persists. Through a rigorous...
Words: 982 - Pages: 4
...Lovecraft’s writings are likely attributed to his tragic childhood. Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1890. At the age of three, his father developed a mental disorder via syphilis that was untreated (H.P. 1). After three years, his father was hospitalized in Providence until his death in 1898. Lovecraft lived a reclusive life, departing high school before receiving a diploma due to a nervous breakdown (H.P.). Lovecraft died on March 15, 1937 from cancer, and after death, grew more popular over time. His stories have inspired writers such as Steven King and Neil Gaiman (2). The Beast in the Cave is a short story of the horror genre, regarding the adventures of an unnamed man through Mammoth Cave. This narrative begins with a man who had previously been with a guide, but had been separated from him. “I was lost, completely, hopelessly lost. . .” (Lovecraft 1) shows that the protagonist is losing his hopes of leaving this cave. After an inner monologue of what could become of him, the unnamed man begins to hear sounds similar to an animal. Believing that it is a mountain lion or a carnivorous beast, he...
Words: 1295 - Pages: 6
...Reading Between the Lines: An analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus, using Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto as an example of male discourse about women Louise Othello Knudsen English Almen, 10th semester Master’s Thesis 31-07-2012 Tabel of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Historical Context .............................................................................................................................. 10 The View on Women and Their Expected Roles in the late 18th and 19th Century ....................... 11 - Mary Shelley disowns herself .................................................................................................. 11 - Mary Shelley’s Background .................................................................................................... 12 Women’s Role in Frankenstein ..................................................................................................... 13 Men’s Role in Frankenstein ........................................................................................................... 13 - Women in Society and Women as Writers .........................................................
Words: 30015 - Pages: 121
...better understanding of Kent’s antagonist, Agnes. The reader is first introduced to Agnes in the letter from Blondal which describes the crimes for which she is to be executed. This introduction forces the reader to already have prejudgment about the character. Kent then goes on to use third person narrative to portray the prejudices of the other character’s perspectives of Agnes as a hardened criminal or monster. Kent utlilises these opinions of Agnes in order to start to further develop her character in the readers minds. For example, when Margaret deliberates,...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...Introduction Many literary critics consider Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as one of the most impressive and imaginative Gothic horror novels of all times. In the novel, Shelley managed to create one of the most phenomenal creatures in literary history: Frankenstein monster. The epistolary style that the author employs allows the reader to view the circumstances from varied viewpoints and draw conclusions from the plot and the characters. The book The plot has a variety of story-lines rolled into one. The main however is about a Doctor Victor Frankenstein who though born to a well-to-do and loving family, is over- ambitious and thirsts to prove himself. After achieving excelling academically, he designs a technique of creating life from a fusion of inanimate objects, dead bodies an animal parts. The doctor is not satisfied with achieving conventional feats but is determined to create a living being. It is this ambition that leads to the creation after years of painstaking work. It is this creation that leads to Victor's downfall. The creation is 8 feat tall and due to the use of human parts that do not march his massive size, is hideous. He is described as having watery yellow eyes, a withered, yellowish, translucent skin which barely conceals his muscular system and blood vessels. The only good aspects of his appearance are his perfect, white teeth, long black hair and his black lips. The doctor, who had hoped to create a beautiful being is shocked by his creation...
Words: 2755 - Pages: 12
...Walton’s journey lasts nine months, and Victor takes nine months (winter, spring, summer) to create the Creature. This, all of course equal to the time it takes to create human life; the length a woman is pregnant with a child. Although it may not appear to be important to the novel, Shelly makes sure that reproduction by implication becomes a central motif of the text, as we will discuss later. As the narrative is written from the perspective of three men, the women follow more of a romanticized, idealized figure as compared to the male characters present throughout the story. Shelly characterizes each woman as passive, disposable and serving a utilitarian function, while the men are portrayed at the ultimate being. Female characters like Elizabeth and Justine provide nothing more but a channel of action for the male characters in the novel. Additionally, the story of Victor details his efforts to usurp the role of women, primarily by creating life himself. In his second creation, a female monster, Frankenstein becomes repulsed by the possibility of reproduction among the monsters and ultimately destroys...
Words: 1715 - Pages: 7
...of a sublime natural world, Scott portrays a society fuelled by ecological destruction and 1980s corporate abuse. This reflects each composer’s anchoring of their visions in the socio-cultural realities of their time; a fundamental transgression of human values over time. Both texts explore the dangers of uninhibited scientific progress. In Frankenstein, Shelley fashions a gothic world where nature is tampered with and a ‘hurricane of enthusiasm’ drives the protagonist towards abandoning his conscience, prompting Shelley’s valuing of moderation. Underpinned by the Industrial Revolution and an era of scientific change, Victor embodies the obsessive passions and Romantic ego-identities of 19th century scientists. The epistolatory narrative framework adds a disquieting sense of truth to Victor’s retrospective dialogue, “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge,” reflecting his Promethean disobedience and rebellion against authority. The pathetic fallacy “the candle nearly burnt out” and Walton’s foreboding serpent imagery “You seek knowledge [which] may be a serpent to sting you,” foreshadow the dangers of an irrational mind, one fuelled by unbridled passion and Victor’s selfish desire in surpassing moral boundaries to gain power by senselessly disregarding all ethical implications...
Words: 1263 - Pages: 6
...both tendencies in language: the positive search for truth, preservation, remembrance, evidence, and knowable signifieds on the one hand and the negative dispersal of meaning in fits of uncertainty and multiplicity on the other. Final Paper Notes/Outline Thesis: Something about using the medium of a novel (text and language’s role (both as a signifier and signified) to per petuate Bechdel’s story and reveal plot of her dad’s motive motive for killing himself Fun House Explore the medium of a comic Fact that she wrote everything herself, does this relate to self realization, etc. Notes from Youtube Video: Words don’t illustrate pictures… writing in a drawing program. Can say that my hypothesis for her motives, including the literature was this… but actually only she (as the author) can know Role of Literature in Alison’s coming out… Handwriting all the poems, what does this have to do with memory, and can she fully replicate her father’s signature? Daedalus mytch and Ulysseus…starts out book with it Passage 1: Page 140: Because of her obsessive-compulsive spell she started a diary… But, because of the questioning of memory, the words “I think” popped in her comments. Page 141: How did I know that the things I was writing were absolutely, objectively true? She’s doubting what she writes down to be true… Specfic kind of text: the kind that’s in the boxes, speech bubbles bring you back into the moment, Square ones are superimpositions, narratively offering her...
Words: 1976 - Pages: 8
