...Former Lieutenant S. James Bentley kicked off his black Crocks. He removed his beat up baseball cap and threw the hat at the ground with all his force, just because he could. His therapy dog, Krugle, stared at him with a concerned expression that shouldn’t be possible for non-humans. James scowled at the dog. “Shut up.” He stomped into the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of Alexander Keith from his fridge. Bottle in hand, James walked to his living room and flopped onto his worn out plaid couch with a loud sigh. He opened his beer. He didn’t bother to follow the cap’s path through the air. As he took his first sip, he noticed a black shape watching him from a dusty corner. He frowned. “Leave me alone,” he snapped at the French Bulldog. Krugle, being a well-trained therapy animal, sauntered towards his grumpy master and placed his little head on the man’s bony knee. James sighed. He didn’t want this dog. He didn’t want to be left alone to care for himself and an animal, too. But some part of him was still James from before Afghanistan, the James who adopted two beautiful golden retrievers because he’d always loved dogs. Before James realized it, Krugle had jumped up onto the couch and nuzzled his wrinkly face into James’ thigh. The veteran patted the bulldog’s head, giving in to the temptation. He took another swig of beer. “At least you’re still with me, Krugle,” he muttered. “You and my demons.” The evening passed like most other evenings. James finished his beer and...
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...How is the abuse of power shown in two works that you have studied? The works I have studied and will be exploring in this essay are Mary Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. In ‘Frankenstein’ the abuse of power is most clearly exhibited by the protagonist of the story Frankenstein himself, his abuse of power results in his isolation and could serve as a warning to people, telling them not to play with forces that they can not control. In ‘Heart of Darkness’, Conrad abuses his power as the author to distance himself from the novella and in a sense absolve himself from any racist criticism the book may induce. The abuse of power is also a key theme in the novella itself. Firstly there is a sense of hypocrisy in the novella where the abuse of power is concerned, Marlow seems to have a slight reluctance to abuse his power over the natives, however he abuses his power before he even gets to the Congo, when he attains the job unfairly through the position held by his aunt in the company. Secondly the idea that the white western men have a superior culture and feel the need to impose their civility on the outrageous and almost in-human savages inhabiting the Congo is the most obvious abuse of power implicated in the short story. Overall the abuse of power in both novels is shown to end badly for the party involved. Marlow sees the abuse of power leave people without their minds, and Shelly’s novel also demonstrates this to some degree, but highlights...
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...How does the creature elicit sympathy during his narrative in Volume II? In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly allows the creature to share his story of abandonment and sorrow in order to elicit sympathy from both Victor Frankenstein and the reader. The creature manipulates his tale, describing each event and circumstance that culminates in the murder of William, so that his creator – Victor Frankenstein, will grant his request for a female companion. The creature illustrates his pain and loneliness from the moment of his ‘birth’ in the beginning pages of Chapter III; we see his growth in consciousness; much like a newborn. His inability to express himself through words is poignant as the reader is witness to the frustration the creature feels. His innocence is clear as human needs that torment him like “hunger and thirst”, cannot be quenched as his is unaware how and has to rely on his primitive instincts rather that having the luxury of being taken care of. This early pain and abandonment are told of, in an effort to make Frankenstein regret his decision to leave his creation and therefore fulfill the creatures request. The attachment the creature forms with the DeLacy family evokes sympathy from the reader for numerous reasons. Firstly it is a one sided relationship – they are the first people the creature forms a bond with when in fact they have no idea about his existence. Secondly when they do find out they are disgusted by his presence due to his unconventional looks....
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...Frankenstein Science AO2 Unrestrained scientific desire: ‘they penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding places’ • ‘they ascend into the heavens’ ‘new and almost unlimited powers’ ‘penetrate’ ‘command’ ‘mimic’ • ‘with fervour’ • ‘performed miracles’ • ‘unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation’ • ‘secret’ ‘hidden laws’ • How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge’ Power: ‘as if my soul were grappling with a powerful enemy’ • ‘like a hurricane’ ‘pour a torrent of light’ • ‘pursued’ ‘unremitting ardour’ ‘clung’ ‘dedicated myself’ ‘secret toil’ ‘tremble’ ‘tortured’ • ‘one pursuit’ • ‘tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man’ • ‘I preferred glory’ • ‘until from the midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me- a light so brilliant and wondrous’ Lack of Morality: Transgression against God he mocks the power of the creator ‘torrents of light’ ‘a new species would bless me as its creator and source’ ‘many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me’ • ‘eyes insensible to the charms of nature’ • ‘Labours’ scientist in being able to mimic and usurp traditional creation methods; existence of an immortal soul? • Responsibility for creation image reinforced ‘inarticulate sounds’ Pursuit: ‘deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge’ • ‘Pursuit for discovery and wonder’ attracted to the tree of knowledge ‘eternal light’ back to biblical times, tree of knowledge...
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...Shelley, writing at the beginning of the nineteenth-century, joined their female contemporaries in a growing generation of authoresses who forged careers in discipline of male authority. In this respect, they are inescapably engaging with gender politics. Margaret Kirkham comments that ‘this burgeoning of the female talent...was bound to have a profound effect upon any young woman beginning to write once it had occurred’, suggesting that, regardless of whether the female intended to represent female concerns within their work; a female, in becoming ‘an author, was, in itself, a feminist act’ (Kirkham 33). With the status of the authoress in mind whilst analysing Northanger Abbey and Frankenstein, this essay will focus how Austen and Shelley engage with gender politics through characterization and narrative form, and the female concerns they address, both implicitly and explicitly, throughout their texts. Austen predominately engages with gender politics through her protagonist Catherine. Catherine is presented as the unlikely heroine; ‘no one...would have supposed her born to be a heroine’ (Austen 3). Austen subverts the expectation of an heroine as Catherine possesses ‘feelings rather natural than heroic’, provoking a reading of Catherine as a satire of the passive, unnatural, gothic heroine. When Catherine embarks...
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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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...STORY Global Bike Inc. Background and overview of GBI strategy and operations. Product MOTIVATION PREREQUISITES SAP ERP G.B.I. Release 6.04 A general understanding of GBI (the enterprise) prior to embarking on hands-on exercises and case studies in the SAP ERP client is critical for success. None Level Undergraduate Beginner Focus Company Background NOTES None This narrative provides a historical background for how GBI began and an overview of its operations and strategy. This information will be used extensively throughout the curriculum material. Authors Simha Magal Stefan Weidner Version 2.11 © SAP AG CASE STUDY Company History Task Get to know the company’s history. Time 15 min Short Description Read the below narrative to learn about the company’s history. Global Bike Inc. has a pragmatic design philosophy that comes from its deep roots in both the off-road trail racing and long-distance road racing sports. Nearly 20 years ago, its founders designed their first bikes out of necessity—they had races to win and the bikes that were available at the time did not perform to their extremely high standards. So, they took matters into their own hands and built legendary bikes that would outlast and outperform the competition. From these humble origins, Global Bike Incorporated was born and continues to deliver innovative highperformance bicycles to the world’s most demanding riders. Notes ...
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...Examine some of the ways Gothic horror is presented in Frankenstein showing how your understanding of Mary Shelley’s techniques has been illuminated by your reading of Poe’s short stories Firstly, Shelley uses the setting of her novel in order to create an unsettling atmosphere in various chapters. Factors such as time, weather and architecture all play an important role in bringing horror to life in both Frankenstein and Poe’s short stories. Mary Shelley aligns Victor with the Romantic Movement, which emphasised a turn to nature for experiences like hope and happiness. The natural world has notable effects on Victor’s mood. He is moved and happy in the presence of the scenic beauty of Switzerland. In return this also reminds Victor of his guilt, shame and regret. “The rain depressed me; my old feelings recurred, and I was miserable”. This enables the weather to foreshadow Victor’s emotions throughout the novel. The theme of nature also reappears in the monster’s narrative. Whereas Victor seeks the high cold hard world of the Alps for comfort, as if to freeze his guilt, the monster finds solace in the soft colours of a spring time forest. This symbolises his desire to reveal himself to the world and interact with others. The architecture of the early nineteenth century was typically gothic and of a medieval revival style. It is this gloomy and frightening scenery, which sets the scene for what the audience should expect. Likewise, Poe uses the setting to convey...
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...Frankenstein is a novel that explores what can happen if one decides to go against the laws of nature with science. Victor frankenstein, an intelligent but selfish man, created a monster in what I believe to be an attempt to make up for the loss of his mother. The monster itself was not necessarily a “monster”, but after horrible treatment and cruel judgements by people including it’s own creator it became one. The people reacted so negatively to the creation because it was unnatural; this was a recurring idea throughout the novel. In contrast to the unnatural monster, there is an emphasis on the beauty of nature and of what is natural, along with many other elements of romanticism. Frankenstein calls attention to the relation of nature and beauty in contrast to the idea of unnatural monstrosities. Beauty and Nature is a clear motif in the novel, and this can be seen primarily with the monster itself. It was clearly not natural as it was made by a man using pieces of decomposing humans, and people reacted to it as such. the unnatural creation was anything but beautiful; in fact, it was frightening. The only reason that the monster was treated as it was, was its appearance. This can be seen specifically when the monster was living near the family in the cottage. The old blind man was welcoming and kind to the monster, but the children, who could see the hideous unnatural creation, forced it to leave and then separated themselves from the monster further by moving. Along with...
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...restraint/And knew not eating death” (Milton Book IX 790-791. This quote by poet John Milton perfectly describes Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein, and his unbridled ambitions. Frankenstein sought to create a new species of superior beings by together bodies and imbuing them with life, but soon realized his mistakes which cost him the lives of friends and family. Prior to his first successful creation, Frankenstein set himself up as God, and later his creation found that it resembled Adam. In a tale about the genesis of a race, it is natural that it would be rife with religious allusions, and indeed Shelley brings up John Milton’s Paradise Lost, an epic poem about the creation of...
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...Throughout the novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein proposes the parallel between monster and man, and the raises the question as who is the real monster; Victor Frankenstein or the monster he created. In passage A, Mary Shelley conveys that man and monster are not entirely different and rather the real monster is essentially mankind. In this case, Shelley uses specific word choices, along with character development and parallels to demonstrate that man and monster are indistinguishable. In the following passage, Mary Shelley’s choice of words and characterization indicates that man and monster are along the same spectrum. Robert Walton writes, “My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree. How can I see so noble a creature destroyed by misery without feeling the most poignant grief?” (Shelley 12-13). The idea that Walton addresses Victor Frankenstein as a “noble creature” is crucial in identifying as to what is considered to be human. He addresses Victor as a creature with understanding, and “gentle, yet so wise; his mind cultivated…” (Shelley 13). Mary Shelley associates man as creature; creature with intelligence, feelings, and innocence. This pinpoints to the idea that man is monster. In addition, the passage sets up the scene for the telling of Victor’s narrative. Mary Shelley uses Walton’s character as an introduction whose story parallels that of Frankenstein’s. In the second letter, Walton addresses...
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...Through Gilgamesh's journey of self-discovery and redemption, the epic portrays the enduring resilience of the human spirit and the redemptive power of embracing vulnerability as a pathway to enlightenment. Through the intertwined narratives of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, Frankenstein portrays the complexities of human ambition, the consequences of scientific hubris, and the transformative power of redemption. After bringing life to the creature, Frankenstein says “now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 35). The moment of creation, initially seen as a triumph of scientific achievement, quickly devolves into a nightmare of horror and regret as Frankenstein is confronted with the consequences of his actions. His quote of "breathless horror and disgust" highlights the moral crisis that accompanies his reckless ambition as he fights with the implications of playing god and defying the natural order. In his last words before death, Frankenstein says “Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquility, and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries” (Shelley 162). In his final moments, Frankenstein acknowledges the faults in his own ambition and the tragic consequences of his actions, urging Walton to seek fulfillment in humility and contentment rather than the relentless pursuit of scientific achievement. Through Frankenstein's...
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...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 .........................................................
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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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...Frankenstein as a Gothic Novel Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is considered as a Gothic novel but it can be seen as a compilation of both Gothic and Romantic because of the significance of the sublime. Certain events and settings in the novel present the gothic themes. Shelley uses the different themes in her novel to evoke feelings of horror and terror in the reader. Frankenstein engages in a quest in pushing the realms of science to their limits which leads him to playing god and creating an unnatural being using science. One of the themes Shelley uses in the novel to create the gothic presence is the theme of Forbidden Knowledge. Mary Shelley introduces the ideas that science is capable of being very dangerous and has consequences through the character of Victor Frankenstein. Shelley’s time was described as the age of unprecedented scientific discoveries, which influenced her in writing of Frankenstein. The process of the creation of his creation was influenced by the Italian physician Luigi Galvani who discovered “animal electricity” which manifests with the twitching of nerves and muscles when an electric current is applied. Frankenstein seeks to find “the secrets of heaven and earth” to fulfil his quest. He calls them secrets; he is aware they are not to be known and should not be found. Frankenstein knows that acquiring such knowledge would not be easy as he states “how dangerous the acquirement of knowledge”. Frankenstein is aware of the uneasy task of seeking...
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