...Mary Shelley wrote the novel Frankenstein to have her readers on their toes and want to sleep with one eye open. Frankenstein is about a man named Victor Frankenstein that is fascinated by the mysteries of the natural world and decides that he wants to do the impossible. Victor’s mission was to construct an animate creature by collecting spare body parts. However, a series of tragic events occur after the creation comes to life. The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that a monster is, “something monstrous; especially: a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty” (Merriam-Webster). Before reading the novel the reader would assume the creation is the monster, but Mary Shelley leaves that determination to the reader....
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...community of to oneself. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, both Victor and Frankenstein experience isolation and alienation through society, family, and work to a point where it leads to being violent and antisocial. Throughout the story Shelley so different examples of isolation but the one we notice the most is the isolation and alienation of the monster, Frankenstein. He was created through isolation and alienation, being so different and not like the rest of society, Frankenstein kept to himself and hide away to be isolated. In the story Frankenstein and Victors paths...
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...Different, Yet so Alike In Marry Shelly’s novel Frankenstein she develops two different characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Creature also know as Dr. Frankenstein’s creation. Even though these two characters are not related nor do they look alike in any way, they have very distinct characteristics that make them so similar. Looking at just the surface it’s hard to see how it would be even possible to call them alike. However, after digging a little deeper it becomes easier to draw distinct parallels between the two characters. As these similarities connect them in a few ways the Creature begins to seem less like the actual monster. They are similar because of; their desire to learn, a love for nature, and a longing for revenge against their enemies; all these begin to blur the lines on who the actual Monster is, as Dr. Frankenstein begins to seem more evil. From the very start, both Dr. Frankenstein and his creation had a similar desire to learn. When Dr. Frankenstein was a young child he had an abnormal desire to learn. Surely, what ultimately led to his downfall. Beginning as just a child he was obsessed with reading books on alchemy, astrology, and pseudo-sciences. He came across a volume of Cornelius Agrippa’s books, which is what completely shaped his thinking of the world around him and his love for natural philosophy. This thirst for knowledge inspired him to go to a university to study science. During his studies he gained a lot of knowledge from his mentors and...
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...In the Beginning There Was Frankenstein Many have said that love makes the world go around but we are left with the question of who creates love? What would life be like if we had not experienced love and, ultimately, what would each of us be like without experiencing love? The Holy Bible provides numerous examples of a perfect love from the Creator and explains that people have been created to love. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, creates questions about the responsibility of a creator, and what can happen when some basic responsibilities of a creator are ignored. The novel describes a monster and his actions due to his creator abandoning him. Throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, there is the question of who really is the monster? Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, can easily be compared to the Judeo-Christian God and the story of creation found in the book of Genesis. The God referred to as the creator of all mankind is driven by love for his creation, but Victor Frankenstein is driven to create by his own personal ideas of grandiosity and ego. The Holy Bible is the account of the Judeo-Christian God’s action in the world and his purpose for all creation. The writing of the Holy Bible took place over sixteen centuries, and is the work of over forty human authors. There are sixty-six books that provide various lessons for living and moral conduct, examples of love from a Creator, and a starting point for creation. In Genesis, the...
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...Frankenstein Notes ------------------------------------------------- Some Interesting Points * There is a chilling logic in the creature's arguments. Why should he not respond in kind to the way that he has been treated by both his maker, who should have cared for him and looked after him, and by mankind as a whole? If the creature is inhuman, it is only because he is imitating the inhumanity of the human species. Therefore, I think that the novel presents Victor as being more inhuman. * Victor is alien in his society in the way that he removes himself from others, for example when he goes about creating the daemon/creation. Victor is very secretive and seems to like it that way... he doesn't really try to understand people like the creation does. The creation tries again and again to belong in the community, its his greatest desire. With Victor, on the other hand, there seems to be a gulf between him and the rest of society. * Justine’s trial 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...
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...So let’s say the kid who was made fun of goes home that day and on his free time created a huge list of insults he could use to combat the bully. For example, he could talk about how the bully could never make it to college with the grades he has, and brag that he will make it far in life and become someone like an electrical engineer for G.E. He might tell the bully that his only option is the military, where he would have a possibility of going to Afghanistan and running over an I.E.D. and blow his legs off. Then he has to come home but cannot work because he has no legs. Now he has no money and no legs. That is quite the comeback. Now the real question is, what will the kid get out of his comments? What will the repercussions be? In all likelihood, the bully may fire back and hurt this straight A student even more than he already had, emotionally or physically. It is a vicious cycle that never ends. In Frankenstein, the creature enacts revenge on his father, but it does not give him happiness, ¨A frightful selfishness hurried me on, while my heart was poisoned with remorse. Think you that groans of Clerval were music to my ears?¨ (163, 164). The creature never had anything to gain by making his creator feel unbelievable grief, which caught the creature and creator in that cycle. With revenge, nobody will ever be...
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...If you had to make a decision based on something that you did that could affect all of humanity, what would you choose? Would you choose the option better for you or better for humanity? The subtitle of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein is "The Modern Prometheus." To be Promethean means to go against a greater power, disobey something that the greater power asks of you for the sake of humanity, and to be punished for your actions. Victor Frankenstein is Promethean. Victor Frankenstein fits my definition of what it means to be the "Modern Prometheus" because he created the creature by going against the forces of nature. An example of this is that Victor has the materials needed to bestow animation and he hopes that his attempts will lay the...
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...Nature vs. nurture is one of the oldest philosophical debates in history. The argument is whether your life experiences or the environment you grow up in has a lasting effect/influence on the type of person that you become or if your development is predisposed in your DNA. Both nature and nurture play important roles in the development of a human being, but it is not known which one causes the majority of the way a person turns out. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I believe nature vs. nurture is a theme that she raises. Would the creature have turned out differently, even good, if Victor Frankenstein raised him and didn’t abandon him when he was first brought to life? She is arguing in favor of nurture and saying that the creature behaves...
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...The quote, “Don’t fix what’s not broken” by Robert Atkins is a great example of why the narrator in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst ended up being the reason for his little brother’s demise. The short story opens up with the narrator reminiscing about his time with his younger brother, Doodle. His younger brother Doodle was a child born with a serious medical condition, but even though the narrator was warned–many times–on how Doodle can’t do things like “normal” kids, he decided to ignore it and still try to “help” him overcome some of his challenges–not understanding that his condition isn’t something that can be fixed. Throughout the story, the narrator keeps trying to push Doodle and doesn’t seem to understand why he can’t do simple tasks, even calling him a “burden” (p.2) since the “doctor says he mustn’t get too excited, too hot, too, cold or too tired and he must always be treated gently” (p.2)....
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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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...Tyler Viator Due: March 5, 2015 English 2123 Lisa Nohner A Mother’s Influence Stephen King’s novel, Carrie, is the story of a girl who uncovers her unique ability on her path to womanhood and power. Stephen King wrote his story about Carrie three years after he graduated from college. During the 1970s, while King was in college, he was transformed by the idea of Women’s Liberation and how it would influence both males and females. King used interstitial, grotesque, sexual, gender, power, and violent literary elements with components of the European and American gothic genre to create a Supernatural Horror/Drama that reflected on life during the time period. Carrie White was raised by her widowed mother, Margaret White, on Carlin St. in Chamberlain, Maine during the mid 1970s. Throughout Carrie’s childhood, she was the subject of mental and physical abuse. Her mother and late father, Ralph White, were religious zealots who attempted to conceal Carrie from the outside world. Often times, when Carrie acted out, Margaret would inflict physical pain upon herself and sentence Carrie the closet to punish her for her wrongdoings. The abuse did not stop at home. At the age of 17, Carry had her first menstrual cycle in the girls’ shower of her high school Ewan Consolidated High School. After the girls recognized Carrie’s confusion and panic, they began to collectively ridicule her until Mrs. Desjardin, their instructor could come to Carrie’s aid. On the way home from school that...
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...Notes by Marti Nelson 1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not): a. A quester b. A place to go c. A stated reason to go there d. Challenges and trials e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion b. Not usually religious c. An act of sharing and peace d. A failed meal carries negative connotations 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another. 4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet 5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems. b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously aware we are, the more alive the text becomes to us. ...
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...When I received a copy of James S. Valliant’s book, The Passion of Ayn Rand’s Critics: The Case Against the Brandens, I was a little apprehensive about reviewing it. It seems that every time a discussion commences about the “juicy” bits of Ayn Rand’s sexual and romantic entanglements, it takes on a life of its own, and the discussion never seems to end. Cyber-forums can’t even mention this book without provoking hundreds of rancorous posts among people who are still personally involved in the developments surrounding the break between Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Branden and Barbara Branden. It’s as if the War of ‘68 is still raging. I was fortunate when I came to the study of Ayn Rand. I was eight years old when Rand and the Brandens went their separate ways. I knew none of the principals involved, and didn’t actually discover Rand’s work until nearly ten years later—when I was a senior in high school in 1977. And even after I’d discovered her work, I'd read everything she wrote without the assistance of going to live lectures or attending group meetings of people sitting around a vinyl turntable or an audio-tape player, listening to recordings of said lectures. I eventually listened to the vast bulk of those lectures as background for the preparation of my book, Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical, but even that research was pursued independently. My work was not the product of any assistance from any Objectivist institute or organization. Around 1992, however, as I was researching my...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSICS EDITION OF G EORG E B E R N A R D S HAW ’S PYGMALION By LAURA REIS MAYER BUNCOMBE COUNTY SCHOOLS, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA S E R I E S E D I T O R S JEANNE M. MCGLINN, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Asheville and W. GEIGER ELLIS, Ed.D., University of Georgia, Professor Emeritus 2 A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion TABLE OF CONTENTS An Introduction .......................................................................................3 Synopsis of the Play .................................................................................3 Prereading Activities .................................................................................6 During Reading Activities ......................................................................13 After Reading Activities .........................................................................21 About the Author of this Guide .............................................................29 About the Editors of this Guide .............................................................29 Full List of Free Teacher's Guides...........................................................30 Click on a Classic ..................................................................................31 Copyright © 2007 by Penguin Group (USA) For additional teacher’s manuals, catalogs, or descriptive brochures, please email academic@penguin.com or write...
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...critical theory today critical theory today A Us e r - F r i e n d l y G u i d e S E C O N D E D I T I O N L O I S T Y S O N New York London Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 270 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 2 Park Square Milton Park, Abingdon Oxon OX14 4RN © 2006 by Lois Tyson Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business Printed in the United States of America on acid‑free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number‑10: 0‑415‑97410‑0 (Softcover) 0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑415‑97410‑3 (Softcover) 978‑0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data Tyson, Lois, 1950‑ Critical theory today : a user‑friendly guide / Lois Tyson.‑‑ 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0‑415‑97409‑7 (hb) ‑‑ ISBN 0‑415‑97410‑0 (pb) 1. Criticism...
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