Frank Herbert’s Dune and Masamune Shriow and Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell explore similar themes regarding the origin of power, the destination of human evolution and how this evolution is achieved. These texts explore these themes through a variety of literary techniques including; characterisation, the use of setting and the use of metaphors and symbolism. To describe a person in the universe of Ghost in the Shell is a difficult thing, as artificial intelligences cased inside mechanical bodies are indistinguishable from live consciences inside mechanically augmented bodies, or as the case with the protagonist Motoko Kusanagi, have her entire body including her cerebrum, replaced with a mechanical prosthesis. This integration with the mechanical allows the humans to perform physical …show more content…
Paul “Muad’dib” Atreides, the protagonist, uses the power afforded to him by these factors to exploit the faith of the Fremen of Dune, thus painting himself as a messiah. Paul then uses the Fremen to wage a jihad or holy war against usurper Vladimir Harkonnen. Paul as such is the evolution of humankind, known in the Dune Universe as the Kwisatz Haderach a product of a millennia long breeding program. The spice-drug melange is only found on the planet Dune, and in the words of Vladimir Harkonnen “He who controls the spice, controls the universe”, as the spice is the key ingredient in approaching this level of evolution. The intoxicating nature of melange is a metaphor for the power that it provides, however it is up to the individual to make full use of this power. A similar idea is explored in Ghost in the Shell, as true power is afforded to those who can maintain individuality despite lacking a conscience, or what is referred to as a ghost. The Puppet Master was the first example of such an individual, however he was an artificial intelligence spawned from a mechanical form
Style in literature is essential to create proper perception from the reader. This is equally as important as establishing appropriate tone. For this propose Ethel Wilson compliments such standards in her works “The Fog”, “Hurry, Hurry” and “The Window.” Wilson’s stylistic techniques are unmatched in uniqueness or assessing human nature versus physical nature. In the fore mentioned texts, Ethel Wilson composes her style from elements of symbolism, motif and character development to flourish understanding of the central idea of responsibility in the human mind when hidden behind nature.
The topic of whether it is in the nature of living beings to be naturally good has been examined by several authors throughout previous centuries, for example, Susan Griffin. Using a humanistic perspective, Griffin’s chapter, “Our Secret”, from her book, A Chorus of Stones, approaches this topic and can reflect on her own life and feelings using other people’s stories about fears and their secrets. Combining her personal life stories, Himmler’s life narrative, as well as two sub stories, Griffin’s chapter allows characters to represent human emotions and emphasize the hidden feelings of living beings. Similarly, Plato’s dialogue, Phaedrus, and Franz de Waal’s, The Ape and the Sushi Master, talk about the topic of living beings being naturally
A. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Gen. ed. -. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed.
Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre . New Haven : Yale University Press, 1979.
Perkins, George B., and Barbara Perkins. "The Beast in the Jungle." The American Tradition in Literature (concise). 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. 1148-1177. Print.
From the very beginning of the classic film, Ghostbusters, we can see that ghosts wander the halls of the library as the books are levitating across the aisles and drawers are being opened without the help of anyone or anything, so we think. In the movie, Professor Venkman and two students were conducting the experiments about ESP abilities. He purposely marked the girl as correct when she was guessing the figures even when she was incorrect, while the professor still electrically shocked the boy even when he was correct when he stated what figures they were . He makes believe as if this girl has some sort of psychic ability. However, as defined in class, one of the two kinds of parapsychology is ESP which stands for extrasensory perception. It
Distinctive voices offer many different types of perspectives of the world. This is expressed through the texts “Lady feeding the cats” and “Wombat" written by Douglas Stewart and“Shawshank redemption” also written by Frank Darabont. These notions are applied through exploration of humanity and connections between humanity and the nature. The unique interaction of the world offers us a better understanding of these perceptions.
Throughout this semester, we have primarily focused on literature that incorporates irreal elements alongside real elements. Two examples of this are “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut and “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Díaz. Both of these novels focus on realistic themes, such as war or romance troubles, but they both incorporate irreal elements as well, such as Billy Pilgrim’s Tralfamadorians or Oscar’s fukú. The irreal elements in “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” serve to emphasize the limitations of human understanding by incorporating supernatural events into otherwise realistic stories, using narrative structure and style as part of these irreal elements, and by reflecting on themselves
The human experience is a special one; The conscious human ability to observe and perceive the world in ways beyond simple or primary observation was brought upon by the rapid evolution of humans, and has helped us grow into the modern beings we are: complex; layered; empathetic, and thoughtful. With these uncommon and advanced qualities comes the realization that there are many ways of viewing our world (man’s world), for all humans develop consciousness; and each individual is shaped by the experiences, knowledge and wisdom of both themselves and others. This quarter we analyzed the theme: a different view of man’s world, through various forms of literature including: Lord of the Flies by William Golding, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka,
The primal instinct inherent in man has been demonstrated historically as well as in written works of literature. These documented accounts and fictional writings shed light on a dark, intrinsic element to man’s consciousness. In the literary works Lord of the Flies and Night, the characters are exposed to adverse conditions that overrule rationality and evoke their inherent desire for survival by recourse of savagery and violence.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
In his ancestor’s world, communal and mythical values prevail over individualism and materialism. When he is in Danville, Milkman learns that place is significant because it “makes the past real”(231). When he arrives in the South he wears a “beige three – piece suit, button down light–blue shirt and black string tie (and) beautiful Florsheim shoes”(227). But stripped of his three piece suit and dressed in worn hunting clothes he enters the woods outside Shalimar and immediately stumbles upon his uncharted self. For the first time he considers his behaviour in relation to the others: “Under the moon, on ground alone… the cocoon that was ‘personality’ – gave way…..there was nothing here to help him - not his money, his car, his father’s reputation, his suit or his shoes… His watch and his two hundred dollars would be of no help out here, where all a man had was what he was born with, or had learned to use. An endurance”(276-277). Reduced to the essentials for the first time in his life, Milkman begins to question his surroundings and as he listens, noise becomes language or “what there was before language”(278). Milkman here comprehends a mythic dimension as he reaches back toward a time when humans and animals shared
The theme of this story is actually stated in the story if it is read carefully and Crane reinforces it innumerable times. The theme of the story is man’s role in nature and is related to the reader through the use of color imagery, cynicism, human brotherhood, and the terrible beauty and savagery of nature. The story presents the idea that every human faces a voyage throughout life and must transition from ignorance to comprehension of mankind’s place in the universe and among other humans.
Romantic literature, at its very essence, attempts to deal with the subject of human nature (Wang, 2011). Both Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Herman Melville’s ‘Moby-Dick,’ being Romantic texts, each offer their own perspective on the true essence of humanity. While their perspectives are largely similar due to the era they originated in, with both reasoning that humanity possesses an excessive pride in the desire to exceed its limits that is capable of immense devastation and corruption of others (Penguin Group, 2011; Ross, 2001), they are also somewhat different when it comes to the ability characters possess to recognise the damage they cause (eNotes.com, 2010; Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2010), a separating factor that differentiates just how destructive each author believes human nature can be (Kim, 2011).
Supernatural elements – religious figures and activities, ghosts, witches, and anthropomorphized animals among others – have been used throughout the history of literature from its origins in oral folktales to Shakespeare’s plays to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. Throughout the history of literature, supernatural elements have been useful in developing themes that reflect the nature of humanity. Supernatural elements are often used to outline and comment on conflict and power struggles: both within the plot of the work and within society at the time of the work’s publication. These otherworldly components are also commonly used to adapt, expand upon, and make a work of literature more applicable to its settings. Supernatural elements also play a r...