Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Monsters in literature essay
Music therapy for depression essay
Music therapy and its effects on adolescents with depression
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Monsters in literature essay
What do you imagine when the word “monster” is said? I imagine my attention being drawn to a purple body with gold scales that reflect the sunlight. But more noticeably is the monster’s gigantic head. It is very unproportional to the rest of its body. The first thing I notice on his head is the razor-edged teeth projecting from its mouth. His teeth, however, are as white as pearls, making them the most attractive thing on his face. His lips are as thin thread. The monster’s large eyes stare at you making you feel fearful and nervous. When the monster’s body stands up straight, it stands as tall as a bear. The monster’s thick purple and black fur makes it look chubby, however, it’s figure is actually very slim. One distinguishing characteristic, …show more content…
Any chance it has, it will attack. It won’t only attack harmful things, but even innocent people. You could say he has the disorder, bipolarism. Not only is he bipolar, he also has an alter ego. One day he could be as nice as can be, and the next day he could be a serial killer wanting to kill you and everyone else in his path. There is one way you can tell which personality he is taking on. To figure this out, stare at him straight in the eyes. If he looks either way he will most likely be a calm and innocent monster. If he stares at you right back in the eyes, you better start running. I can’t figure out whether these disorders are from depression, loneliness, or anger. This monster has always been on the planet. You may have noticed him on the news for killing many lives of innocent people. On the other hand, you may have seen him on the news for doing good deeds. Additionally, he lives in a house just like you and me. He can only make sounds. He tries to talk, but gets frustrated very easily and gives up. To calm himself down, he turns to music to take his mind off it. Since he can't sing to the music, he dances instead. This monster tries to act like a human, but is facing many difficulties due to his alter ego and bipolar getting him into
In this particular case, Mr. Jock’s symptoms have met criteria for an episode of mania, which is characterized by a period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting for at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day (DSM-5, Criterion A of Manic Episode). During this period, the patient should be significantly experiencing at least three or more symptoms of inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, more talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking, flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing, distractibility, increased in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation, and/or excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (DSM-5, Criterion B of Manic Episode).
The monster tends to live the same day over and over again. It begins by it being curious about its identity and uses pain and touch to discover more about itself. Then, rather than looking in a puddle to see its appearance,
Critic Northrop Frye says, “Tragic heroes tower as the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, the great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning”. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein greatly exhibits the theme of the consequence of knowledge and irresponsibility among others through its tragic hero, Victor Frankenstein. Northrop Frye’s quote is certainly true when looking at Frankenstein’s situation. Victor is a victim of his divine lightning, and ultimately causes much trouble for himself; however, Victor also serves as the tragic hero in the lives of the monster, his family, and his friends.
The creature’s reflections over his own existence are penetrating and reach to the heart of the matter:”My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come?
Psychologically, mania is described as a mood disorder characterized by euphoric states ,extreme physical activity ,excessive talkativeness, distractedness, and sometimes grandiosity. During manic periods a person becomes "high" extremely active , excessively talkative, and easily distracted. During these periods the affected person's self esteem is also often greatly inflated. These people often become aggressive and hostile to others as their self confidence becomes more and more inflated and exaggerated. In extreme cases (like Hamlet's) the manic person may become consistently wild or violent until he or she reaches the point of exhaustion. Manic depressives often function on little or no sleep during their episodes.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
Throughout several myths, monsters are described as many diverse creatures. At first glance, they all seem very distinctive. However, each monster is like a combination of several qualities and characteristics that are matched in different ways to form the monsters that appear in myths such as Hercules, Bellerophon, and Perseus. All monsters have very distinct looks that make them inferior to humans. Generally, they are a mixture of two or more different animals such as snakes, lions, or humans and they may have multiple heads. For example, Cerberus was a horrific three-headed dog that had the tail of a dragon and his back was covered with snakes. Several monsters have some part of them from a snake. Snakes symbolize an evil quality and that is why many monsters are forms of them. Cerberus had his whole back covered in snakes and a dragon tail. Both of these are snake-like parts that contribute to Cerberus looking terrifying. His tail is from a dragon which is very similar to a snake and his back is filled with snakes like fur. The Hydra of Lerna is also an im...
The theme in a piece of literature is the main idea or insight on characters. Most pieces of literature do not limit itself to one but many other themes all collected into one. This is just like in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This horrifying story was produced in 1818 and has several themes that she portrays throughout. The theme of dangerous knowledge is unmistakably seen theme in Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see this theme through three of the main characters, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. We can see how their desire for knowledge can take them places and show them eventually what they are looking for. Sooner or later it will take them to dangerous and unwanted places. The desire for knowledge can eventually lead one to its grave. Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this theme of dangerous knowledge.
In gothic novels tragic figures are symbols of pain to the characters. Victor Frankenstein brings misfortune to his loved ones, which concludes to his overall tragedy. Ironically the monster in this novel is Frankenstein the creator not the creature. He has seven victims including himself and his fall is due to his ambition to be superior.
In “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)”, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen examines and defines monsters in seven related theses regarding their purpose, actions, and appearance. Cohen also uses monsters created in the media and evaluates their implication. One of the first theses discussed the fact that a monster’s body “incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy” which in turn gives them independence. (Cohen 456) This independence derives from the monster’s freedom to free; the monster already has a fixed purpose. The monster knows what it is here for: to be feared, hated, desired, etc. Cohen then goes on to proclaim that a monster’s body is a “construct and a projection” that only exists to reveal and warn us about things to come; stating that the monster always signifies “something other than itself”. (Cohen 456) . Using Cohen’s theory on
Throughout every individuals life there are experiences of unfair judgments based on someone’s appearance. While this is never a good thing, it is an action that everyone takes part in, whether it is purposeful or not. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s message is very clear as she illustrates the cruel events that take place in a society focused only on outside beauty. The central message that Shelley communicates with Frankenstein, is that while appearance is just one of an individuals many characteristics; it is always a factor they are judged on regardless of all the other qualities they may possess.
As a response to the Enlightenment movement in 18th century Europe, Romanticism gradually began to undermine the way people thought about human consciousness and nature itself. Appreciation of the natural beauty of the world and pure, human emotion bloomed in Europe as Romanticism’s influence grew ("Topic Page: Romanticism”). Romantics valued Individualism and thought that being close to nature would make them closer to God (Morner and Rausch). People also searched for solace in nature to overcome the adversities and cynicisms that followed the French Revolution ("French Revolution."). Romanticism and Romantic ideals influenced Mary Shelley, and that influence can be seen throughout her novel Frankenstein. The two main characters, Victor Frankenstein
Imagine this: your eyes spring open at three in the morning. You sit up anxiously and look around the dark room, inhaling and exhaling as if you just ran for your life, the skin of your forehead and the soles of your hands damp with cool sweat, and eyes darting form the shadows in the corners of the room, at the silhouette of the lamp by the window, briefly at your door, after a nightmare so horrible that you know you will be unable to sleep peacefully through the resto of the night. This is the effect that an encounter with a monster could have on a person. A monster is a man who is a primarily-benighted individual, and an extremely manipulable individual, that lacks a loving parental
The monster tried to understand the meaning of “beauty”. He somewhat understood why people he had interacted with had treated him ill, and he realized that it was because they were frightened by his hideous appearance. “The absolute other cannot be selfed, that the monster has properties which will not be constrained by proper measure”(Spivak). This goes back to the idea of “other”, now the monster himself understands that he is different from human, that he doesn’t have the properties as human do so he must be interior to them.
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).