Though the perceptions and values of society have dramatically altered over the years, the unbridled thirst for power, rampant pursuit of knowledge and usurpation of the Divine has preserved and withstood the test of time. Published during the birth of the Industrial Revolution and the ending of the Romantic era, Mary Shelley’s 1818 Promethean-esque, Frankenstein, was a epistlatory novel written ahead of its time. Similarly, in the beginning of a capitalistic-consumerist and technologically ruled society, Ridley Scott’s film noir motion picture, Blade Runner, was officially released in 1992. While both textual adaptations are partitioned by nearly 200 years, various aspects of mankind are explored in each, mirroring their societal context. …show more content…
The fall of humanity may be a consequence of man’s dangerous pursuit of knowledge, a desire to obtain unbridled power, which if abused may lead to a dystopian future.
Shelley’s “Frankenstein” was written in early 19th century England at a time when Romanticism was challenging aspects of scientific discovery and rationalism uncovered during the Enlightenment. In particular, through the depiction of the protagonist’s rampant thirst for knowledge, Shelley warns us of the exploitations of technology, as Victor the protagonist warns Walton that he should; “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge…”. Not only does this foreshadow Victor’s downfall, it also ironic, as Victor was only looking to benefit mankind by breaking, what he thought, was the imaginary boundary between life and death. Instead, he ends up performing the exact opposite by creating an abomination. Frankenstein’s aversion to his creation is obvious, as it is highlighted in a conversation between Frankenstein’s brother and himself, in which Frankenstein states, “often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation.” “It was a most beautiful season…but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature.” Frankenstein seems to represent an amalgamation of both passion and reason, Rationalism and Romanticism, and Shelley shows how someone gripped by both genius and passion can become intoxicated with a thirst for power and emotion that will …show more content…
eventually lead to destruction. Equally, Ridley’s warning of the dangers in relation to pursuing power are evident within the expansive overshot of Los Angeles in 2019, painting a dark and polluted world lit by the bright lights of corporate advertisements – such as Coca Cola – a representation of a dreary and miserable future dominated by commercialism and materialism. An eye level shot of a darkly lit room is shown in one of the first scenes, and represents the bleakness of the times. Ridley uses film noir and a wide angled shot to portray the various figures of technology and the absence of nature. By making note of the growth in, Scott positions us to reconsider the consequences of exceeding our limits as mankind when greed overwhelms us. capitalism It is evident that the composers of “Bladerunner” and “Frankenstein” believe that usurping the role of the Creator will lead to humanity’s fall and punishment.
As “Frankenstein” was composed during a time of rampant scientific development and a decreasing belief in God, Shelley uses an extended metaphor and biblical allusions to represent the act of Victor creating the monster as God creating Lucifer, the fallen angel. The quote, “I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel” exemplifies this idea and foreshadows the downfall of Frankenstein for defying God and the divine, whilst embracing science. In the metaphor, “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds… I should break through” the usurpation of the Divine is emphasised; Victor’s hubristic ambitions criticises features of the Enlightenment attempting to control nature and is demonstrated in
Galvanism. Likewise, at the time of the release of Blade Runner there was conflict in regards to cloning. Ridley used Blade Runner to caution against man’s effort to surpass God. The low angle shot of the distinctly pyramidal outline of the Tyrell Corporation building depicts Tyrell as a power hungry man, who just as the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs constructed enormous pyramids for tombs believing they were Gods. The juxtaposition of the vast and bleak landscape of the city with the bright lights of the Tyrell Corporation also shows that science has taken the position of religion. However, Ridley Scott alludes to religion, particularly Christianity, through biblical connotations such as when in the final scenes Roy is shown rescuing the pursuing Deckard. This exemplifies Roy’s transition from Lucifer to a Christ-like figure, with the nail in Roy’s hands further illustrating the how he sacrificed himself, just as Christ did, for others. Thus a dystopian society may occur through one’s rampant thirst for power, the chaos and destruction caused by man’s hunger to rule. This is illustrated through the composers attempt to challenge the audience’s conception of what it means to be human in their respective works by constructing an artificial being and granting them what would be considered human like characteristics such as a longing to belong, emotion and a desire to be loved. Though, despite their differing contexts and time periods, Frankenstein and Blade Runner both suggest similar issues in relation to pursuit of power and the usurpation of the Divine, which may result in the fall of humanity; a dystopian society as portrayed in both texts. In conclusion, the comparative study of the two textual adaptations accentuates their distinctive contexts through the issues engrained within the nature of mankind, thus, remaining constant even as society and its values inexorably shift and modify.
A wave of mixed emotions arises as the pages of novels alike Frankenstein and The Kite Runner are turned. In the spectrum of morality, the authors, who are separated by years marked with societal developments, bond over their necessity to redeem past sins. Both, a hideous creature and a young Hazara boy, are victimized by the claws of prejudice and the scarcity of a sound home-- the relevant incidents that create interest in the narratives. Set in Afghanistan during the late 20th century, The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir and Hassan's friendship, the hardships of betrayal, and the ultimate attempt to glue the broken pieces together. As prevalent themes, sin and redemption are found in Amir's lifelong regret of being a witness to Hassan’s
Many similarities can be found between Mary Shelley's 1816 novel, Frankenstein and the 1982 movie Bladerunner . The number of similarities between these two works, created more than two hundred years apart, is staggering. A cursory look at both works reveals these similarities:
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was first published in 1818 in an increasing secular British society, after the French revolution but the beginning of Industrial Revolution and during a period of technological and scientific advancement. Over 150 years later, Ridley Scott released Blade Runner, a film set in the 2019. The influence of the Cold War, capitalism and rising consumerism and uncontrollable scientific developments in areas of cloning, came together to form a dystopian world. Despite the differing contexts, values such as man's fascination with creating life, an obsession with science and discovery and the importance of parental responsibility are present in both texts, essentially representing Mary Shelley in the 1800s and Ridley Scott in the 20thcentury. The universality of such values are how each text broke through boundaries of their time, thus leading to being viewed as valuable. Shelley and Scott’s concerns for such issues lead to not being critically acclaimed at the time.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley scrutinizes the Enlightenment era’s pursuit for progress and knowledge as it is seen as morally chaotic for overstepping the natural order idealised by the Romantics. Victor F’Stein’s amibition to overpower the boundaries of nature by attempting to take up God’s role as the creator is enunciated in the metaphor “many excellent natures should owe their being to me”. Victor’s hubris and ambition reflects aspects of the Enlightenment – Shelley criticises the attempts of the age to control and empower natural processes, embodied in Galvani’s experimentation with animal electricity. Victor F’Stein represents humanity’s hubristic ambitions and fondness of knowledge. Shelley uses intertextual reference by characterising F’Stein as the “Modern Day Prometheus”. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus usurped the natural order by the creation of man. Prometheus was punished for for this crime eternally – an eagle eating from his liver; the implications are that nature is having its revenge for upsetting hierarchal order. However, Vi...
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, illustrates the Romantic idea of the sublime naturalworld as an emotional experience for the characters of the novel. Within the text, Shelleyutilizes an allusion to the John Milton’s biblical story, Paradise Lost, to make a parallel betweenthe characters. Within the passage, the monster compares himself, as well as his creator, Victor,to the characters Adam and Satan. He comes to realize that he is more similar to Satan;ultimately, leading him to his reign of terror and the revenge he wishes to impose on Victor. Themonster realizes that he is similar to Adam in Paradise Lost in that they both do not want to bealone. The monster also realizes that there is good in the world that is deeply contrasted with
BR depicts the hunger of mankind to break the barriers of humane principle and intrinsic concepts of nature. The extended irony in the film paradoxically gifts the artificial replicants with more emotions than humans, much like the monster in Frankenstein. Made in 1982 at a time of global de-stabilization, consumerism and a flux of migration, disaffection was a major concern in society, and Scott used this to predict a futuristic environment.
To begin our analysis, I will look to how Mary Shelley positions Victor Frankenstein's motivations to create life against natural laws within the ideas of individualism, as Victor can correlate directly to the educated human at the center of Enlightenment, Industrialism, and Romanticism values. With the burgeoning interest in scientific discovery during the Industrial Revolution "transform[ing] British culture" and "changing the world"(Lipking 2065), many concepts of society were also changed, which Shelley looked to explore through Victor's actions. Rooted in the scientifically curious spirit of Industrial England, Victor's attempt to create life can show many examples of how an importance of the individual acquisition of knowledge and accomplishment can disrupt society. Victor's...
The most important religious comparison in Frankenstein, are the outstanding similarities between Victor as God and the monster as Lucifer. This idea is proven by the monster in the quote where he states, " I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed." Broken down, this quote shows us that the monster feels that he is the neglected creation and that he has been created to be unhappy, although he has committed no wrongdoing, and he doesn't deserve to be mistreated by society. As it goes in the bible, God created Lucifer as the most brilliant and beautiful angel in the sky with good intentions, but Lucifer turned his back on his creator and began a notorious streak of evil as the "malignant devil." Now if the role of God is switched with that of Victor, and the role of Lucifer is switched with that of the monster, the story is retold in almost the same context. Now to prove that this is not just farfetched speculation, the monster even says in his quote that he ought to be Adam, God's successful creation, rather than the fallen angel (Lucifer). Among other quotes in which the monster deigns Victor as [his] creator, this is a powerful novel reference and this quote beautifully shows the direct motif of religious role-playing in Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
Romantic writer Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein does indeed do a lot more than simply tell story, and in this case, horrify and frighten the reader. Through her careful and deliberate construction of characters as representations of certain dominant beliefs, Shelley supports a value system and way of life that challenges those that prevailed in the late eighteenth century during the ‘Age of Reason’. Thus the novel can be said to be challenging prevailant ideologies, of which the dominant society was constructed, and endorsing many of the alternative views and thoughts of the society. Shelley can be said to be influenced by her mothers early feminist views, her father’s radical challenges to society’s structure and her own, and indeed her husband’s views as Romantics. By considering these vital influences on the text, we can see that in Shelley’s construction of the meaning in Frankenstein she encourages a life led as a challenge to dominant views.
As time goes on, many things tend to change, and then they begin to inherit completely different images. Over the years, the character, created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s famous novel, has changed dramatically. The monster, regularly called “Frankenstein,” has been featured in numerous films, such as Frankenweenie and Edward Scissorhands. Although, the characters in today’s pop culture and the monster in the well-known 1800’s novel have similarities, they are actually very different. The many similarities and differences range from the character’s physical traits and psychological traits, the character’s persona, and the character’s place in the Gothic style.
As creators of another creature, God and Victor Frankenstein are very similar, in that they both lose part of their "family," and they let the war between them and their creations go on too long. Victor says, " I collected bones from charnel houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame." This shows that he creates the monster out of corpses, just as God creates Satan. Furthermore, Victor is disgusted with his own creation, "the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." Victor rejects the monster, similar to God's disgust with Satan's pride. The monster wreaks havoc on the Victor's life, "; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval," leaving him with a burden of guilt, just as God loses his angels to Satan, Victor loses his family and friends to the monster. Victor at some point feels even more guilt because he didn't destroy the monster earlier. If God could so easily order the fallen angels to be pushed out of Heaven, why did he let the war go on for three days? This truly is remarkable, two novels of different time periods, with characters of startling resemblance.
The monster of the novel is often misattributed with the name, “Frankenstein.” However, Victor Frankenstein can ultimately be considered the true monster of this tale. His obsession would lead to the corruption of his soul and the creation of two monsters—one himself, and the other, the creature. In attempting to take on the role of God, nature would become a monster to Victor and destroy his life. These elements of monstrosity in Frankenstein drive the meaning of its story.
Robert Walton is the captain of a ship heading north, he writes to his sister Margaret in England. He gets trapped in ice and eventually spots Victor Frankenstein trapped in ice. Walton helps Frankenstein get his health back and Frankenstein eventually tells Walton about the creature that he created.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818 during the Romanticism era. Romanticism describes the period of time from the late 18th century to the mid 19th century. This period was seen as a response to the Enlightenment; overall there was an increase in the desire to understand the world in an objective matter (lecture). Though Romanticism is commonly viewed as a literary and artistic movement, Mary Shelley gives evidence on the development of Europe in a historical sense through her novel, Frankenstein. Through the motifs and personal experiences of her characters, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives insight on scientific development, emerging roles of women, and how the individual is viewed the