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Similarities of the Human Spirit in Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Grey
The human spirit is one of the most beautiful forces in the world, but it is also one of the most vulnerable. In the novels Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, this idea of the human spirit is portrayed clearly. Both novels have similar aspects about the human spirit, but they also have their differences. Both novels have main characters who are influenced greatly by someone that they admire, and they are destroyed by that influence. The difference that these novels have is that in Frankenstein, the main character is influenced and destroyed by something he creates himself, while in The Picture of Dorian Grey, the main character is influenced and destroyed by his friend and mentor. Again, both novels portray the human spirit's motivation and vulnerability.
In the novel Frankenstein, Victor, the main character, is driven to insanity and death by his motivation, his own creation. He dedicates all of his time and knowledge to create a living human being from dead tissue. This "monster" becomes his motivation and influence throughout the rest of the novel. Victor blames himself and feels guilt for all of th...
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... Dorian converses with Lord Henry, and takes everything that Lord Henry said seriously, even though not everything that Lord Henry said was right.
Basically, the difference that these two novels have over the idea that the human spirit is a very strong, but vulnerable force is that a person's motivation to do something great and his infatuation with that great thing will influence the spirit greatly, sometimes totally, and that believing in someone and somebody so much, no matter what they say, you will listen to them and let them have total control over you and your actions, even though that influence probably doesn't know that.
When people hear genocide they normally think of the Holocaust which was the persecution of Jews by the Nazi’s. This took place under Adolf Hitler’s rule but there have been other genocides throughout history. The Armenian Genocide is one of the many that have taken place. It took place in the Ottoman Empire between the years of 1914 to 1918 (“Armenian” Armenian). It started when the “Young Turks” took control of the government (Beecroft). The Holocaust and Armenian genocide are similar in the reasons that started them, but they are different in who was involved and how the two genocides were executed.
The basic core of the show is that the apocalypse is not entirely different than normal life. When people are put into situations that are new, there are various reactions. Some will bring their old values and beliefs, others will evolve into something they did not even know they were capable of. A few will find out they are more capable and valuable in a civilization such as this than they were before. When it comes down to it, authority figures can come from anywhere, people of power will fight to provide for themselves, and no one is safe from anything in a zombie apocalypse.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
In Frankenstein, Victor’s monster suffers much loneliness and pain at the hands of every human he meets, as he tries to be human like them. First, he is abandoned by his creator, the one person that should have accepted, helped, and guided him through the confusing world he found himself in. Next, he is shunned wherever he goes, often attacked and injured. Still, throughout these trials, the creature remains hopeful that he can eventually be accepted, and entertains virtuous and moral thoughts. However, when the creature takes another crushing blow, as a family he had thought to be very noble and honorable abandons him as well, his hopes are dashed. The monster then takes revenge on Victor, killing many of his loved ones, and on the humans who have hurt him. While exacting his revenge, the monster often feels guilty for his actions and tries to be better, but is then angered and provoked into committing more wrongdoings, feeling self-pity all the while. Finally, after Victor’s death, the monster returns to mourn the death of his creator, a death he directly caused, and speaks about his misery and shame. During his soliloquy, the monster shows that he has become a human being because he suffers from an inner conflict, in his case, between guilt and a need for sympathy and pity, as all humans do.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly explores the concept of the body, life, ‘the self’ and most of importantly humanity, which is repeatedly questioned throughout the novel. The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane or in other words someone that can feel or possess compassion. Despite all the facts against the “monster” in “Frankenstein” he is indeed what one would consider being human. Humanity isn’t just about ones physical appearance but also includes intellect and emotion. Some people argue that the “monster” is not a human for he was not a creature that was born from “God” or from a human body. That being said, the “monster” is not only able to speak different languages, he can also show empathy - one of many distinct traits that set humans apart from the animals. Both the “monster” and his creator, Victor, hold anger and feel a sense of suffering throughout the novel. Victor is a good person with good intentions just like most individuals, but makes the mistake of getting swept up into his passion of science and without thinking of the consequences he creates a “monster”. After completing his science project, he attempts to move forward with his life, however his past – i.e., the “monster” continues to follow and someone haunt him. While one shouldn’t fault or place blame on Frankenstein for his mistakes, you also can’t help but feel somewhat sympathetic for the creature. Frankenstein just wants to feel accepted and loved, he can’t help the way he treats people for he’s only mimicking how people have treated him, which in most cases solely based on his appearance. Unlike most of the monsters we are exposed to in films past and present, the character of the “monster” ...
After Frankenstein discovered the source of human life, he became wholly absorbed in his experimental creation of a human being. Victor's unlimited ambition, his desire to succeed in his efforts to create life, led him to find devastation and misery. "...now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished..." (Shelley 51). Victor's ambition blinded him to see the real dangers of his project. This is because ambition is like a madness, which blinds one self to see the dangers of his actions. The monster after realizing what a horror he was demanded that victor create him a partner. "I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was like torture..." (Shelley 169). Victor's raw ambition, his search for glory, has left him. His eyes have been opened to see his horrible actions, and what have and could become of his creations. As a result, Victor has realized that he is creating a monster, which could lead to the downfall of mankind. His choice is simple, save his own life or save man.
In conclusion, the organized manner in which the Armenian genocide was carried out made it easy for the Ottoman Empire to rationalize their actions. Since an act of genocide is very calculated only a government has the resources to carry it out. In case of the Armenian genocide the Ottoman Empire’s strong military facilitated the murders that occurred. The actions of the Ottoman Empire were rationalized as the preservation and purification of Turkish nationalism. Majority of Armenian diaspora communities came as a result of the Armenian genocide. The denial of the Armenian Genocide is still an issue till this day.
Victor Frankenstein, the monster’s creator, is the victim of his own pride. An ego unchecked is a dangerous thing. But in truth, it really just shows Victor’s humanity. He is privileged, educated, talented, loved, adored, but he is not perfect. His flaw is his own ego and pride. Without doubt, this is the result of a childhood where he was overindulged. Overindulged to the extent he was given a little girl “Elizabeth” as a “present”, whom he considered from childhood “mine only” (Shelley 21). Little wonder the twenty year old Victor would think he could create, control and command life. But Victor as with any indulged child did not take the time to learn much from his parents about parenting and fath...
Ethnic Armenians have resided in the Middle Eastern region of the world since approximately 3500 BC. Armenians lived and still live in many Middle Eastern countries such as Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the republic of Georgia. Armenians have their own language and alphabet and have a very unique culture, which has set them apart from other countries and ethnic groups. In 300 AD, there was not a single nation who had Christianity as their national religion. “Following the advent of Christianity, Armenia became the very first nation to accept it as the state religion.” Armenian pride in their culture and way of life never wavered, even throughout being conquered by different nations. Armenian lands were taken over by many different nations on several different occasions, but they finally ended up in the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s, when ...
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
The Turkish government had a reason to get rid of the Armenians. In the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were second class citizens that lived in harmony with the Turks before the forces of nationalism came into the picture. Even though the Armenians had to face higher taxes and second class citizenship, they were treated and accepted pretty well. When nationalism took over, things began to change. The Ottoman Empire began to fall and the Armenians were considered to be the only major Christian minority since all the other minorities had gained their independence already. The Ottoman Empire became known as the "sick man of Europe". An empire that was once strong and an independent power, was now starting to collapse. The Turks had an envision of spreading new-Pan Turkic empire to Central Asia and the only thing that came in the way of doing so was the Armenians. Because of this, Turks wanted to get rid of the Armenians. Sultan Hamid II ruled the Ottoman Empire and because of him, the empire was saved and did not fall. Despite saving the Ottoman Empire, Hamid ordered th...
Many readers have sympathised with Frankenstein’s creation, the unnamed monster, because he is badly treated by most people who he comes across. Victor created the monster with dead body parts that he got though grave robbing once he got all of the parts it took him 2 years to build a body. Victor is very obsessed with his work because he would not let any one help him or see him his fiancée is very worried he might be doing something he would regret.
He created a life, and then spontaneously he quickly decided to run away from his creation. Victor’s actions after creating what he created were really irresponsible, and did not correctly took care of the circumstance’s he put himself in. The creation was never actually evil, but he felt abandoned by what could had been called his father. Frankenstein, the monster, was only a seeker for companionship. He strongly desired to feel loved, rather than abandoned. Society’s evil behavior toward the monster is what altered the monster’s conduct and followed to how he acted.
Monstrosity is not just defined by disfigurement, but also by the actions and obsessions of man. Most, if not all, tales of monsters often came about as exaggerations of sins and immoral actions. Others see men who become too obsessed with the idea of overstepping their own humanity and playing God as monsters in society. Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray reflect this idea. While the painting and the creation mirror the monstrous nature and the sin Gray and Frankenstein enact throughout the course of each novel, both Dorian Gray and Victor Frankenstein are the true monsters.