Family Values and Frankenstein My greatest memories are of my mother making pear pies, my father letting me help to fix the bathroom sink, and sitting down to dinner together. We don't always get along or support each other when we need it most, but I consider myself lucky to have two parents who love me and try to give me what I need to survive in this world. While my family is not perfect I appreciate what I do have in comparison to the monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. With no father, mother, love, or acceptance, the monster is cast out into a world which judges him on his hideous appearance. He has no one to learn from or look to for advice, like I and most other American children do. Times have changed since our parents were children and families today face different challenges than those of a decade or two ago. Over the past few decades the concept of family has been revolutionized. A "traditional" family no longer consists of two parents of the opposite sex in which the father is the "breadwinner," and the mother stays at home to raise the children. Today's family is as diverse as the world it must exist in. The important thing about today's family is that success does not just happen; a strong family takes effort. The "secret" to attaining a strong family, according to the 1985 book Secrets of Strong Families, by Nick Stinnett and John Defrain, involves commitment, appreciation, communication, time, spiritual wellness, and coping ability (14). While this seems like a six-step program, it makes a lot of sense. The family must come first in family, thus, commitment. Sexual fidelity, traditions, and sacrifice make a family stronger by creating close ties with the family members (Defrain and Stinnett 21-39). Appreciation involves the children doing the dishes every once in a while, surprising your wife with flowers, or a trip to McDonalds. Communication is key in any type of relationship, especialy in a family. No one wants to be alone in this world, and communication helps to build a sense of belonging and solve problems (Defrain and Stinnett 62-63). Spending "quality" time together is important for a family.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, values of society are clearly expressed. In this particular society and culture, a great value is placed on ideologies of individuals and their contribution to society. In order to highlight these values, Shelley utilizes the character of Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the main character of the novel, and with his alienation, he plays a significant role that reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values of individualism and use in society. This is done through Victor’s actions of self-inflicted isolation.
American psychologist and well renowned author Jerome Kagan states “Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form.” The topic of nature vs. nurture is highly known to the English literature community and is classified as a major aspect of gothic works. In the novel Frankenstein the author Mary Shelley uses the monster’s constant rejection from society to demonstrate that an individual’s traits are affected more by their environment and their surroundings than by nature.
Shelley’s mother died eleven days after Mary was born ( Britton 4). Like Mary Shelley, the monster was born motherless, and this deeply affected him. The monster proclaimed, “no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses” (Shelley 86). Just as the monster longed for a family connection, so did Shelley. Barbara D’amato wrote, “The unconscious conflicts and psychic experiences of loss and of longing for connection are captured and revealed in the orphaned character of Mary Shelley’s fictional story, Frankenstein (118). Shelley and the monster also share the struggle of feeling abandoned and hated by their fathers. Shelley’s father abandoned her twice during her life. The first time was when Shelley was a young child. Shelley believed that her stepmother was interfering with Shelley’s and her father’s relationship, and this jealousy caused conflict between the family members. Shelley’s father later sent her to live somewhere else. When Shelley was older, her father disapproved of her decision to elope with Percy Shelley which resulted in him disowning Mary. This abandonment left Shelley with the feeling that there was something terribly wrong with her (D’Amato 126). The monster was also abandoned by Frankenstein, or the man that can be considered his father. The monster explained to Frankenstein why he had become the violent being that he was, when he told Victor, “Believe me Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?” (Shelley
"Victor Frankenstein, does not live up to his role model. He lacks compassion for his creation" (Madigan 3)
The most compelling data that we have shows the change in our American family structure. Day there are alarming number of children with mental disorders and children being raised in single parent homes has increased. In both areas it is shown that we need more preventive care (Petersmeyer 1989). Other statistics are equally troubling: each day in the United States, 3,600 students drop out of high school, and 2,700 unwed teenage girls get pregnant (Petersmeyer 1989). As a society we have a responsibility to our youth to help them become strong adults. My grandmother was always telling me that it takes more then the immediate family to raise a child well, if a child is to be rear well it takes a whole community contribution.
Frankenstein has been a classic for many years, and for many years to come. It strikes me to be one of the few horror stories one can actually read without vomiting, and instead, sympathize with. The book deals with a handful of things, as the moral dilemmas of interfering with nature. But, is it possible to connect this horror story with today's society?
Walter wants to have enough money to provide for his family and get them out of the horrible conditions they live in. He hopes to open a liquor store with his friends in order to have enough money for his family but his friend ends up taking the money and he looses all of those hopes. A major thing throughout the story is the gender roles of each character and how they differ. Walter is the man of the house when his father dies. He has to take care of everyone and he thinks money will do that. He starts to get into arguments with everyone and he always thinks he is right. During this time, men always thought they were right, even when they were completely wrong. When he realizes he can’t do it alone, he begins to understand his wife, mom and sister and wants to do what is best for
Since the 20th century, researchers have sought out solutions to help assist families and the individual components that make up family systems overcome the challenges and schisms that can inhibit individuation and stability. Two theoretical perspectives, the family-systems theory and the family-development theory, were conceived to gain as Balswick & Balswick (2014) noted, gain “a wide-angle view of family life” (p. 22). Though these two theories have merit, one I found to be more advantageous in gaining a better understanding of the family as an actively metastasizing organism, which needs to be approached more adaptively.
The novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is a work of fiction that breaks the ethics of science. Ethics is defined as rules of conduct or moral principles which are ignored in the story. The story is about a person named Victor Frankenstein who creates an artificial being. Victor abandons the being out of fear and the being is left to discover the outside world on his own and be rejected by people making the monster go on a violent rampage. Victor’s decision would affect him later on by the monster killing his loved ones causing Victor to suffer. Then Victor chooses to seek revenge on the monster and this choice will bring him to his death. In novel Frankenstein one might say that the main character, Victor, breaks the ethics of science when he plays God by creating his own being.
It is obvious that Mary Shelley’s own troubled family relationships are strongly suggested through the relationships in Frankenstein. Mary herself was isolated and left without family. She had no present father figure, and her mother died four weeks after giving birth. This left Mary without healthy morals (as they relate to a relationship with a male), and is an obvious explanation of Mary’s choice of involving herself with “the psychotic, Percy Bysshe Shelley, who deserted his first wife, carried on sexual liaisons with a variety of women while blithering “Platonic” nonsense.” (Cervo 15) She draws attention to the parental responsibility to teach your offspring to correctly participate in society. Mary’s parental figures obviously affected her relationships, and she suffered for it. “Shelley seemed to be all the men in Mary’s mother’s life rolled up into one, the drunkenness of the ne’er-do-well grandfather taking the form of intoxication..” (Cervo 15) She suggests that isolation and...
Family Today What is a family today? What challenges does being a member of a family present while traditional family structures change? Every family has to struggle to balance the demands of work and children. Also the relationship between each spouse can become more delicate and complicated. Besides, the single parent has to face even more challenges than any other.
Global warming is the increase of the average global temperature in the Earth 's atmosphere. Man-Made global warming has been a topic f controversial issue for many decades now. There are many theories as to why there has beem such a drastic change in the Earth 's atmosphere throughout the years. Global warming is indeed a product of humanities ' careless activities. The theories presented have ignited many debates amongst scientists and the increase in temperature has been the fuel that has kept them going on for so long. According to multiple scientists, humans are the ones responsible for the alarming change in the Earth 's atmospheric temperature. These scientists also fear that human activity will result in long term consequential problems
According to Mental Health Professional Michelle Blessing, “there is no right or wrong answers when it comes to what is the best type of family structure. As long as a family is filled with love and support for one another, it tends to be successful and thrive. Families need to do what is best for each other and themselves, and that can be achieved in almost any unit” (Blessing). Families offer companionship, security, and a measure of protection against an often uncaring world, but family structure has undergone significant changes since World War II. Variations in family structure are now plentiful -- and yet often still quite successful. Whatever the family situation, whatever the familial structure, it will have tremendous and unique influence upon the child’s happiness, development, and future.
The advancement of technology has brought many convenience and benefits into our lives. Gone were the days when the older generations are needed to walk hundreds and hundreds of miles just to reach a destination and feel very tired and exhausted in the end. During this modern age, we can reach the destination in a very short time and without much energy wasted too. But as we become more dependent to technology, we often abuse it. The rate of factories and automobile being built has increased drastically throughout the years. This has lead to a very worrying problem that is seriously affecting our planet lately; this problem is known as Global Warming. Global warming as its name states is a global phenomenon with a number of effects that is
To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.