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Now and then character analysis
Now and then character analysis
Now and then character analysis
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Before I get started, just stop and think. In majority of the books and movies that have been made, the hero always defeats the villain and everyone celebrates. With this in mind, have you ever stopped and thought about how the villain feels, what their backstory was, why they became evil? Did anyone ever show sympathy for the villain and not just the hero in a book, or a movie. In the next few paragraphs, I will be talking to you about why the reader might feel sympathetic for Dracula, who is the blood sucking villain in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Frankenstein, who is the horrid, murderer of many, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
To begin with, let’s talk about how the reader might feel sympathetic for the appalling, blood-sucking vampire,
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Dracula. Dracula was originally a king named Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler before he became a vampire due to the death of his wife. Moving forwards, the Christians were at war, and Vlad the Impaler’s wife was somehow tricked by the enemy convincing her that her husband was dead. Due to this, she took her own life because she could not bear to live without her beloved husband. Furthermore, when Vlad the Impaler returned after fighting for the Christians, he found his wife lying on the ground lifeless. The priests had said that his wife would go to hell for taking her own life. For this reason, he became furious with the priests and Jesus for not taking his side, even when he was fighting for the Christians. He took out his sword, stabbed the stone crucifix in the center, and blood slowly leaked out from all around the crucifix onto the floor where his wife was lying down. He had fiercely grabbed a cup and drank the blood, which leaked out. With this intention, after that specific day, Vlad the Impaler turned into a vampire (dracula), and he needed to feed off of blood in order to survive. With this in mind, I feel sympathy for Dracula because it wasn’t his fault he faced this tragedy of his wife dying. Everyone gets furious when things don’t go as we planned, and we all have temper tantrums, and we do things we don’t intend to do. If I had suffered the same situation Dracula had, I also would be upset and I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions either. To end that, this is why I believe the reader should feel sympathetic for Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Moreover, now that we have covered why the reader might feel sympathetic for Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, let’s talk about how the reader might feel sympathetic for the abhorrent monster Frankenstein, in a well written novel.
In this novel, the hideous looking monster named Frankenstein was created by different body parts of dead humans, and brought to life by the power of electricity. Victor Frankenstein had done the impossible by bringing new life from the dead by using the power of electricity. However, the monster was lonely as he had no friends or family on planet earth. Frankenstein (the monster) decided to ask Victor Frankenstein the mad scientist, if he could make a horrific looking bride for him so he wouldn’t be lonely. Unfortunately for the monster, Victor said he would never create another monster like him ever again, especially because the monster had murdered his younger brother. In the story, the monster had tried to help a drowning child, but when the child looked at his face, she started screaming terrified. The monster was hurt, and all he wanted was someone to talk to. In the condition of Victor not creating a bride for him, the monster murdered everyone Victor knew and loved so he could feel the pain of being lonely. I can definitely understand how the monster was feeling because humans need someone to talk to. It’s hard to survive alone with no friends or family. Imagine you had just entered a new planet with no one to talk to. I would be upset and scared because I am all alone. Correspondly, this is how the monster felt, so I can understand why he murdered everyone Victor
loved. To come to a conclusion, after reading both classic, gothic novels, I felt sympathy for both Dracula and Frankenstein. In addition, in wasn’t Dracula’s fault his wife died, and it wasn’t Frankenstein’s fault he was a dreadful monster that had been created. Furthermore, Dracula wanted justice for his wife, and Frankenstein just wanted someone to talk to. I think that when you think about the two villains, you need to put yourself in their shoes and see how it feels to have everyone against you even if it wasn’t your fault. In conclusion, I felt sympathy for both Dracula in Bram stoker’s Dracula, and Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different. We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human than we think.
Victor Frankenstein: The Real Monster. & nbsp; Science is a broad field that covers many aspects of everyday life and existence. Some areas of science include the study of the universe, the environment, dinosaurs, animals, and insects. Another popular science is the study of people and how they function. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is an inspiring scientist who studies the dead. He wants to be the first person to give life to a dead human being. He spends all of his Frankenstein is to blame for the tragedy, not the monster he has created, because he is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and he is supposed to have everything under control, working properly as a good scientist should. & nbsp; Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that followed the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being.  something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and & nbsp; I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. 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. (156) & nbsp; Victor is saying that he has isolated himself for two years and in the end, he is not at all happy because of the bad outcome. He also adds, "Winter, spring and summer passed.so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation" (156). By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, never going out, but mostly worrying about his success, he has got himself crazier. This has made him lose sight of his surroundings and judgment & nbsp; Moreover, the monster should not be held responsible for killing Victor's family members and friends as shown in the book and movie, because it is Victor who has brought a dead creature back to life. He expects the monster to know everything when he wakes up cool, calm, and collected. But when the monster is awakened, he does not know anything. He sees a world different from what he is used to, which makes him get nervous and scared, so he&nb has removed him from dead. With the dawning of life, the monster has to learn about his new environment. In the play of Frankenstein, the monster starts to gradually get used to things. The problems he encounters are with Victor's assistant, Peter Krempe, Victor's friend, Henry, and other family members, including Elizabeth, and these are reactions to how these people treat him. These reactions are clearly shown in the movie of Young Frankenstein, where Victor tries to teach the monster how to live like to show off the monster to an audience in a dance routine of sorts. But then people start to scream, panic and throw things at the monster, so he reacts by attacking them to defend himself. In this case, it is clear that Victor tries to push the monster too hard because he wants to be famous.
In her novel titled ‘Frankenstein’, Mary Shelley employs many innovative literary techniques to elicit feelings of sympathy for the monster, even though the creature’s desire for revenge may render him incapable. Are readers able to respond compassionately to the creature even though he willingly makes Victor’s life miserable by murdering those close to him?
Mary Shelley shows how both Victor and the monster create sympathy for one another. They are both victims, but they are also wrongdoers. They bring a great burden of suffering to each other lives, causes hatred to be created for the characters.
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.
Education is a tool to advance an individual and a society; however, education can become a means to gain power when knowledge is used to exercise control over another. In Frankenstein, knowledge becomes the downfall of both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. The novel explores the consequent power struggle between Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the dichotomy of good and evil, and the contrast between intellectual and physical power. Finding themselves in mirroring journeys, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster are locked in a struggle for dominance. Through these two characters, Mary Shelley explores the consequences of an egotistical mindset and of using knowledge to exercise power over others.
creature is not to blame - it is the creator. For this reason, we feel
It is the lack of empathy that fuels human brutality. If an offender were truly able to read and identify with a victim’s emotions, it would become impossible for the offender to act against that being. Victor at times claims to have held compassion for his monster, but was never able to act on it. After the monster had pleaded with Frankenstein to make him a companion. Frankenstein, “compassionated him and sometimes felt a wish to console him, but when [he] looked upon him, when [he] saw the filthy mass that moved and talked, [his] heart sickened and [his] feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred” (103).
How important is the theme of justice in Frankenstein. Refer closely to the creation scene and Justine's trial scene. Justice is defined as justice is the administration of law; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity which can be interpreted as adhering to laws of both a natural and civilised level. In Frankenstein many of the fundamental laws of both humanity and the world we live in are broken. Creation in he Christian faith is a marvel that only one being or person has the right to control.
In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein secretly creates a monster without considering the consequences. After the creation of the monster and throughout Victor’s life he and the monster suffer constantly. Because Victor keeps his monster a secret from his family, friends and society, he is alone and miserable. The monster is also alone and miserable because he is shunned by society due to his grotesque appearance.
Sometimes, in novels like Frankenstein, the motives of the author are unclear. It is clear however, that one of the many themes Mary Shelley presents is the humanity of Victor Frankenstein's creation. Although she presents evidence in both support and opposition to the creation's humanity, it is apparent that this being is indeed human. His humanity is not only witnessed in his physical being, but in his intellectual and emotional thoughts as well. His humanity is argued by the fact that being human does not mean coming from a specific genetic chain and having family to relate to, but to embrace many of the distinct traits that set humans apart from other animals in this world. In fact, calling Victor's creation a `monster' doesn't support the argument that he is human, so for the sake of this case, his name shall be Phil.
In the novel Frankenstein, the monster is deserving of empathy because as a young child he did not have the guidance nor care from a parent or guardian like most people do. He was brought into the world and then cruelly rejected by the ...
In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, a young aspiring scientist, Victor Frankenstein, violates the laws of nature to make his dream experiment of creating life. In the beginning of the novel, Victor is sent to the University of Ingolstadt in Germany to fulfill his science career; leaving Elizabeth his soulmate, his father Alphonse, and best friend Clerval behind in Geneva. Using electricity, Frankenstein shocks his two year long creation to life. The creation known as the monster is abandoned by Victor, and rejected from a human companionship because of his appearance. Because of his abandonment, the monster ravages through Frankenstein’s family and friends, committing numerous murders. The monster is the physical murderer of many innocents
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or; The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818, is a product of its time. Written in a world of social, political, scientific and economic upheaval it highlights human desire to uncover the scientific secrets of our universe, yet also confirms the importance of emotions and individual relationships that define us as human, in contrast to the monstrous. Here we question what is meant by the terms ‘human’ and ‘monstrous’ as defined by the novel. Yet to fully understand how Frankenstein defines these terms we must look to the etymology of them. The novel however, defines the terms through its main characters, through the themes of language, nature versus nurture, forbidden knowledge, and the doppelganger motif. Shelley also shows us, in Frankenstein, that although juxtaposing terms, the monstrous being everything human is not, they are also intertwined, in that you can not have one without the other. There is also an overwhelming desire to know the monstrous, if only temporarily and this calls into question the influence the monstrous has on the human definition.
In this essay I am going to answer ‘how and why does Mary Shelley make the reader sympathise with the character of the monster in her novel Frankenstein’.