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Frankenstein by appearance
Character portrayal of the monster in Frankenstein
Effects of literature on society
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Grendel and Frankenstein are two monsters whose society ignores their existence and find them to be burdensome to their society based on the mere fact that they are not like the rest of their surrounding man-kind. Grendel and Frankenstein both strive to accept their place in the views of their surrounding peoples. Although their sporadic happiness comes from them engaging in fights and killing members of their societies, they learn to accept their place within the societies by coping with their ability to stay loyal to themselves and to fight back with self-devotion and not wanting to give up on themselves.
Grendel, surprisingly, adapts quite well to his society despite its detestation of his existence. Grendel live is a rattlesnake-guarded cave, which allows himself to detach from his society, giving him the necessary space to cope with the troublesome thoughts among his people about Grendel. Unlike Frankenstein, Grendel tries to associate with the members of his civilization but is rejected every time he tries to do so. Every night Grendel goes to Herot to listen to the Sharper’s stories because the history interests him. He is quite intrigued and appreciative of the tales he hears, but when he comes in contact with those from Herot, they do not reciprocate the appreciation of his presence in Herot. The ones he admires so much taunt and torture him to the point they try to kill him for “intruding.” As retaliation, Grendel fights back and raids Herot every night.
On the flipside, Frankenstein shows no interest in interacting with his society. He feels as though his society already has pre-conceived notions about his existence, and that if he even tried to win their affection, he would fail in doing so. He knows that the members of his surrounding civilization detest those different from themselves. Eventually their ways of demoralizing Frankenstein’s feelings lead Frankenstein to escape from their antagonizing. Frankenstein ventures to the North Pole, one of the coldest and most deserted, barren, and empty places known to man-kind. He stays isolated at the North Pole until he realizes Dr. Frankenstein has been following him, hoping to push him off the edge of world, never to be seen or heard from again. Frankenstein, once again flees, trying to escape his father, whom later dies. Frankenstein, alt...
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...d doing for others are always good deeds. And to be honest, he is used to being on the run, so it is no different for him whether or not a miracle happens and someone takes him in for saving their lives or if he continues to live how he has been, always on the go. Frankenstein is an independent person and learns to accept his place in the world as that.
Both these characters exude such power and strength through their personalities. The way they handle situations and the way they don’t give up on themselves is something that is truly honorable. Grendel and Frankenstein, both very different from each other, are both very similar in regards to their heroism. These two characters are essentially alone in their societies and have nobody to turn to for help. They base everything around their beliefs and what they feel is the good and bad thing to do, whether society rejects their beliefs or not. Their loyalty to themselves illustrates their heroism of honesty, loyalty, courage and bravery and their never ending power to continue to fight alone for themselves against a world who wishes to overlook their existence and contributions to diversify the society.
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
that is to label people or things we do not like. When a person is
Throughout John Gardner’s Grendel, the audience bears witness to a creature who has been ostracized by the world around him. Throughout his journey, the stories protagonist tries to live out his own life the way he wants to, despite being labeled as evil by those around him. Due to this constant criticism by his peers, he develops an inferiority complex that he desperately tries to make up for as the story progresses. Throughout his development, Grendel very rapidly moves past his existentialist beginning, through a brief phase of forced skepticism, and into a severely nihilistic point of view.
Seeking friends, they found enemies; seeking hope, they found hate. Social outcasts simply want to live as the rest of us live. Often, in our prejudice of their kind, we banish them from our elite society. Regardless of our personal perspective, society judges who is acceptable and who is not. Some of the greatest people of all time have been socially unacceptable. Van Gogh found comfort only in his art, and with a woman who consistently denied his passion. Edgar Allen Poe was considered "different" - to say the least. These great men, as well as Grendel and Frankenstein, do not “fit” into society. Also like these men, Grendel and Frankenstein are uniquely superior to the rest of mankind. Their superiority is seen through their guile to live in a society that ostracizes their kind, their true heroism in place of society's romantic view, and the ignorance on which society's opinion of them is formed.
Victor Frankenstein may be the leading character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but a hero he is not. He is self-centered and loveless, and there is nothing heroic about him. There is a scene in Chapter twenty-four where Captain Walton is confronted by his crew to turn southwards and return home should the ice break apart and allow them the way. Frankenstein rouses himself and finds the strength to argue to the Captain that they should continue northwards, or suffer returning home "with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows." He quite obviously has alterior motives and if he were not the eloquent, manipulative creature he so egotistically accuses his creature of being, he might not have moved the Captain and the men so much that they are blind to the true source of his passion. Unfortunately for Frankenstein, the crew, (however "moved") stand firm in their position. Yet the things he says in his motivational speech are prime examples of the extent to which Frankenstein is blind to his own faults and yet will jump at the chance to harangue others. He is so self-centered that his lack of interaction and love for others after his experiment has been completed, would barely qualify him as a person, if the difference between being human and being a person lies in the ability to have relationships with others.
Man has always been driven to create. We constantly shape the world around us by inventing stories of heroes and monsters, by crafting complex but passionate ideals about good and evil. Some relish in the power that this manipulation of reality wields; others are more innocent in that they are simply yielding to a universal longing for something in which to believe.
The idea of duality permeates the literary world. Certain contradictory commonplace themes exist throughout great works, creation versus destruction, light versus dark, love versus lust, to name a few, and this trend continues in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The pivotal pair in this text however, is monotony versus individuality. The opposing entities of this pairing greatly contrast against each other in Frankenstein, but individuality proves more dominant of the two in this book.
...n very human feelings of resentment and jealousy. Grendel was an unstable and saddened figure because of his outcast status. Though Grendel had many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seemed to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses. He truthfully showed more of an interior life than one might expect. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, Grendel’s depiction as an outcast is a symbol of the jealousy and hate that seeks to destroy others' happiness and can ultimately cripple a civilization. This take on the outcast archetype ultimately exposes the Anglo Saxon people’s weaknesses, their doubts and anxieties towards the traditional values that bounded nearly every aspect of their life.
...e seeking help and strength to take care of problems in their lives. Victor Frankenstein is a man with a loving and caring family. Family and friends are an important part of his life. He has his whole life in front of him, when creates his monster. He creates the monster in the likeness of man with same need of love and affection as man. Although, this is his creation, he lets the monster down and does not care for him. The monster begins to feel neglected and lonely and wants desperately to have a human relationship. The monster turns angry and revengeful because he is so sad and abandoned. He wants Victor to feel the way that he does, all alone. The monster succeeds and Victor ends up losing all the important in his life and his own life. In the end, the monster dies and the need for human relationship becomes the destruction for both the monster and Victor.
...most readers tend to sympathize with Frankenstein because of the way in which he is mentally and physically harmed by his creation. However, one must also realize that while Frankenstein is a victim in the novel, he also exhibits features that make him a monster. These monstrous qualities, however, stem from his passion for science and his desire to create life. Not only does the reader criticize and pity Frankenstein, but the reader also empathizes with Frankenstein’s creation. He was unjustly shunned by society because of his physical appearance. On the other hand, the reader realizes that like Frankenstein, the creation can not be sympathized with entirely. He too exhibits traits that make him appear villainous. It is the duality of these two characters that make Frankenstein and his creation two of the most appealing characters of the nineteenth century.
Science and technology are rapidly advancing everyday; in some ways for the better, and in some, for worse. One extremely controversial advance is genetic engineering. As this technology has high potential to do great things, I believe the power genetic engineering is growing out of control. Although society wants to see this concept used to fight disease and illness, enhance people 's lives, and make agriculture more sustainable, there needs to be a point where a line is drawn.
Victor Frankenstein and his creation were both portrayed as a villain and a hero. The Monster learned that murdering innocent people and his creator, did not bring him any peace. Instead, his murders and agony he brought upon innocent families only increased his desolation and in the end, he vowed to kill himself to put an end to his, and everyone else’s suffering. As the Monster learned too late, not everyone in the world is going to neither accept nor appreciate the beauty and knowledge someone else brings into the world. However, like the Monster found the blind man, if an individual can find that one person in the world who can look past the flaws, their life would be filled with love and
“The American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2010, about 207,000 women developed invasive breast cancer; 54,010 developed non-invasive breast cancer…And yet 90% of the women who are diagnosed with breast cancer this year will probably be cured following initial treatment (Bluming 133)”. “Mammography techniques are improving too, Newer scans in development, such as molecular breast imaging and tomosynthesis (which creates a three-dimensional image of the breast) may soon improve the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis and reduce the risk of false positive results (“Do you…”)”. So ask yourself, what would it hurt to get mammograms? They could potentially be a life saver.
In the story of Frankenstein, we come to learn that he is a caring gentle creature. He longs for interaction from others that are nice and caring. He hides himself away to be safe from the people who fear him and those that mean harm to him. He has found a place to live that is next to a family. He will soon discover through observation if they are nice and caring or to beware of them.
Jessica Portner, a writer for Education Week, agreed with President Clinton in her February 14, 1996 article entitled “Uniforms Get Credit for Decrease in Discipline Problems.” Using statistical evidence from the aforementioned Long Beach school system grades K-8, Portner creates a compelling argument pro school uniforms. In a study of the 83,000 K-8 students, the rates of assault and battery decreased 34%, fights 51% and there were 32% fewer suspensions.