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consequences of social identity theory
frankenstein mary shelley character analysis
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Frankenstein and Alice in Wonderland
The notion of the monstrous, the line between what is acceptable or unacceptable in society, has been stretched thinner and thinner through time. But the concept that what is unlike ourselves challenges existing social relations. In other words, bodies that appear different or fail to perform as expected threaten not only the success of the individual, but the basic ideological assumptions upon which society itself is founded. Who is to blame? Probably society and the media. In the last couple centuries, humans have gone from living in a "natural world to living in a manufactured one" (Lasn 4). But before you curse at the television shows and magazines of today, realize how far back this cycle of rejecting the abnormal, shunning the so-called "freaks" of time, extends. Starting with modern times, where putting silicon pouches in one's chest or injecting botulism, a deadly toxin, into one's face is considered normal, if not encouraged, by today's society, to the 1930s-40s, when side shows and traveling freak exhibitions were at their peak in popularity, even as far back as the 1800s, with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein--both fervently admired both then and now for manifesting the "outcasts" of 18th century literature, the "freak" and "freaky" of society have always been part of our culture.
In both Frankenstein and Alice in Wonderland, both written within 50 years of each other, the reader is introduced to characters considered abnormal, either an outcast or freak or both.
In Frankenstein, we have Victor and his monster, creator and creation, outcast by society and in some ways by ea...
... middle of paper ...
...e and troubled outcasts of their societies, show the reader where true logic can be found, even when that logic may be "the logic of the illogical," to the reader's delight and confusion.
Works Cited
Blumberg, Jane. Mary Shelley's Early Novels. Pgs. 1-39. Iowa City: University of Iowa
Press, 1993.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (unabridged). Pgs. 39-48. 1865. New
York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993.
Gilman, Sander L. Creating Beauty to Cure the Soul. Durham: Duke University Press,
1998.
Lasn, Kalle. Culture Jam. Pgs 4-7. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1999.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost and other poems. 1831. New York: Mentor Books, 1961.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994.
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
the Treaty of London, the deal made with B and F was not given to
Comparing the Novel and Film Adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. “Horror and science fiction tend to present radically opposite interpretations of what may look like comparable situations.” (Kawin, 1981.) Bruce Kawin helps the reader to understand how a story in the genre of science fiction could be adapted, or bastardized if you like, into a horror. This is similar to the film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
The gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley highlights the idea that the real monsters of the world are humans and society, and that most traits that most humans despise are actually within all of us. Frankenstein shows that any human can be so corrupt as to be a “monster”, and that beings society considers repulsive and evil can be human at heart. Shelley exposes human faults such as hubris and irresponsibility through the main character of the novel Victor Frankenstein, who creates a living being and refuses to care for it, sending it into the unwelcoming hands of society. Victors irresponsible actions lead to many deaths and events. As the novel progresses, Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Monster he creates become more and more similar
In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson” there is no hiding what she intended to portray to the audience, the fact that there is a huge gap between the lower class citizens and the higher class citizens. This becomes apparent during one of Miss Moore’s infamous outings with the kids when she takes them to FAO Schwartz in Manhattan to teach them about money. Through this outing with Miss Moore the children realize that their way of life is far different than of those in Manhattan and that they belong to a different class of people altogether.
Victor Frankenstein and his creation are very much alike. Both are abandoned by their creators at a young
The ideal concept of American society is one in which all of the citizens are treated equal in all every realm and situation. Class, race or gender does not divide the utopian America; everyone is afforded the same opportunities and chances for success. In this chimerical state Americans are able to go as far as their dreams allow and with hard work and perseverance any thing is possible. Many Americans subscribe to this pluralist view of the Country, believing that within our democratic system it is the majority who maintains control and sets policy. Unfortunately this idyllic country does not exist nor has it ever existed. America is made up of distinct social classes and the movement within those classes is for the most part, limited to the various classes in the middle where the lines of demarcation are blurred. Although the majority of the Country's population would attest to the myth that America is a classless society, the distinctions definitely exist and influence the entire life scope of most Americans. Housing, health care, education, career prospects and social status are all dependent on the amount of wealth one has and their class standing. Our system needs the built in inequities of the class system in order to perpetuate itself and the upper class needs to have their interests as the dominant determiner of corporate and governmental power and policy.
Nowadays, people are still enticed by fear, they have a curiosity for the supernatural, evil and frightening. Although modern day society is supposedly politically correct, we are still an immoral society and many of us would treat a creature like Frankenstein’s creation or a vampire like Dracula like a monster. In this way, the novels still have social significance.
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein’s monster is judged by his physical characteristics, his sensitive emotional personality is overlooked representing the depthlessness of society.
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
If someone were to ask people who Frankenstein is they would probably describe a tall, hideous monster with bolts sticking out of its neck. But long before movies reinvented their version of the monster, there was a novel by Mary Shelley entitled Frankenstein. In her novel, the monster is shown as child-like and uneducated. But what really makes someone a monster? Who is the true monster of Mary Shelley’s novel? Victor and the Creature present similarities and differences in their action and character throughout the novel.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the monster that he creates are very similar. For example, Victor creates the monster to be like himself. Another similarity is that the anger of both Victor and the monster is brought about by society. One more parallel between Victor and the monster is that they both became recluses. These traits that Victor and the monster possess show that they are very similar.
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
It is true that the Italian dictatorship was more conservative in its application than that of Hitler’s reign of terror. But, both the fascist ideas and rulings of these two leaders proved to have some similarities worth mentioning. Both leaders left their countries with an economic and social debt to the Allies, which is still strong in the minds of many older members of the community.
Before I read the chapter on social class, I thought social class was a category about people who are put into class by how much money they make; you are either poor or rich. However, there is much more regarding social class than I had originally thought. Social class it separated into a four tier criteria. Beginning at the bottom is the “lower class”, or “underclass” which is referred to by poverty, homeless, and unemployment. This class, usually hasn’t finished high school, doesn’t have medical care and can’t afford sufficient housing. Many people mischaracterize these poor people as mothers who abuse the welfare system by baring several babies that they can’t afford and fathers who are able to work but do not due to drug addiction or their