Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - 849 Words

â€Å"Who is the true antagonist† is a question that a reader may mull upon during the reading of certain novels. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the main character, Victor Frankenstein, although thought to be a victim, is in fact the villain of the novel Frankenstein. The plot of the novel consists of Victor Frankenstein causing tragedies and deaths as a result of his irresponsibility and yearning for fame. Victor also creates an antagonizing creature that has absolutely no knowledge of the basic ways of life and leaves him companionless. This, ultimately, catalyzes the monster’s hard, corrupt life. Mary Shelley was a great novelist and writer of her time. Her most famous piece, Frankenstein, also known as the Modern Prometheus, is a gothic horror that displays Shelley’s unique and dark writing style. Perhaps her life experiences, such as the death of her mother at the tender age of 11 or the illness she suffered from that led to her death, caused her to have such a gloomy outlook on life that influenced her writings. Shelley’s writing style in Frankenstein is used to set the stage to present the purposes. One of the purposes that are displayed by Shelley’s particular writing style is the romanticizing of nature. This viewpoint is forced to be admired and spotlighted in human interactions as an example of a greater and bigger truth. â€Å"The immense mountains and precipices that overhung me on every side, the sound of the river raging among the rocks, and the dashing of theShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein, By Mary Shelley1650 Words   |  7 Pagesbook of Frankenstein does one just think of a mythical science fiction book that really has no meaning? Frankenstein can have numerous meanings depending on how a person perceives it. Frankenstein can be analyzed into many themes; some say religion, feminism, or scientific symbolization, it all depends on ones own perception. When one analyzes further into Mary Shelly’s life and then interprets the novel it is obvious that is a sociological theme. One can simply assume that Mary Shelley creates FrankensteinRead MoreFrankenstein by Mary Shelley1093 Words   |  4 Pagesfaster than man can contend with. That argument is the premises, moral, and plot base for Mary Shelleys tale Frankenstein. On the other hand, J. Michael Bishops, essay Enemies of Promise   on the other hand promotes and boast sciences achievements. However, Mary Shelley presents her point of view subtly yet very dramatically, which is much more effective than that of J. Michael Bishop. The dramatic story Shelley creates becomes a part of the reader, therefore holding the readers attention. ShelleysRead MoreMary Shelley Frankenstein859 Words   |  4 Pages Mary Shelley The Creature in Mary Shelley’s â€Å"Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus† needs a companionship as every ordinary human. Every man needs a woman, who will able to share moments of happiness and sadness, a woman who will be able to share thoughts and of course a woman who will be able to love a man. In this case the Creature needs a bride. But the problem is that the Creature from the â€Å"Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus† is not a human. SoRead MoreFrankenstein, by Mary Shelley1138 Words   |  5 PagesIs Frankenstein a man, whose ambition led to a disaster; or a monster, which created a life with disregard for the human race? Frankenstein, in my opinion, was the monster not the life that he had created. Frankenstein never admitted to his family what he had done, never admitted responsibility for his actions. He might as well have killed Elizabeth, William, Justine, and Clerval with his own hand. The so called â€Å"Monster† only wanted companionship; he did not want to murder those people. TheRead MoreFrankenstein, By Mary Shelley1325 Words   |  6 PagesI have been informed that you are pushing to remove the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley from the school curriculum. I’ve decided to write to you and explain why I believe that you are misinformed, and in fact, why this is a huge importance to the students of today. Frankenstein is a classic which recounts the life and horrors of Victor Frankenstein, as told through a series of letters and narrations. His obsession with the natural world and science brings him to a state of mind which ultimatelyRead MoreFrankenstein, By Mary Shelley1580 Words   |  7 PagesFrankenstein by Mary Shelley is a sci-fi novel written during the Romantic Movement in Britain’s early nineteenth century. The movement was stimulated by the French Revolution, Industrial Revolution and in reaction against the emphasis on reason in eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosophy (The Romantic Movement, 2014 ). Mary Shelley’s husband, Percy Shelley was also a romantic poet during the movement. Shelley’s novel is evidently influenced by her relationship with her husband, which is illustratedRead MoreFrankenstein by Mary Shelley739 Words   |  3 Pagesinterconnections of humanity, nature, and divinity (â€Å"Romanticism 1†). English Romanticism being trendy in Europe, people would vent their outlooks onto their personal fiction works such as Mary Shelley. Shelley uses vivid creativity and romantic elements to create one of her admired novels, Frankenstein. In Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, most of the characters prove their compassion for mankind, prove their rejection of technology and science, and prove their involvement in a romantic quest. These several characteristicsRead MoreFrankenstein, By Mary Shelley1040 Words   |  5 Pages In 1818, a book titled Frankenstein was published anonymously, mysteriously dedicated to William Godwin, a prominent journal ist and political philosopher of his time. The immediate reviews of the novel were mixed, most edging towards critical, although no one knew who the book was written by. However, while Frankenstein failed to gain popularity immediately, no one had any idea the lasting impact this novel would have on the world. Despite the lukewarm reception at its debut, it soon proved to beRead MoreFrankenstein, by Mary Shelley1078 Words   |  5 PagesMary Shelley’s Frankenstein has undoubtedly withstood the test of time. Frankenstein’s direct association with fundamental Gothic literature is extremely renowned. However, the novel’s originality is derived from the foundational thematic values found within the relationship (or lack there of) between Victor Frankenstein and the monster he had created, in combination with a fascinatingly captivating plot. Understandably, Frankenstein can often be associated with a multitude of concepts; however,Read MoreFrankenstein, By Mary She lley1532 Words   |  7 PagesLike any author, especially one who created a new genre, there will be criticism, and Shelley is no exception. Shelley received criticism surrounding Frankenstein not only because she was a female writer, but because of her writing style. Originally, Frankenstein was published anonymously and was thought that her husband, Percy Shelley, wrote it (â€Å"Mary Shelley Biography† 2016). Shelley may have published Frankenstein anonymously because â€Å"’women understood that they got a â€Å"better hearing† if it was thought

The Monster, By Henry Johnson - 1323 Words

People with non-normative bodies are treated differently in â€Å"The Monster† and in â€Å"The Story of My Life†. Henry Johnson loses his humanity while Helen Keller gains her humanity. Both texts show the challenges of being different. Physical appearance contributes to how others treat people and their quality of life. In â€Å"The Monster† it describes how the person’s mental capacity is equivalent to their outward appearance, while in â€Å"The Story of My Life† it describes how a person can change and overcome their disabilities and treated like abled body people. Henry Johnson in â€Å"The Monster† was feared and treated poorly by the people around him. â€Å"She was not coherent even to her mother. Was it a man? She didn’t know. It was simply a thing, a†¦show more content†¦Through writing, Keller portrays her physical disabilities as a challenge she must overcome; Keller writes at a high academic level which proves to her audience that her external appearance does not reflect her mental ability. Race is a part of a person’s physical appearance and both texts viewed white ethnicity as superior to the African American ethnicity, which impacts how people treated others with non-normative bodies. Johnson was African American which impacted how people viewed him before he was burned and after. â€Å"In regard to almost everything in life they seemed to have minds precisely alike† (Stephen, 91 course reader). Before Johnson was hurt, he was viewed as mentally equivalent to a child’s. Being compared to a child’s mental ability as an adult, is mentally insulting to Johnson because it indicates to the audience that Johnson must be unintelligent. Viewing Johnson as an unintelligent person before his injury, foreshadows how the others treated him once he became disfigured. African American’s were also portrayed as animals which also foreshadows how Johnson is viewed when he gets hurt: â€Å"They bowed and smiled and ignored and imitated†¦. They could not have been more like three monkeys† (Stephen, 94). If people already viewed African Americans as unintelligent, then they will not have any hope of an African American with aShow MoreRelatedThe Monster By Stephen Crane967 Words   |  4 PagesThe short story, â€Å"The Monster,† written by Stephen Crane has several complex themes, as well as complex characters. This short story seems straightforward on the surface, but it actually has many underlying meanings. The variety of themes range from biblical references to the historical context surrounding the treatment of African Americans in the United States. The range of the roles of the characters is wide as well, from the shy school boy Jimmie, to the conniving Alex Williams. In this storyRead More The Monsters Essay710 Words   |  3 Pages INVISIBLE MONSTERS nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To sacrifice oneself and save others is what weve known as human love, and we have also learned that we should respect those who could perform that in any situation, but in reality, the numbers of those people who dont care about what others do seems much greater than the number of those who do. In Stephen Cranes story, quot;The Monstersquot;, Henry Johnson who sacrifices himself into the fire in order to save a little boy gets treated likeRead MoreThe Naturalist Movement: The Monster, and The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane3096 Words   |  13 Pagesinfluence in The Monster and The Red Badge of Courage created common philosophies in the novels. The Monster is believed to be based off several events that occurred during Crane’s life (Nagel). Stephen got the idea of a man without a face from Levi Hume. Levi suffered from cancer which ate away his face and left him a faceless man, much like Henry Johnson in The Monster. Another possible influence on the novel was the life of John Merrick (Nagel). John Merrick, much like Johnson and Levi, he didn’tRead MoreHuman Nature In The Monster By Stephen Crane1067 Words   |  5 PagesCentered on the deformation of Henry Johnson, an African-American stable boy who runs into a house fire to save the son of his employer, The Monster by Stephen Crane explores human nature, the dangers of groupthink, and the under-emphasized importance of empathy within society. Crane is a very deliberate author who utilizes every word in his project to help convey his message. His creativity for assisting his readers in their understanding of the work goes beyond the plot points, extending in to theRead MoreThe Dangerous Pursuit Of Knowledge1617 Words   |  7 PagesAllison Walden Carol Johnson English 2322 20 January 2017 The Dangerous Pursuit of Knowledge Many people would argue that knowledge is power, but can too much knowledge be dangerous? How much is too much? Throughout history, the human race has had struggles with â€Å"too much knowledge† or going to extreme lengths to gain such knowledge. Is the everlasting quest to know something really worth it? In today’s generation, there is constantly new inventions of technology and theories of science. ButRead MoreEssay on Belief In Pseudosciences1464 Words   |  6 Pagesscientifically valid, as well as the possibility of hoaxes. While there have been many claimed sightings of paranormal activity such as Bigfoot, Ghosts and the Loch Ness Monster, there has not been evidence to prove these claims as real. Almost everybody has heard their share of ghosts stories and the myths behind Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. These stories are universally shared, and recently, people have provided evidence claiming to have seen such mysterious phenomena. Humans are enthralled by certainRead MoreScarlet Fever1106 Words   |  5 Pagesthe fact that it was extremely contagious and no one wanted to be exposed to the disease. In Frankenstein, the scarlet fever plays a big role in the plot of the story and puts a lot of extra stress on Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster. One could argue that scarlet fever is kind of the start of a series of e events that lead to another event thats twice as bad as the last one. Its a chain reaction and the scarle fever starts it off. Victors family adopts Elizabeth, who then getsRead MoreThe Civil Rights Of The Harlem Renaissance2363 Words   |  10 Pageswriters, such as Georgia Douglas Johnson, emerged and finally had the power to exploit their years of pain in an attempt at reform. Georgia Douglas Johnson wrote about oppression in her poems â€Å"Common Dust,† â€Å"Black Woman,† and â€Å"The Heart of a Woman† to expose society’s unjust treatment of African American women and inspire change. Born on September 10, 1880 to parents George Camp and Laura Douglas, Georgia Blanche Douglas Camp, eventually known as Georgia Douglas Johnson, wrote about the difficultiesRead MoreJonathan Swift1088 Words   |  5 Pagesbecause by hiding his true identity he is able to convince the readers of the significance of Ireland’s problem and allow them to see truth and reality. The persona is an Irishman, intelligent, sound and serious. He appears to be a brute and a monster for proposing something evil and immoral very calmly as if it is normal to consume the flesh of another human being. What makes his proposal to be even more depraved is that he proposes to eat the babies. Irony Generally, irony makes visibleRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Maggie Johnson in Everyday Use by Alice Walker1498 Words   |  6 PagesEveryday Use. Maggie Johnson was the youngest of the two daughters, and her older sister Dee had gone to college and hadn t been home in over a decade. Maggie stayed at her mother s side, to make a life for herself that seemed suitable for her. In this story, Maggie is a fragile young woman, however a strong character that is opposite of her sister Dee, who underestimates Maggie for the person she is. The story takes place at mama s house, where Maggie and Mrs. Johnson were at their home waiting

The Media Misinterpretation of reality Free Essays

string(49) " of tribes and cultures enriching the continent\." The media has a significant influence over the public since it was first established as an institution. Particularly the news media, media has had its influence in setting a nation’s agenda, focusing the attention of people to specified issues as well as shaping the public’s opinion are among the well documented influences rendered by the news media1. Aside from feeding the public information about public affairs, the media do best in its ability to dictate people which issues are supposed to be important. We will write a custom essay sample on The Media: Misinterpretation of reality or any similar topic only for you Order Now The media does this by placing emphasis on specific issues. In a more concrete setting, newspapers teach readers which issues are to be significantly regarded by placing stories in designated places. Top stories or cover stories are placed to be the most significant issues while other stories placed after it are simply rendered as less important or significant than the front page stories. Newspapers provide a multitude of cues about the salience of the topics in the daily news rendered in the daily news. For the television scene, the emphases on which stories are supposed to be important are manifested in the length of time devoted to the news story. With the amount of power an institution as the media has, there is to question whether this power is taken advantage of. In the competitive world of news media, gaining readership is a tedious task. With issues on investment returns and the case for readership, there are arising doubts as to whether the news media really feeds people with the essential information or they manipulate the stories to able for readership and even capital gains. In this paper, we shall put focus on evidences that suggest that the news does not reflect reality but obscures it. A look at media sensationalizing One of the evident manifestations of media’s tendency to obscure reality and true stories lies in its nature of sensationalizing2. This could be drawn from the 2004 elections. According to Mackin, the media experienced quite frenzy in attempting to stay updated for the election3. Assessing the performance of the media, it did not quite fairly cover the elections well. The media has a tendency to focus on the scandal and personalities involved that it forgets to look and delve into the real issues. This is one of the manifestations that news could obscure true stories. The media has a tendency to just highlight parts of the story without being able to render other sides of the story which may give clearance and understanding to the issue. Essentially there are always more issues needed to be reported on, however, the media has its own biases when it comes to the coverage of a news event or issue. The media fundamentally has two types of biases3. The firs type of bias is when the media does not focus on the more important issues. The second is that the bias which is geared towards objectivity. Media is biased when it comes to veering away from the real issue in way that it does not clarify issues as intensively as they should be. If accusations are directed, the media does not render to investigate more in the issue. The focus of the media is to present to the public the accusations made and the personalities involved. 2Joyce Milton, The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow journalism, Harper Row, New York, 1989. 3 Mackin, Meaghan, Media sensationalizing 2004 election, 2008. There are occasions where the root cause is not as heavily mentioned as they should. Media tends to sensationalize focusing more on the conflicts created rather than the causes. During the 2004 elections, the media were more focused in bringing the latest on polls, character and appearance of the candidates. They did not bring too much focus on the covering the issues which are supposed to be addressed during elections. The nature of the media to sensationalize issues adheres to the argument that news has a tendency to obscure reality than presenting it as it is. The media in this case is driven to present issues highlighting on scandals and personalities. Although the institution is driven by the demand reflected upon the people, the essence of what a mass media should in the first place is lost. The media more than presenting the latest public affairs to the people should also be responsible in looking more and analyzing factors underlying the issues. As people demand for the latest headlines come the need to be rightfully informed as well. An individual not rightfully informed would be able to participate rightfully in with the issues at hand. Since the media is the venue where people gather information, the expectation ranges too high with the credibility and truthfulness of the news or information. However, certain cases prove that news portrayed by media were inappropriate to the specific setting it must be relayed. Being a powerful venue to generate feedback and to build opinion through information dissemination and education to the larger scope of the population, news portrayed by media, in some cases unfortunately bears unfruitful information. Furthermore, news to some extent does not guarantee its veracity and reliability at all time. For instance, such circumstance in untruthful reporting is present to the portrayal of Western mass media to Africa. Being the cradle of human kind, it appeared to achieve its negative height due to news about savagery the people were engaged into. These consequently gave the continent a face which every people worldwide mocked off and defamed. Depicted as â€Å"Dark Continent†, Western people are encouraged to think that nothing good will ever emerged in its soil. Many in the West bought this negative impression due to the misdealing of reportage to the continent and to the African people. According to Iyinbo4, the Western reportage is always directed to the portrayal of Africa as having a single entity discouraging the heterogeneity of tribes and cultures enriching the continent. You read "The Media: Misinterpretation of reality" in category "Essay examples" For instance, the depiction of AIDS epidemic (Southern and Eastern Africa); wars, drought and starvation (Central and Eastern Africa); oil disasters (Niger-Delta, Nigeria); Muslim extremist (the North and Horn of Africa); bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa); â€Å"The Great Migration† (Kenya) all boil down to a continental issue disregarding the specificity of them to different parts of Africa. Although mass media impacts greatly in resolving crises happening in the continent, more issues were put into wrong perspective which apparently discouraged more problem-solving strategies. Under the current dispensation, the consequences of their [mass media] misrepresentation of Africa and Africans are dire: belittling the people, undermining their accomplishments, destroying their self-esteem and heritage. It does also, albeit inadvertently, provide â€Å"arms† to bigots (on all sides). It does not augur well to incense the situation with mis- and disinformation all in the name of profits or ratings5. 4 Iyinbo, O., Misrepresentation of Africans and the role of Western media. The Informed Constituent, 2007. 5 Iyinbo, O., 2007. News and Reality 5 Moreover, the present connotation to mass media especially in news reporting becomes increasingly negative since many media stations offer only entertainment and gives biased and untruthful news6 (Loud, 2006). This trend defeat the purpose of new reporting as it veers away to the responsible information gathering, interpreting and disseminating. The conflict arises when the most popular news stations claim that they are unbiased and are often times not. As a defence, they tend to reason-out that unbiased reporting is near impossible. Another problem with the news reporting practiced nowadays falls grimly to the misinterpretation of facts by news reporter and personnel. There are some intentional misinterpretations committed by news reporters for the purpose mainly of reporting safe and evading conflict regarding a specified issue. This can be best explained on the case of reporting about the pressing and present condition about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Considering the belaboured scientific research of researchers and scientist to credence AIDS more detailed including its various symptoms and realities, media conveyance tend to discourage such intents. As it is presented and described in a subtle manner, the portrayal of its real grim is avoided to be known by the mass populace. In 2007, a Kaiser survey returned results that showed a mere 15 percent of those polled were personally concerned with becoming HIV positive (a 9 percent drop since 1997). Where once men and women considered AIDS a reputable and serious risk, they now consider the threat to be outside of their realm. This major shift in the perception of the AIDS threat, as many academicians worried, will only exacerbate the problem. 6Loud, C., What’s Wrong with the Media?, 2006. News and Reality 6 It can be argued that this change in perception is directly related to scientific advances in the field. AIDS previously was considered to be a death warrant for anyone who managed to contract HIV in one way or another. However, it is also arguable to say that this change of perceptions is the consequence of the recent depictions of HIV/AIDS in mass media. Media tend to reinforce the idea that the disease can be beaten and would not kill those who contract it. This misinterpreted depiction given the risk and seriousness of incurable HIV/AIDS was manifested in the hit play Angels in America. Although it was turned into an HBO mini-series which was highly-acclaimed, the subject matter greatly failed to educate and inform many on HIV or AIDS. Its timeliness magnificently hit American popular culture in telling accurately the history of AIDS it did not instil any sense of education to the viewer since it only dealt with the idea that   Instead, it human will battle anything—even the physical. Another example of romanticized strategy to attack AIDS is when portrayal o the disease came with a major Broadway blockbuster entitled RENT. It only portrayed Bohemian New Yorker in 1980’s that having the expense of AZT (a popular drug which fights HIV’s attack on the body) can make the victim manageable to sing without a sense of real urgency or impending doom. Although it portrayed during the time that AIDS is incurable, the viewers were left with the same massage of hope that the disease played no urgent risk to the populace.   The reality of the disease is downplayed despite it almost being a character unto itself in the film. The more recently examples can be seen in a few commercials and ad campaigns made such resurgence of interest in the AIDS charity. In contextual American popular culture,  throwing a celebrity fighting against AIDS through charity in the news is presumed to be the very best solution to counter AIDS. Even grander campaign bearing the slogan â€Å"If one of us has AIDS, all of us have it.† or popularly known as the â€Å"We all have AIDS campaign.† gave only an appealing look to the impending death disease. The memorable yet ineffective way of the campaign is viewing the action in a bold statement composed largely of celebrities, politicians and religious leaders. Essential to consider is the fact that AIDS’s portrayal to mass media only resulted to the exploitation of celebrity and commodification of the disease. The misleading market tool manages to earn through the portrayal without the benefit of necessarily spreading awareness or education. Instead of placing a knowledgeable person who is living with the disease in front of the camera, marketers commodify the disease to earn fame and eventually to establish a profitable market. This consequently appeals only to the public to give donation to a random charity disregarding the idea of better information about their own risks or how to protect themselves. Even more blatant commodification is the creation of special garments and gadgets by organized charities/companies just to take the opportunity of selling them while some profit will go to an AIDS charity. Based in the United States, this massive campaign makes the money exclusively reserved for African AIDS causes which shifted the public perception by implying subconsciously that HIV/AIDS is no longer an issue in the US. Since people cited that television is their most immediate and important source for information concerning AIDS (Research Unit for Health and Behavioural Change), a deeper analysis of media messages is important in understanding the sociological impact of AIDS and  advertising as a means of educating. However, AIDS portrayals in advertisements are always misconstrued which leaves the people pretty sitting. It is also pointed out that the bulk of HIV/AIDS advertisements are vague, confusing, prejudiced and manage to perpetuate many misconceptions about AIDS that have the potential to spread the disease even further. It is due to this lack of true representation that the true cultural meaning of AIDS is pushed out of sight, causing vital health education messages to get lost or become misconstrued in the process. According to Jenny Kitzinger’s work titled â€Å"Audience understandings of AIDS media messages: a discussion of methods†, that the meanings of media messages do not merely lie in just the content of the messages but more likely in the readings different audiences bring to the metaphorical discussion. It is therefore argued that such messages are read based on social context and personal experience. To compensate this shift of public perception regarding the cultural importance of HIV/AIDS, we must change the way it is represented in the media by pointing out that AIDS is much serious than twitchy comedians and house hold celebrity names. References: Joyce Milton, The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow journalism, Harper ; Row, New York, 1989. Loud, C., What’s Wrong with the Media?, 2006, Retrieved 20 April, 2008, https://www.yahoo.com/?err=404err_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.yahoo.com%2farticle%2f41418%2fwhats_wrong_with_the_media.html. How to cite The Media: Misinterpretation of reality, Essay examples