Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Who needs Cliffs?
Cliffs notes are over-rated. Who needs them when all of you start plying your critical reading skills to the text at hand? So here we go . . .
What is the key, central passage in Frankenstein that works to reveal the theme of the work, or a central tenet, or a major understanding of character? While you needn't quote the entire passage, refer to it specifically, along with the page number, and include some commentary on why you believe this passage to be so significant and indispensible to the work.
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Page 38, Paragraph 1:
ReplyDelete“Learn from me, if not from my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”
This passage is significant because it highlights the theme in Frankenstein that a reckless striving for enlightenment leads not to joyous fulfillment, but rather to death and horror. Throughout Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein repeatedly warns Robert Walton of the dangers of seeking knowledge, embodying the ideas of romanticism which characterize Shelly’s work.
This passage also develops the allusion to creationism that is present throughout Frankenstein. The monster frequently thinks of himself as both Adam and Satan, who are primarily linked through the events surrounding the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. With Adams acquisition of the forbidden fruit, he loses his innocence and becomes mortal, realizing that he is in fact naked. This passage is a warning of the dangers of truth as well as the power of blissful ignorance that Victor loses with the creation of the monster.
DeleteI really like this passage because it simply states the recurring theme that knowledge brings about destruction and, in Victor's case, death. Simply put, as Victor tells Walton, knowledge is dangerous. This strikes me as extremely ironic, as Victor goes about trying to find the secret of life, but is only plagued by the death of his family and friends when he finally creates the monster. The lightning strike seen early in the novel seems to represent a warning to Victor to stop his search of knowledge and highlights the Romantic style used by Mary Shelley.
DeleteSpark Notes lists an important theme as Dangerous Knowledge, an always important consideration in Romantic texts. In all seriousness, a key central passage would be on Page 115, the last paragraph of the page, the section in which the Monster is discovered talking to De Lacey and is subsequently discouraged both through force and the extreme reaction the inhabitants hold towards peering upon his ghastly visage. This is both an important thematic element, the predestination of the Monster, once a monster always a monster, as well as a major understanding of the character. In those few brief lines we really see the despair and resignation, if even this family which our Monster had tried so hard to study and copy immediately accosted him, what hope could possibly remain in his mind? What future would he have in even this small hurdle, not being immediately attacked, proved fruitless after a few months?
ReplyDeletePage 118, paragraph 4 describes the central theme of isolation being a destructive force. This paragraph shows the monster's reaction to the rejection from Felix, De Lacey, and Agatha. "But again when I reflected that they had spurned and deserted me, anger returned, a rage of anger, and unable to injure anything human, I turned my fury towards inanimate objects." This paragraph highlights the idea that because the monster was so isolated from society, it resulted in all the destruction he caused. The monster's physical appearance enabled him from being able to have any kind of normal human interaction because no one accepted the way he looked and this resulted in his complete isolation from society. This paragraph is important because it highlights the destruction the monster created as a result of the anger he felt towards being isolated.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of this idea of isolation is in chapter 15 when the monster says “Hateful day when I received life! Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred”. In this sense the monster sees himself even as worse off than the devil because not only is he completely reviled by everyone he comes in to contact with, but he has no one even remotely like him to share his pain. So he has no means of expressing himself but through violence since no being will be his companion or healthy emotional outlet.
DeleteI like that you referenced the motif of isolation leading to destruction, but I think there is evidence of Victor being destroyed by his isolation as well. By cutting himself off from his family and the world to dedicate himself to his work, Victor creates the monster that ultimately leads to his destruction. Victor's commitment to his pursuit is most apparent in chapter 4, like in this passage "Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves--sights which before always yielded me supreme delight--so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation." This strengthens the parallels between Frankenstein and his monster, as they are both consumed and destroyed by their isolation.
DeleteWhen we had our in-class discussion about Frankenstein on March 7th, we were asked to write down several quotes from the book that struck a chord within us. Looking back at those notes, the first note I jotted down was this specific quote: " A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility. I do not think that the pursuit of knowledge is an exception to this rule..." (p.40) After reflecting on the book as a whole, I think that the passage above accurately sums up a main theme from the book which is that of knowledge leading to a loss of innocence. In creating the monster, Victor loses any peace of mind that he has because the monster seeks to destroy everything near and dear to Victor. Yet the monster as well becomes increasingly depressed as he learns about the world around him and about his own existence from Victor's papers. When Victor dies, he advises Walton not to let the pursuit of knowledge inhabit him a well saying to his friend, "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be inly the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries." (p. 193). Shelley makes us question if we have the right to know all there is to know about ourselves and our existence or whether some things are better left unknown.
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ReplyDeleteThis passage reveals several important characteristics of the monster, Victor, and the novel. First, the monster’s declaration “I am solitary and detested” demonstrates the thematic Romantic element of introspection and the Gothic element of tragic circumstance. Second, the passage outlines the significance of aesthetics in behavior; the monster admits that he suffers because he is hideous. Third, it outlines Shelley’s allusions to Biblical creationism by comparing Victor to God and the creature to Satan. Fourth, the creature’s demand (“Why did you form a monster so hideous…?”) questions the merit of Victor’s attempts to pursue knowledge over his consideration of ethical constraints on his actions, especially those dictating that he should not pursue such action if it leads to unnecessary suffering. Fifth, the passage reveals that the Creature sees himself as a more unattractive manifestation of Victor which indicates that (a) Victor’s pursuit of knowledge may not only have been guided by a desire to understand more but also to attach some form his identity to that which he discovered and (b) the Creature acknowledges the similarities between himself and Victor including a need for social acceptance and adoration. Sixth, the Creature’s observation of Satan’s supposed satisfaction indicates his belief that loneliness is the greatest harm, even above collective detestation. Seventh, this passage may even question the general nature of life as demonstrated by the Creature’s initial exclamation, “Hateful day when I received life!” Here, Shelly may be questioning the very merit of existence if it is plagued by misfortune.
ReplyDeleteOn page 42, “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. . .” This specific paragraph highlights the sudden shift in Victor’s feelings toward the monster upon his completion making it a good example of character not only in the case of Victor but mankind as well. At first, Victor was eager and excited as he anticipated the end of his hard-work. However, as soon as the monster opened his eyes Victor’s feelings of warmth and approval faded and were replaced by horror and shock. He couldn’t believe what he had done and found himself praying for the very thing that he had for so long dreamt of creating to itself be a dream. That point in the novel is like the climax for Victor’s character. All the curiosity and craving he once had for knowledge gone, replaced by a clouded shadow of reflection and anger. Victor’s reaction shows how mankind’s desire to achieve perfection can so easily cause one to become distraught upon making a mistake. It is our nature to seek achievement but it is also our nature to want to rewind and tape over the errors that we make.
ReplyDeleteI believe this passage also serves to make another point about Victor and human nature as a whole. This also seems to say that Victor, as well as humans, has a tendency to "judge a book by its cover." After spending a lot of time to create this monster, as soon as he realizes how "hideous" it is, he immediately regards it as a "thing" rather than a living being made out of pieces that he so carefully put together to create life. Which in itself is quite spectacular. However, despite this, Victor wants nothing to do with the monster. Not only because he sees it as a mistake, but also based solely on its appearance. Frankenstein judges the monster before he tries to communicate with it, showing that all he truly based his opinion from was the monster's appearance.
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ReplyDeleteIn chapter 16, after the monster had left the De Lacey family, he came upon a girl stuck in a river. He saved the girl, but as her guardian saw him, the guardian “darted towards me, and tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood. I followed speedily, I hardly knew why; but when the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired.” This passage is very central to the book because it outlines the key motif of prejudice. Throughout the story, everyone is prejudice against the monster, believing him to be a murderer or fiend. Even after saving someone’s life, he is spurned and shot. While prejudice is displayed in many other parts of the story, without this passage, the extent that this prejudice is portrayed within the novel would have been lacking. By including this passage, Shelley underscores how deeply rooted prejudice is within people, and how that prejudice can cause them to act irrationally.
ReplyDeleteThe last paragraph in chapter 15 points to a major theme in the novel. People judge "a book by its cover". The monster is talking to the old blind man of the De Lacey family for a prolonged amount of time. Since the blind man can not see him, the monster is finally able to interact with a human. In fact the blind man finds the monster very intuitive. But when the rest of the De Lacey family enters the cottage his is brutally attacked. The monster was just but having a conversation with the blind man. This just shows that people with immediately judge on how someone may appear. The monster is never even given a chance to express his personality to others. His horrible appearance does not allow the chance for that. In many other passages in throughout the novel, the monster is immediately judged by his looks, including when he tries to rescue the little girl from the river and even the moment he is created.
ReplyDeleteOn page 43, one can find the nightmare that Frankenstein experiences. This passage very clearly reflects Shelley's attitude towards the advancement in science and the overstepping of man's boundaries. This scene is directly after the creation of the monster as well, directly juxtaposing the creation of life with the death of his loved ones. The transformation of Elizabeth in the dream seems to not only foreshadow the rest of the monster, but it also takes something pure and innocent and corrupts it into something dead. Likewise, Shelley seems to suggest that Victor is tainting the sanctity of human life and God's creations with a man-made, unloved creation of his own.
ReplyDeletePage 100, The monster is listening in as felix reads to Safie a novel called the "ruins of empires" discussing human history. "Was man indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle and at another as all that can be concieved of noble and godlike. My wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing."
ReplyDeletewhat this shows is the monster discovering what it is that disallows victor to be the father figure that he searches for. Victor is man himself, vulnerable to all the corruption of life, he is unable to open up to the monster because of the destructive acts the monster commits. Therefore the monster is subject to the hatred and rejection of man that he is so unable to understand. The monster himself refuses to understand this when he "turns away with disgust and loathing."
Chapter 15 p. 110: “God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance.”
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows the theme of duality that can be seen between Victor and the monster. Victor’s creation becomes a monster who represents the inner character of Victor, all the ugliness and evil that is hidden behind this façade. The monster is that secret inner self that Victor tries to repress and doesn't show; he is a reflection of Victor’s true character. Not only does this passage provide evidence for the theme of duality, it also reveals why the monster feels the way he does about Victor. At this point in the story after the monster reads Victor’s journal and discovers how he was created and his creator felt about him, the monster forms a deeper hatred for Victor and seeks revenge on him and his name.
On page 26, Victor describes seeing the tree hit by lightning, “As I stood at the door, on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from and old and beautiful oak…” This passage ignites Victor on his quest for knowledge and the means to recreate life, and also provides a warning against the dangers of seeking this knowledge. The tree is representative of nature, which is the means to a spiritually whole life, and the lightning is the symbol for knowledge, which destroys the tree. This theme of knowledge being dangerous and that humans should be careful not to overstep their boundaries reoccurs through the book, but Victor first spirals into this dangerous path with this passage.
ReplyDeleteOn page 23, paragraph 3, Victor states, "My temper was sometimes violent and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately...it was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn," and this is important because it shows his passion of learning and how he had that childish desire of wanting to know everything just because he could; however, it turns to a much darker side when Victor brings up wanting to know the secrets of heaven and earth meaning he wants to discover past that childhood innocence and that this leads him to become dangerously fascinated with death and how life can be brought to a "dead object." It also shows that even as a child, his temper was violent which also strips away that sense of childhood innocence and that he was almost an adult rather than a child.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 22 in the first paragraph Victor says, “I abhorred the face of man. Oh, not abhorred! They were my brethren, my fellow beings, and I felt even the most repulsive among them, as to creatures of an angelic nature and celestial mechanism. But I felt I had no right to share their intercourse. How they would, each and all, abhor me and hunt me from the world did they know my unhallowed acts and crimes which had their source in me!” This quote emphasizes the theme of isolation. Also, it address the parallels between the monster and Victor because both have extreme feelings of abandonment, even though Victor acknowledges that he subjected himself to this torture. These extreme feelings lead to the degression of both of the characters to a more primitive state.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 2 of Frankenstein on page 26 and 27, Victor comments on lightinging violently striking a tree, "As I stood at the door, on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so on as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump." The passage continues with Victor telling of his ignorance of the laws of electricity and his change of will regarding his studies. He says that in hindsight it was probably his guardian angel and last warning, trying to deter him from his tragic path. I believe that this is one of, if not the most, important parts of the entire book. It clearly shows the character of Victor through his actions. He is so intent on trying to find the key to creating life that even an intense warning from the heavens hardly has any effect on him. Even though Victor did change his path of studies for a short time, he was always destined to create the monster and destroy everything and everyone around him. This section shows the strength of will that Victor posesses, and how even with every sign pointing to the better path, he chose the one that was to be avoided at all costs.
ReplyDelete"This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind."
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein is a novel full of revenge. Even though the monster was trying to be good, the world brought about in him the desire to hurt others. He was tortured by man and specifically his creator. Likewise, Victor was never a bad man, he loved science and desired to experiment and expand his knowledge. But the monster's cruelty also lead him to desire revenge. The neglect and solitude from society caused both of them to become cold, cruel beings, opposite of what they originally wanted to be.
Victor tells Walton in one of the first letters, “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been.”
ReplyDeleteThis passage reveals the universal theme that Shelley is trying to convey through the novel. The reckless pursuit of knowledge will lead to death and destruction. In the novel, the putsuit to the secret of life leads to creation of the monster, thus leading to the death of most of Victor's family. In a larger sense, Shelley is saying that this pusuit can lead to humanity's downfall.