Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Something that struck me while reading was how Frankenstein his passions. First, when Walton was describing him in his letters, he articulated that Frankenstein seemed to "despise himself for being the slave of passion" (Shelley, 12). Again, after the creation of the monster, Frankenstein himself admitted that he had been "attacked by the fatal passion" (Shelley, 39). Usually, the word passion seems to have a rather positive connotation. One would say they are passionate, and that is something to be admired and celebrated. In this novel, however, passion has been described as a ruthless, fatal, controlling force that drives people mad. Frankenstein's best friend, Clerval certainly seemed to notice, and when he told Elizabeth of his state, she responded, "You have been ill, very ill" (Shelley, 40). Obviously his passion has been driving him to the point that he seems ill!
I also find it interesting that Frankenstein sees in Walton what he knows about himself. His warnings to Walton of the dangers of passion and of knowledge and wisdom are very clear, in that he hopes that Walton doesn't get "stung". "You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I arrdently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been" (Shelley, 13).
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Frankenstein (1/5)
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
It's obvious in the first few letters from Robert Walton to his sister that the author utilizes the literary technique of foreshadowing to engage the audience. Robert Walton, in his letters, addresses the stranger, and writes down some of the words of the stranger, such as "I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes", and "prepare to hear of occurrences which are usually deemed marvellous" (Shelley, 13). The
stranger introduces events unrevealed until in the fifth chapter. As the stranger begins to narrate his story, it becomes known that his name is Victor Frankenstein, and he recounts his family history and background in education, adding pieces of cliff-hangers that don't reveal anything other than the mere fact that his has suffered greatly from his fate. "Rather let me say such the words of the fate, enounced to destroy me... I felt as if my sould were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being" (Shelley, 27). Shelley takes advantage of cliff-hangers to keep the audience interested and wondering what is going to appear next.
Mary Shelley
It's obvious in the first few letters from Robert Walton to his sister that the author utilizes the literary technique of foreshadowing to engage the audience. Robert Walton, in his letters, addresses the stranger, and writes down some of the words of the stranger, such as "I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes", and "prepare to hear of occurrences which are usually deemed marvellous" (Shelley, 13). The
stranger introduces events unrevealed until in the fifth chapter. As the stranger begins to narrate his story, it becomes known that his name is Victor Frankenstein, and he recounts his family history and background in education, adding pieces of cliff-hangers that don't reveal anything other than the mere fact that his has suffered greatly from his fate. "Rather let me say such the words of the fate, enounced to destroy me... I felt as if my sould were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being" (Shelley, 27). Shelley takes advantage of cliff-hangers to keep the audience interested and wondering what is going to appear next.
Friday, November 9, 2012
5. Miss Brill
Miss Brill
Katherine Mansfield
"Odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they'd just come from little dark rooms or even - even cupboards,"(Mansfield. 183). It is obvious that Miss Brill does not fit into her routine setting at the park every Sunday. As a young couple peers in at Miss Brill in her usual spot, they seem to be taken back by her unusual clothing, and her unique look. She sits at the park every Sunday, listening to conversations and trying to feel included in the worlds of others around her. Miss Brill is a smudge on the frame of these stranger's worlds. She distracts those wandering in the park, it's as if she becomes a spectacle. Listening to the band seems to be so important to Miss Brill that she doesn't quite realize all the others are not the same as she. In this puzzled state of mind, after the couple's stares, she breaks down. Miss Brill returns home, to the sound of crying, because it seems all she did was go to the park in her same routine. It turns out that she realized that the one crying was her.
Katherine Mansfield
"Odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they'd just come from little dark rooms or even - even cupboards,"(Mansfield. 183). It is obvious that Miss Brill does not fit into her routine setting at the park every Sunday. As a young couple peers in at Miss Brill in her usual spot, they seem to be taken back by her unusual clothing, and her unique look. She sits at the park every Sunday, listening to conversations and trying to feel included in the worlds of others around her. Miss Brill is a smudge on the frame of these stranger's worlds. She distracts those wandering in the park, it's as if she becomes a spectacle. Listening to the band seems to be so important to Miss Brill that she doesn't quite realize all the others are not the same as she. In this puzzled state of mind, after the couple's stares, she breaks down. Miss Brill returns home, to the sound of crying, because it seems all she did was go to the park in her same routine. It turns out that she realized that the one crying was her.
4. Bartleby , the Scrivener
Bartelby, the Scrivener
Herman Melville
I just feel awkward. Bartleby's whole being is several steps away from "normal" social interaction. He is so interesting, he resists passively and he denies the very basic requests that fall into routine. I couldn't help but wonder what is the big deal about performing such a minuscule task? It becomes more apparent, however, that there is something seriously wrong when the audience learns of his past. He had been a employee at a dead letter company. He would burn letters that cannot be received since the person the letter was sent to is now deceased for his daily work. Such a sad job could leave someone traumatized, or at least change someone so much so that they become distant, almost resistant to reality, or to routine tasks. " I might give alms to his body, but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach,"(Melville, 658). It was obvious he was very much intrinsically troubled.
Herman Melville
I just feel awkward. Bartleby's whole being is several steps away from "normal" social interaction. He is so interesting, he resists passively and he denies the very basic requests that fall into routine. I couldn't help but wonder what is the big deal about performing such a minuscule task? It becomes more apparent, however, that there is something seriously wrong when the audience learns of his past. He had been a employee at a dead letter company. He would burn letters that cannot be received since the person the letter was sent to is now deceased for his daily work. Such a sad job could leave someone traumatized, or at least change someone so much so that they become distant, almost resistant to reality, or to routine tasks. " I might give alms to his body, but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach,"(Melville, 658). It was obvious he was very much intrinsically troubled.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
3. Much Madness is Divinest Sense
Much Madness is Divinest Sense
Emily Dickinson
I really like this poem. First, it is apparent that the major paradox in the poem differentiates "a discerning eye" and "the majority". The speaker first makes it known that they are the individual, surrounded by a mass of people in the same routine. "Madness is divine" (Dickinson, 820). Oftentimes people are respected for having good sense. It sounds logical that having sense about a person would be a good quality to have, but this poem dismantles the notion that madness is bad, and it gives those with "sense" the poison of conformity. Madness is redefined as the few nonconformists, a few with independent thought. It also calls out society as corrupt, claiming that it sets us up to think of the people who conform to the majority are "sane", and those that go against the grain, "dangerous". In fact society often feels compelled to put those with independent thought in chains- they should be locked up! Individuals uniqueness is somehow dangerous to the workings of society. What the speaker elicits is the idea that being true to oneself is not something of criminals- but it is the divinest sense. It is divine to be mad.
Emily Dickinson
I really like this poem. First, it is apparent that the major paradox in the poem differentiates "a discerning eye" and "the majority". The speaker first makes it known that they are the individual, surrounded by a mass of people in the same routine. "Madness is divine" (Dickinson, 820). Oftentimes people are respected for having good sense. It sounds logical that having sense about a person would be a good quality to have, but this poem dismantles the notion that madness is bad, and it gives those with "sense" the poison of conformity. Madness is redefined as the few nonconformists, a few with independent thought. It also calls out society as corrupt, claiming that it sets us up to think of the people who conform to the majority are "sane", and those that go against the grain, "dangerous". In fact society often feels compelled to put those with independent thought in chains- they should be locked up! Individuals uniqueness is somehow dangerous to the workings of society. What the speaker elicits is the idea that being true to oneself is not something of criminals- but it is the divinest sense. It is divine to be mad.
2. I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain
I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain
Emily Dickinson
At first glance, the poem is just a funeral. "The mourners to and fro" with a service, the "lift of a box", and the "heavens were a bell", and finally [the casket] "dropped down" (Dickinson, 776). It is not until I realized that the speaker was in the box that the poem became interesting. The speaker implies that they are the one in the casket by using clues like "they" were seated, or "I heard them lift the box"- the speaker distanced themself from the group of people attending the funeral. When the speaker says, "I dropped down", I immediately thought that they were being buried alive. It is more apparent, however, that the funeral is actually for someone- something that is dying- that they are not actually alive. Their brain is "dying", the "Plank of Reason broke". The speaker's "mind was going numb". It is apparent the detachment that the speaker feels from a normal existence, and it is powerful to exemplify this disconnect through a funeral. Their brain is going mad to the point of envisioning its existence as a funeral.
Emily Dickinson
At first glance, the poem is just a funeral. "The mourners to and fro" with a service, the "lift of a box", and the "heavens were a bell", and finally [the casket] "dropped down" (Dickinson, 776). It is not until I realized that the speaker was in the box that the poem became interesting. The speaker implies that they are the one in the casket by using clues like "they" were seated, or "I heard them lift the box"- the speaker distanced themself from the group of people attending the funeral. When the speaker says, "I dropped down", I immediately thought that they were being buried alive. It is more apparent, however, that the funeral is actually for someone- something that is dying- that they are not actually alive. Their brain is "dying", the "Plank of Reason broke". The speaker's "mind was going numb". It is apparent the detachment that the speaker feels from a normal existence, and it is powerful to exemplify this disconnect through a funeral. Their brain is going mad to the point of envisioning its existence as a funeral.
1. APO 96225
APO 96225
Larry Rottmann
This makes complete sense. The minute people get bluntly what they asked for, they react as if they haven't been asking for it, and they're offended. It is a situational irony in the sense that the exact opposite of what the soldier's parents asked for was what they wanted: to be sheltered from the harsh realities of war. It is simply easier for loved ones back at home to cling to ignorance than to feel exploited to the cruelty of war.
The understatements made by the soldier writing home also reveal a truth about how soldiers are hardened to war. They say, "Dear mom, it sure rains a lot here," again at the end of the poem, giving readers the hint that ll of their descriptions about war are blatant understatements. When the soldier gives their parents a peek at the truth, soldier's lack of gravity is displayed. The soldier says with no emotion, "today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (846).
It most displays the irony of the situation when the parents respond offended, there is obviously a huge disconnect created here between the soldiers and the public- they only want to hear about the "beautiful sunsets".
Larry Rottmann
This makes complete sense. The minute people get bluntly what they asked for, they react as if they haven't been asking for it, and they're offended. It is a situational irony in the sense that the exact opposite of what the soldier's parents asked for was what they wanted: to be sheltered from the harsh realities of war. It is simply easier for loved ones back at home to cling to ignorance than to feel exploited to the cruelty of war.
The understatements made by the soldier writing home also reveal a truth about how soldiers are hardened to war. They say, "Dear mom, it sure rains a lot here," again at the end of the poem, giving readers the hint that ll of their descriptions about war are blatant understatements. When the soldier gives their parents a peek at the truth, soldier's lack of gravity is displayed. The soldier says with no emotion, "today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (846).
It most displays the irony of the situation when the parents respond offended, there is obviously a huge disconnect created here between the soldiers and the public- they only want to hear about the "beautiful sunsets".
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