Q: Are Victor and the Monster the same? Is he a reaction of Victor's desires?
I would say that Victor and the Monster are not the same. I can see where similarities can be drawn, such as each has a thirst for knowledge and a hunger that drives them beyond common sense, but I feel they are too different. I see Victor as much more associated with Walton, as I said earlier. The monster his a righteous anger about it, something that guides its actions, that Victor cannot quite match. It seems Victor is instead driven by regret about what he has done, not truly angry at himself, just realizing his mistake. However, the monster is a reaction of Victor's desires at the time. Victor had become twisted and demented with his relentless, ambitious pursuit of scientific brilliance, and the ugly physical demeanor of the monster is reflected in that. I think that is the aspect of the monster that so truly terrifies Victor, that he sees his true naked ambition laid before him in physical form and is awed and disgusted by it.
Discussion
If a mother tells her child that poor people are criminals, than the child will think that poor people are criminals. This is an example of how a child is nurtured can have an effect on development and actions. How is the monster linked into the philosophy of raising a child? Of nature vs. nurture? If Victor had not run away from the monster and had trained it and raised it, would it have a concept of how to act and fit into a semblance of a normal existence?
Possibly the monster killed Victor's family in order to get his attention and a need for affection he desperately wants. The monster has no way of comparing it's existence to other people until he witnesses the family and gains the knowledge to measure moral good from bad in human society. After reading Paradise Lost he tells Victor that he (the monster) should have been Victor's Adam, and Victor should have taught and sheltered him. Children serve the purpose for parents of sating the need to prove to themselves that they are superior to those around them.
Do the killings and negative reactions of the monster serve as a means of retaliation and rebellion against what he perceives as a lack of attention?
I feel like the monster needs to garner attention, no matter if it is good attention or bad, all the time. In many ways he is like a real child, who demands frequent attention or else will burst into fits. However the monster's fits are much more dangerous than a two year olds. The monster's initial desire is not to kill William but to gain a friend and a positive relationship. In fact he almost had a friend in the blind man.
On a different note, do parents OWE their child happiness? I don't think so. They created your existence, and the further framework of your existence is not predicated on a responsibility of parent's to support you. They do owe you the initial tools to grasp happiness for yourself. They must teach you how to survive and flourish in the world around you, but it is up to an individual person to accept that responsibility and use what they have to achieve happiness. What may be happiness for a person's parents is misery for a child, so that child must learn how to make themselves happy.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Frankenstein!
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Walton -- Walton is an explorer seeking to find a passage to the North Pole. He dreams of being a famous writer and explorer. He wants the fame and glory associated with being a great writer, and he serves as the narrator of the frame story and relates Frankenstein's tale. Fame can be associated with control, even sometimes absolutely. Maybe this is what Walton is looking for, but don't read too much into it.
Initial Frame Story -- To start off, after Walton's ship gets stuck in ice, they all see the monster, and a little later Victor. They take Victor aboard, as he is really sick. Victor says he expected his story to die with him, but shares the story to teach Walton a lesson (see Letter 4, 2nd paragraph). This is important as Victor sees Walton as someone who stands to learn from his mistakes.
There is a strong connection between Walton and Victor. They both appear to be very ambitious men. It is almost less important what they accomplish as long as they are well known for it. On page 36, the term artist is used to describe Victor instead of a scientist. This is a very telling moment, as if saying that what we conceive of as science is not a one-sided thing but can be as beautiful as art. Perhaps this foreshadows that the monster, though hideous, has some aspect of beauty about it as well?
Another connection with the term artist is that Shelley is discussing how poets, discoverers, scientists, etc. have great visions of grandeur, and what can be wrong with that and critiquing that drive. The novel is an analysis of Victor and his character. The 1831 edition shows a greater obsession with secrets and saying he was fated to end up like he did. This was because Shelly was letting Romantics off the hook because of the deceased poets memories.
"I was fated" - way of self-exonerating. Victor believes this about himself. He uses it to let himself off the hook too easily. Victor describes his childhood as "full" of people, love, education and friends, a very fulfilling and happy childhood.
Yet he was willing to sacrifice his own health, even the possibility of death, in order to see his ambition realized. He doesn't look at the consequences down the road, mostly because they may not even matter. It matters more to him that he does something special than what the actual result is. There is nothing, not death, not failure, not anything, that will stand in his way. He was so caught up in his passion that he felt that life and death were his playthings and that they would have loyalty to him above even a child to their father. It is similar to a God complex. He is going to claim the worship of his creations so completely that they will absolutely adore him.
Walton -- Walton is an explorer seeking to find a passage to the North Pole. He dreams of being a famous writer and explorer. He wants the fame and glory associated with being a great writer, and he serves as the narrator of the frame story and relates Frankenstein's tale. Fame can be associated with control, even sometimes absolutely. Maybe this is what Walton is looking for, but don't read too much into it.
Initial Frame Story -- To start off, after Walton's ship gets stuck in ice, they all see the monster, and a little later Victor. They take Victor aboard, as he is really sick. Victor says he expected his story to die with him, but shares the story to teach Walton a lesson (see Letter 4, 2nd paragraph). This is important as Victor sees Walton as someone who stands to learn from his mistakes.
There is a strong connection between Walton and Victor. They both appear to be very ambitious men. It is almost less important what they accomplish as long as they are well known for it. On page 36, the term artist is used to describe Victor instead of a scientist. This is a very telling moment, as if saying that what we conceive of as science is not a one-sided thing but can be as beautiful as art. Perhaps this foreshadows that the monster, though hideous, has some aspect of beauty about it as well?
Another connection with the term artist is that Shelley is discussing how poets, discoverers, scientists, etc. have great visions of grandeur, and what can be wrong with that and critiquing that drive. The novel is an analysis of Victor and his character. The 1831 edition shows a greater obsession with secrets and saying he was fated to end up like he did. This was because Shelly was letting Romantics off the hook because of the deceased poets memories.
"I was fated" - way of self-exonerating. Victor believes this about himself. He uses it to let himself off the hook too easily. Victor describes his childhood as "full" of people, love, education and friends, a very fulfilling and happy childhood.
Yet he was willing to sacrifice his own health, even the possibility of death, in order to see his ambition realized. He doesn't look at the consequences down the road, mostly because they may not even matter. It matters more to him that he does something special than what the actual result is. There is nothing, not death, not failure, not anything, that will stand in his way. He was so caught up in his passion that he felt that life and death were his playthings and that they would have loyalty to him above even a child to their father. It is similar to a God complex. He is going to claim the worship of his creations so completely that they will absolutely adore him.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wuthering Heights: Scholarly Articles and Darkened Romance
Scholarly Articles
There are lots of scholarly articles relating characters to ideological and philosophical ideas, such as Heathcliff and Edgar representing transcendental love and empirical love. However is the scholarly article an effective medium? I do not think they are very people friendly, but are just for, as the name says, scholars. They have their niche purpose, as do any area of academic specialty, but they are not for a large portion of the population.
Would ordinary people sometimes want to get more in-depth into scholarship and academia, through tools such as Wikpedia and Google scholar? I think it is a possibility. I use Wikipedia and Google scholar in my free time, but I am an academic so I am not exactly unbiased at this point. I think it is hard for a classroom full of college students, who obviously value education and information, to make a firm decision on the usefulness of academic resources for the general public.
Movie
In regards to the movie that I wrote about, I am being swayed by the arguments of my classmates. I didn't really see the movie in light of using the same character for both Catherines, and how Heathcliff treats each one. It is almost as if he treats the younger Catherine as an extension of the older. That does add a level of complexity I hadn't seen. I still feel that it only muddled the story though. If I hadn't read the book I would have had no idea what was going on. The scene with Heathcliff and Catherine on Catherine's deathbed is a good example of how closely tied hate and love are. Just like how he treats the younger Catherine in terms of how he felt about the older. It is also important to note the way that Catherine was portrayed by the same actress is medium specific to film. It allows a whole new expression and portrayal that the book could not provide.
Darkened Romance
Why would Emily Bronte want to darken romance? Why does a woman writer want to darken or disrupt the "Hollywood" or "Cinderella" version of things? Maybe to show the true reality of love, that it is not just perfect and easily cut out. Instead maybe the man you love transcendentally is too poor and the guy you love empirically is rich. A complex set of circumstances is more likely in real life than a simple answer.
Would you marry your soulmate or the person you are socially and personality agreeable with? I agree completely with Laura in marrying the latter, though I am literally the only one who thinks so in the class. I think that love is something that is hard to quantify. It's hard to say that I could give up the ease and understanding associated with being socially and personality compatible for some completely unknown notion of "soulmate". Instead why wouldn't I go for teh guaranteed compatibility and works towards loving someone. Can't someone grow to be your soulmate?
Foils
There are several foils in this story. The obvious one is the sons, Hareton and Linton. Linton is sickly and weak, while Hareton is strong and passionate. Catherine is very similar to her mother, and so is obviously more attracted to Hareton, who is similar to a young Heathcliff.
Emily Bronte addresses how violent and brutal the story truly is. It takes no prisoners and is honest in how a relationship can develop. There is also an element she talks about in how the creative process almost takes a life of its own and can change the author's original intention, forming great art.
There are lots of scholarly articles relating characters to ideological and philosophical ideas, such as Heathcliff and Edgar representing transcendental love and empirical love. However is the scholarly article an effective medium? I do not think they are very people friendly, but are just for, as the name says, scholars. They have their niche purpose, as do any area of academic specialty, but they are not for a large portion of the population.
Would ordinary people sometimes want to get more in-depth into scholarship and academia, through tools such as Wikpedia and Google scholar? I think it is a possibility. I use Wikipedia and Google scholar in my free time, but I am an academic so I am not exactly unbiased at this point. I think it is hard for a classroom full of college students, who obviously value education and information, to make a firm decision on the usefulness of academic resources for the general public.
Movie
In regards to the movie that I wrote about, I am being swayed by the arguments of my classmates. I didn't really see the movie in light of using the same character for both Catherines, and how Heathcliff treats each one. It is almost as if he treats the younger Catherine as an extension of the older. That does add a level of complexity I hadn't seen. I still feel that it only muddled the story though. If I hadn't read the book I would have had no idea what was going on. The scene with Heathcliff and Catherine on Catherine's deathbed is a good example of how closely tied hate and love are. Just like how he treats the younger Catherine in terms of how he felt about the older. It is also important to note the way that Catherine was portrayed by the same actress is medium specific to film. It allows a whole new expression and portrayal that the book could not provide.
Darkened Romance
Why would Emily Bronte want to darken romance? Why does a woman writer want to darken or disrupt the "Hollywood" or "Cinderella" version of things? Maybe to show the true reality of love, that it is not just perfect and easily cut out. Instead maybe the man you love transcendentally is too poor and the guy you love empirically is rich. A complex set of circumstances is more likely in real life than a simple answer.
Would you marry your soulmate or the person you are socially and personality agreeable with? I agree completely with Laura in marrying the latter, though I am literally the only one who thinks so in the class. I think that love is something that is hard to quantify. It's hard to say that I could give up the ease and understanding associated with being socially and personality compatible for some completely unknown notion of "soulmate". Instead why wouldn't I go for teh guaranteed compatibility and works towards loving someone. Can't someone grow to be your soulmate?
Foils
There are several foils in this story. The obvious one is the sons, Hareton and Linton. Linton is sickly and weak, while Hareton is strong and passionate. Catherine is very similar to her mother, and so is obviously more attracted to Hareton, who is similar to a young Heathcliff.
Emily Bronte addresses how violent and brutal the story truly is. It takes no prisoners and is honest in how a relationship can develop. There is also an element she talks about in how the creative process almost takes a life of its own and can change the author's original intention, forming great art.
Wuthering Heights Movie
In all honesty I didn't feel like any part of the movie helped me better understand the book. I know that movies always fall short of books, but I felt that this one fell horrendously short. It spent the first half failing to convey the depth of Heathcliff and Catherine's love for each other. That part felt almost glossed over.
There was also problems with transitions with time passing. The characters looked the same over a 30 year span, and the movie did a poor job of explaining the passage of time. After reading the book I felt I had a good grasp of the story and the intricacies involved between the characters. I was still having trouble with the family tree portion, but the movie only muddled that further. I had to get out my book and look at the family tree halfway through the movie.
I know this assignment is not supposed to be a movie review, but I truly felt that no part of the movie increased my grasp of the material. The transference of medium from book to film flopped.
In particular the scene out on the moors where Heathcliff predicts either a happy life or a tragic one seems to be almost trivial in the movie, yet it is supposed to be a deep, foreboding scene of what is to come. They also make Heathcliff's initial anger toward Edgar seem like childish anger, which it is in part, but it fails to convey the evil, almost sadistic nature of Heathcliff's revenge.
There was also problems with transitions with time passing. The characters looked the same over a 30 year span, and the movie did a poor job of explaining the passage of time. After reading the book I felt I had a good grasp of the story and the intricacies involved between the characters. I was still having trouble with the family tree portion, but the movie only muddled that further. I had to get out my book and look at the family tree halfway through the movie.
I know this assignment is not supposed to be a movie review, but I truly felt that no part of the movie increased my grasp of the material. The transference of medium from book to film flopped.
In particular the scene out on the moors where Heathcliff predicts either a happy life or a tragic one seems to be almost trivial in the movie, yet it is supposed to be a deep, foreboding scene of what is to come. They also make Heathcliff's initial anger toward Edgar seem like childish anger, which it is in part, but it fails to convey the evil, almost sadistic nature of Heathcliff's revenge.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Wuthering Heights (cont.)
Class Thoughts: What is the nature of the relationship between a servant and a master?
A: The narcissistic nature of being someone who has everything done for you. Then when something is not done for you, there is a negative angry reaction. This makes a person less mature.
At this point in the story it is clear that Heathcliff's revenge is based on his anger at not being able to marry Catherine. But instead of directing his revenge at Catherine, he directs it at all the wealthy elite around him. He divests the Lintons and Earnshaws of their property and joy. His hatred of Hindley is intense because he blames him for "bringing him low" and preventing him from marrying Catherine in the first place.
Isabella is a poorly used innocent vehicle for Heathcliff's Machiavellian machinations. she is the most pure of characters, and Heathcliff ldestroys her, simply to show his power over the class that put him down for so long. It is a stunning display of turnabout with the lower class wreaking havoc on the previously "untouchable" elite.
A: The narcissistic nature of being someone who has everything done for you. Then when something is not done for you, there is a negative angry reaction. This makes a person less mature.
At this point in the story it is clear that Heathcliff's revenge is based on his anger at not being able to marry Catherine. But instead of directing his revenge at Catherine, he directs it at all the wealthy elite around him. He divests the Lintons and Earnshaws of their property and joy. His hatred of Hindley is intense because he blames him for "bringing him low" and preventing him from marrying Catherine in the first place.
Isabella is a poorly used innocent vehicle for Heathcliff's Machiavellian machinations. she is the most pure of characters, and Heathcliff ldestroys her, simply to show his power over the class that put him down for so long. It is a stunning display of turnabout with the lower class wreaking havoc on the previously "untouchable" elite.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Heathcliff Characterization
It seems in the first few chapters that Heathcliff comes off as very abrupt. He has no care for the comfort of others, but seems completely focused on himself, specifically his past. The character that we see when his younger self is introduced in the diary seems to have a completely different personality. This would lead one to believe that something obviously happened in the intervening time that changed Heathcliff in a drastic way. From his reaction to the story by Longwood of Catherine's ghost, it seems to be linked to her. Her marriage to a man other than Heathcliff may have been what ruined him. His love for her could be something that tears at his heart and prevents him from connecting with others, perhpas showing his awkward social actions.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
First chapters of Wuthering Heighs
The first couple of chapters shows the area of Wuthering Heights as being very dark, showing the unsociable nature of Heathcliff. He is a moody master of Wuthering Heights, and makes his tenant Mr. Longwood feel horribly uncomfortable. The initial characters involved are Heathcliff, his daughter-in-law Catherine, the old house man Joseph, and Hareton Earnshaw. Hareton and Catherine detest Heathcliff, and seem uncomfortable in his presence. Heathcliff puts off airs of being abusive and seems to enjoy the discomfort of others.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Rape in Cyberspace
Q: Did Bungle commit Rape?
Cyber-rape and real rape have some similarities. Since real rape's physical effects can be much more short-lived than the mental and emotional effects, it seems to be quite similar. In the past year the American Institute of Mental Health acknowledged online gaming as an actual addiction and mental health risk. I think this provides a good example of how people can become mentally invested in an online persona. So it would follow that if someone is so emotionally involved and a traumatic event happens, the consequences to that person can be severe.
While not as visceral as actual rape, it can still be brutal. The line is much grayer, as it depends on the person whether or not it has an effect. Women who are not that invested in it may not be nearly as affected as one who participates actively on a frequent basis and feels a strong connection to that online community.
There are many similarities between the emotional effects of rape. Violating someone has real effects no matter in which way it occurs. It also struck me how he attempts to call into question the black and white difference between physical action and mental intention. That has always been assumed to be the final barrier that decides whether or not something is a crime or not. That is an interesting new gray area. Online avatars establish identity in a whole new way.
Cyber-rape and real rape have some similarities. Since real rape's physical effects can be much more short-lived than the mental and emotional effects, it seems to be quite similar. In the past year the American Institute of Mental Health acknowledged online gaming as an actual addiction and mental health risk. I think this provides a good example of how people can become mentally invested in an online persona. So it would follow that if someone is so emotionally involved and a traumatic event happens, the consequences to that person can be severe.
While not as visceral as actual rape, it can still be brutal. The line is much grayer, as it depends on the person whether or not it has an effect. Women who are not that invested in it may not be nearly as affected as one who participates actively on a frequent basis and feels a strong connection to that online community.
There are many similarities between the emotional effects of rape. Violating someone has real effects no matter in which way it occurs. It also struck me how he attempts to call into question the black and white difference between physical action and mental intention. That has always been assumed to be the final barrier that decides whether or not something is a crime or not. That is an interesting new gray area. Online avatars establish identity in a whole new way.
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