| Crimes of the Creature |
[Nov. 19th, 2006|04:25 pm] |
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In class on we participated in an exercise that was designed to place blame for the crimes of the creature either on the creature himself, Victor Frankenstein, or society. Each group presented compelling evidence to support their claims of innocence and in the end Victor was found to be guilty, if not most guilty, for the crimes that the creature committed. I feel that the blame can not be given solely to any of these three parties and must lie with all of them. Victor is probably most to blame as it all started with him. He created the creature and subsequently abandoned him, which left him to his own devices and to find his own meaning for the difference between right and wrong. This combined with his indecision over what to as far as the issue of the creature was concerned as well as his choice not to placate the creature with a mate. He agonized over the thought of the two creatures having children but being the genius that he is, it stands to reason that if he could create life from dead tissue that he would be able to remove the female creature’s uterus before it was completed. Instead he chose to enrage the creature further by destroying his only chance for happiness. The creature holds a good deal of blame as well. This is because Victor succeeding in creating a creature of remarkable intelligence and after his encounter with the De Lacey family and his readings he should have realized the difference from right and wrong. He even demonstrates his comprehension of the concept with his remorse for theft. All of his most atrocious acts took place following this comprehension. During this period he nursed his hatred for humanity and the rest of his deeds seemed to be carried out with ruthless calculated efficiency. Society’s prejudices are to blame as well. Every attempt the creature made to reach out to humanity was spat back in his face. This is not to say that one would not expect a person to be frightened or taken aback at the sight of the creature but they attacked without any sort of provocation or indication of the malice of the creature. |
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| Shelley's Motivation |
[Nov. 11th, 2006|01:32 pm] |
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I think Shelley’s intention when writing Frankenstein was not necessarily to undermine scientific progress or to suggest that it is somehow inherently evil. Instead I think she intends to suggest the folly of man and his arrogance. Her story does not suggest that all knowledge is evil, merely that knowledge of some things should be forbidden. Things only went wrong for Victor when he let his thirst for knowledge become an obsession and that obsession led to arrogance and audacity. When he decided that he could create a being superior to man, he crossed the line from seeking acceptable knowledge to seeking that which should remain forbidden. Victor’s decision is so audacious on the virtue that he not only seeks to do something that only nature has been able to complete previously but he also seeks to improve upon nature’s design. I think Shelley seeks to suggest that sciences and the study of natural law should be used to improve the conditions that these natural laws themselves set up. In other words, using comprehension of natural law to support natural law rather than attempting to go against it. In Victor’s case, this means that he should have been using his scientific knowledge to preserve the lives of those around him rather than attempting to create an entirely new life. The profound effect that the creature’s creation has on Victor’s life is used to show just how important the preservation of natural law is to Shelley. Victor’s obsession stemmed from a desire to gain knowledge, but in the end, he lost everything. |
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| Poets |
[Nov. 2nd, 2006|08:54 pm] |
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A poet, or any artist for that matter, is a traveler that takes the journey that others avoid for whatever reason. Part of this journey is taken by all people in their emotional experiences but the artistic conveyance of the emotions completes a part of the journey that most never experience. Once the first part of this journey through the mind and soul is taken, the recorded wordplay is more than is merely the conveyance through which they choose to share their experiences. Experiences and emotions attain a level of existence that is not possible without their conveyance to others, this tangibility of emotions is what poets and other artists seek to attain. Through the recanting of these experiences the poet acts as a prophet and a guide, inviting the audience to follow in the same odyssey of the mind. Through their poetry they seek to convey emotion with enough efficacy to inspire empathy. In so doing, they have shown the depth of their emotional experiences and invited their readers to follow suit. It is my belief that every art aspires to affect its audience in such a way that it moves them to attempt whatever art has so affected them. This notion was especially important for the romantic era poets and other artists because of their existence in a period in which the value for art was steadily slipping. The poets of this era saw themselves as one of the last lines of defense against preventing most people from slipping into an age bred purely on logic and reasoning completely devoid of emotion. |
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| Byron's Motivation/Inspiration |
[Oct. 27th, 2006|12:32 pm] |
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In Byron’s epic work, Don Juan, he paints a picture of a young boy and his sexual exploits. In this story it seems as if Don Juan is almost a hapless victim in the affairs and events that ensue. Lord Byron was well known for his salacious and scandalous love affairs. This begs the question: is there a connection between the plot line of Don Juan and the infamous social life of Byron. Was Byron, perhaps suggesting that he was merely an innocent bystander in all these torrid love affairs and that the women were to blame for the shabby treatment he was known to have expressed towards women in the decline of the relationship. In Don Juan’s many sorted adventures, he always seems to find himself in a less than socially acceptable love affair wherever he goes. This is something he shares in common with Byron. Byron traveled all over Europe and left a path of broken women in his wake. In Don Juan’s earliest affair, he seduced the wife of a wealthy merchant and was forced to flee the area in order to escape scandal and persecution. Byron, himself, was caught in a similar situation amidst rumors of infidelity with his wife and that he had fathered a child by his half sister. These rumors caused him to have to leave England for the rest of his life. Bryon ended up dying far away from the places he loved fighting for the independence of Greece. We don’t know if Don Juan would have followed a similar fate, since Byron’s death prevented the completion of all the cantos he intended. |
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| Kubla Khan |
[Oct. 19th, 2006|12:04 pm] |
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In the preface to Kubla Khan included in the book, it is suggested that Coleridge did not even consider this work to be of any poetic value. It is said that he rather thought it to be of psychological and cathartic value more than anything else. This begs the question does it possess poetic nature and should it be interpreted as such or does it merely chronicle the happenings of an opium induced dream by a man of disintegrating health. The piece appears more scattered and unfocused than “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The mariner piece expressed a clear point about the necessity of man’s bond with nature and how detrimental the severing of that bond could prove to be for a person. Perhaps the escalation of Coleridge’s drug use can be attributed to the increasingly scattered and confused nature of his poetry. Coleridge’s reluctance to publish the work, Kubla Khan may be seen as an indicator to his feelings toward the work. He saw it as only a fragment, and unfinished account of an inconsequential dream. This lack of any confidence in its significance is likely part of why he was so hesitant to have the poem published. Although today it is considered to be one of his greater works and deeper still, one of the great lyrical works of history. The work was praised in its day, Lord Byron insisted upon its publishing and to this day it is a heavily studied and widely interpreted work. This attributes to its global significance but this is a stark contrast to the personal significance it seemed to hold for Coleridge. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 18th, 2006|11:17 am] |
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I think Coleridge set out to help his reader appreciate nature again. In his writing about the preface to the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads, he expresses that it was his and Wordsworth’s intent to “excite the sympathy of the reader by a faithful adherence to the truth of nature.” (634) This suggests that they each intended to inspire the movement of the reader’s emotions through the use of nature. Coleridge’s writing on the subject go on to say that Wordsworth was concerned with this aim from the point of view of the daily life of the common people while he was concerned with it from a more supernatural position. This is why the Rime of the Ancient Mariner takes such an ethereal approach to its message. This poem seeks to show the reader what joy and good fortune nature can bring them and how vengeful it can be should these joys be abused. It also provides a commentary on senseless brutality towards anything, not just nature. A single transgression against a helpless creature doomed the mariner for the rest of his life to a tortured existence. |
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| Potential for Sublimity |
[Oct. 10th, 2006|12:13 pm] |
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It is very interesting to consider the way in which Burke categorizes things with beauty versus sublimity. He analyzes the potential of sublimity from several different points that could be used to convey that sublimity is synonymous with fear. The romantics of this era seem to think of sublimity as a step beyond mere beauty. Sublimity is seen as something like beauty, but to a much more profound extent. I think it is an interesting notion to consider the contrasts in what they perceived to have potential for sublimity with how we would perceive the same objects in this day and age. There are some similarities in what they perceive and what would be common today. Grandiose works of nature are just as awe inspiring today as they were during the romantic period. Though, I would venture to say that some things that they attributed to sublimity then, would today just be considered scary. When Burke spoke of vastness being an attribute of something that had the potential to be sublime he spoke of the depth of a something. A giant chasm may have been awe inspiring at that time, but today, many people would merely see a hole in the ground. Perhaps the lack of a sense of sublimity in the modern world is fueled by technological advancements. To experience a sense of sublimity one needs to be exposed to something that is largely unknown. The lack of understanding of what one sees will inspire fear which will in turn inspire sublimity. As we learn more and more about the world around us, there is less to fear and less potential to see sublimity in our environments. Burke speaks of infinity as being an attribute to the sublime. As our knowledge of what is around us grows, we get closer and closer to the edge of infinity (though we will never reach it). |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 1st, 2006|10:04 am] |
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There were a lot of differences between Bride and Prejudice and its source material. I think the most operative difference is the relationships between the characters; the one shared between Darcy and Lalita/Lizzy changes the most. I would almost venture to say that the change makes the characters more believable. In Jane Austen’s novel, from the beginning of their acquaintance it is clear that Darcy’s pride is much more the culprit in keeping them apart than Elizabeth’s prejudice. At their first meeting he will not go above saying that her presence is tolerable. Whereas in Bride and Prejudice his interest is apparent from the first party they attend together. In Pride and Prejudice, Darcy’s pride is insufferable and painfully apparent to all that he meets. In Bride and Prejudice, his pride is noticeable to be sure, but it is not nearly is bad as in the book. In the book he was scarcely able to admit that he was in love with Elizabeth because of what it would imply for his social status. In the movie he may not admit it in the best way but he is readily prepared to admit and show his affections for Lalita, he just is not ready to stand up to his mother. His treatment of those around him is much more amiable in the movie than in Pride and Prejudice. This is an example of his pride not being as extreme as it was shown to be in the book. In Bride and Prejudice Lalita’s prejudices towards Darcy seem to take the same role as Darcy’s pride takes in the book. In the movie, Lalita’s prejudice is a much more powerful obstacle to their relationship than Darcy’s pride. Darcy is a much more believable character in the movie because of this difference in pride. It is much easier to believe that he really was a good man under his pride when there is a lot less of it. It is quite hard to believe that Darcy is as good a person as the end of the book portrays him when one considers his actions at the beginning of the novel. |
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| Darcy's Pride |
[Sep. 24th, 2006|03:09 pm] |
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I think there are interesting connections and contrasts to be drawn between the relationships of Mr. Bingley and Jane and the relationship of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. These relationships are very different but they are both deeply influenced by Mr. Darcy’s immense pride. The relationship of between Jane and Bingley is characterized by a playful innocence. Almost as soon as they met, they allowed themselves to fall in love with each other although it was not really the best social move for Bingley. Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship is at first characterized by rationale and thought. Darcy could not allow himself to become interested in Elizabeth because of her inferior social and financial status. Elizabeth could not allow herself to become interested in Darcy because of his insufferable pride and standoffishness. Darcy’s pride reaches so far as to cause him to interfere in the relationship between Bingley and Jane. Darcy sees himself falling in love with a girl that he, socially at least, should not be allowed to love. He intervenes in his friend’s similar situation in order to stop him from committing a social misstep. He does this in order to preserve the pride of Bingley’s family. While Elizabeth is visiting the newlywed Collins couple she is invited to Lady de Bourgh’s house for a social event. When she does not attend, Darcy comes to check on her health. He goes on to tell her that he must be allowed to speak of how much he loves her. (129) His pride is so great that it almost appears to hurt him physically to tell her how he feels about her. After all he feels he has given up in order to come forward with his feelings for her, Elizabeth’s disdain for him serves to enrage him and upset what is left of his pride. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 17th, 2006|01:43 pm] |
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Of all the poems that were read and discussed this week, I enjoyed reading “Mary” by William Blake the most. I think this poem is a great example of Blake’s willingness to go out on a limb for whatever he believes in regardless of the possible repercussions. Blake was the first to come to Wollstonecraft’s aid during posthumous controversy surrounding her life and deeds. After her husband released her unfinished work and his Memoir, nobody was willing to come to the defense of Wollstonecraft. Even those that had been her friends in life feared aiding her publicly because of possible damage that could be done to their own careers. Blake not only defended her, but he went so far as to paint her as a martyr for her own ideals. Wollstonecraft touted the importance of the opportunity of education for females in order to give them a chance for independence and the right to manage their own affairs and families. In so doing, she demonstrated that she was an educated woman and that she was capable of reason. Blake talks about the “Envious Race” (318) surrounding Wollstonecraft and how these people make it their mission to tear down her ideas and discredit all of her work. He believed this was because they were envious of her abilities. I think the conservatives’ attempt to discredit Wollstonecraft stems much more from fear than envy. This woman spent her whole life writing about how women could make a profound difference in the world if they were only given the chance to be educated equally alongside men. Her words caused serious waves in the world and in so doing, her point was proven. Her enemies feared that other women might get wind of what she was doing and think they could have the same effect on the world and then their grip on things would be lost. |
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