"'Frankenstein' uses many characteristics of the Gothic genre to arouse the interest of the reader. However Shelley also uses a range of techniques to ensure this engagement."
"'Frankenstein' uses many characteristics of the Gothic genre to arouse the interest of the reader. However Shelley also uses a range of techniques to ensure this engagement." Explore this statement with close reference to significant passages from the novel. The Gothic genre spans the 18th century to the 19th century - essentially to intrigue, scare and horrify the reader. It usually included dark themes such as fear and death and the presence of the supernatural and the placement of events in unfamiliar and mysterious settings, such as haunted castles, ghostly graveyards and wild heaths. Equally, gloomy, thunderous bleak weather was an integral element. Emotions tended to be highly strung and the senses were vital to this genre - sex and seduction contrasted with death usually making a good Gothic tale. The Gothic explores dark desires, which tend to be forbidden in society, and are often linked to sexual inclinations, making it even more appealing to its original conservative Victorian audience. Dark, mythical, grotesque creatures often also feature - such as the vampire, werewolf, or, in this case, Frankenstein's monster. A traditional example of Gothic literature written before 'Frankenstein' is Ann Radcliffe's 'The Count of Udolpho'. It is evident that Shelley has been influenced by writers such as Radcliffe as 'Frankenstein' shares some of the same aspects: the
"Compare the way in which the directors of 'Mary Shelly's Frankenstein' (1994) and 'Frankenstein' (1931) use different techniques to build up atmosphere in their opening sequences
Emma Partington Media Coursework "Compare the way in which the directors of 'Mary Shelly's Frankenstein' (1994) and 'Frankenstein' (1931) use different techniques to build up atmosphere in their opening sequences Mary Shelley was only 18 when she wrote Frankenstein, a novel that has come to be one of the most famous horror stories of all time portrayed both on stage and screen. The story itself deals with an ambitious young scientist who creates life, but then rejects his procreation of a monster. James Whale, a Hollywood director with a history of theatre, was the first to adapt Shelley's original text into a film in 1931, starring Borris Karloff as the monster. Whale was directing at a time when the Hollywood industry was very young; the audience of its time had never seen anything like Frankenstein and were easily shocked. Whale's image of Frankenstein's monster has become one of the most well known in the western world. In 1994, British born director Kenneth Branagh directed and produced another version of the film, starring Robert De Niro as the monster. Branagh's monster portrayed quite a different image to the square headed vision most were used to. In 1994 Hollywood was nothing out of the ordinary and it was necessary to think up new methods to scare and shock the ever-demanding audience. This essay will
"Considering the social ideals of time, discuss the social restraints of the female characters compared with the freedoms of the male".
"Considering the social ideals of time, discuss the social restraints of the female characters compared with the freedoms of the male" In the eighteenth century, when Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' was written, there were many social restraints placed upon women, but where men were still relatively free. An example of this is from up until a few decades ago where the men were expected to go out and work while the women were to stay at home, doing the cooking and housework. In this essay, I am going to attempt to find out if Mary Shelley has demonstrated these social restraints in the book 'Frankenstein', and to discuss these restraints and their effects upon the characters. During the time when 'Frankenstein' was written, the women were considered much less important than the men. This is also displayed in the book where when Justine was to be hanged. Elizabeth tried to save Justine Moritz although failed to save her and she was then hanged. Victor Frankenstein, however, knew that he could save Justine if he wanted to, but didn't want to for fear of being prosecuted himself, as he would have to reveal that he let a monster, his own creation, into the world. This also shows that men are supposedly higher than women because a woman at this time would give up her life to save a man, yet a man would not give up his life to save a woman, shown here, making the men seem of a
Frankenstein doesn't have any heroes or villains, only victims. Do you agree with this statement?
23rd February 2005 English Coursework: Frankenstein doesn't have any heroes or villains, only victims. Do you agree with this statement? Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, started being written in 1814 and was finally completed in the summer of 1816, at a time when gothic genre was extremely popular. It was then released in 1818, but Shelley decided to release it anonymously. It is a gothic horror novel that concentrates on isolation and ambition. The idea for the novel was supposedly first invented when Shelley was at a friend's house when a competition was created as to whom could create the best "tale of terror" story. It is about a man, Victor Frankenstein, who tries to "play god" and creates a living "creature" that is then ostracised and consequently commits a series of murders throughout the novel. The characters involved can be viewed as heroes, or as villains, depending on the different perspectives of the reader. Frankenstein's creation of the creature can be viewed as heroic, as he is seen to push the boundaries of science further than ever before: "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their beings to me." Frankenstein also sacrificed the safety of those he loved to prevent the risk of the creatures killing others when he destroyed the female creature, which angered the male creature. He was also very
Shelly's ''Frankenstein'' is regarded as the first modern horror novel. It is in fact, a Gothic horror.
Shelly's ''Frankenstein'' is regarded as the first modern horror novel. It is in fact, a Gothic horror. The story came about mainly from a dream shelly had. The dream was heavily influenced by her background and past personal experiences. These include her visits to galvanism experiments, a visit to the Rock of Franks; a castle which translated gives ''Frankenstein'' and her surroundings at the time, which where the Alps that made up the setting for some of the book. Other issues, which might have affected the outcome of the book, are her failed pregnancy, which could be linked to victors mother dieing. Events of the time had led to a near breakthrough to bring the dead to life and the near full exploration of the Earth leaving only the poles unexplored. Romantic and Gothic styles are used in the book the romantic style is the awe of nature a good example is ''the abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier overhung me'' and the Gothic style is the psychological that encompasses the very personal themes of life and death this is shown by ''how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains I had endeavoured to form'' The Story begins with Walton's letters to his sister, he talks a lot about his ambitions of mapping the arctic and finding a companion who shares his ruthless ambition. After awhile he finds Frankenstein floating on a sheet of
Isolation in Frankenstein
Jessica Rodriguez Rodriguez 1 English 5b Professor Dumler 28 Feb. 2005 Isolation in Frankenstein Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, has several themes imbedded in the text. One major theme is of isolation. Many of the characters experience some time of isolation. The decisions and actions of some of these characters are the root cause of their isolation. They make choices that isolate themselves from everyone else. However, other characters are forced into isolation for reasons that are not in their control. The actions of another cause them to experience loneliness. The story begins with Robert Walton writing to his sister, Margaret, about his voyage to an undiscovered place. In these letters, as the voyage gets underway, he writes of his loneliness. Letter II states, "I have no friend ..." (Hunter 16; ch 1). He describes how his "enthusiasm of success" will be experienced alone and also how he must suffer his disappointments alone. He states, "I desire the company of a man" (Hunter 10; ch. 1 ). In another letter, Walton is telling his sister about a conversation he had with Frankenstein about friendship. Frankenstein tells Walton, "I once had a friend ..." (Hunter 16' ch. 1), implying that he no longer has any friends. Isolation is evident from the very beginning. Robert Walton chooses his isolation. He chooses to take this voyage. Walton
The presentation of Frankenstein in chapters 11 16
The presentation of Frankenstein in chapters 11 - 16 The novel, Frankenstein is a story about a man who went to great extent to defy the laws of nature. His greatest desire; to create a being from scratch, one who will cheat its way out of the hands of death and diseases, one who never has to die or lose a loved one, a superior being, one that will revolutionise humankind. The author of this novel was a young woman named Mary Shelley who wrote the story at a youthful age of 19. It's said that the inspiration of the story came in a form of a nightmare while she was enjoying a holiday in Geneva with her family. The story was published in London in 1818. The tale had a large impact across literature and sparked the birth of gothic horror in books and films. The novel has 2 settings; the North Pole and Geneva, her holiday location. The title of the novel refers to a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who learns how to create life and creates a being in the likeness of man, but larger than average and more powerful with powers and attributes no human could ever possess, kind of like taking the role of God into his own hands. Miraculously, he is successful with his creation, but due to hasty decisions, he rejects it. This he comes to regret later on, as one by one each of his family members die at the hands of the being who is driven by anger and revenge, until the only person left
Marry Shellys Frankenstein.
PRE-1914 PROSE COURSEWORK: STAGE 1 Marry Shelly's Frankenstein In the story there are obvious sections, there are a few reasons for this. As you read the book you realize that the story is subdivided. There are different forms of narrative in the story. This varies from letterform at the start of the story, different narrators and letters sent to people in the story. In Frankenstein there are three different narrators, these are the monster, Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. The narrative set up is rather like an onion. This is because you have the main narrator, the monster, in the middle then Victor and then finally on the outside Walton. Robert Walton would have been seen as a Romantic hero because of his rebellious ways. Mary Shelly choose Robert Walton's character because she wants him to be a rebel, which also links him to Victor Frankenstein as victor is a rebel as well. Mary Shelly links Robert Walton to Romantics. Firstly Romantics have interest in nature, rather like Robert Walton who is going on a voyage to the North Pole. Also Romantics rebelled against social rules. Robert Walton is rebelling against what Shelley calls the rules of nature as he goes on an expedition to the undiscovered. There are many Romantic heroes from various books like Odysseus from The Odyssey. But there are also other rebellious heroes many of who are from myths and legends. One of
How are family and domestic affection explored in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein
How are family and domestic affection explored in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? Shelley's portrayal of childhood and domestic affection are explored by the use of her characters in the novel. She does this by setting the scene of the story in a town called Geneva. Geneva was a residence taken up by free thinkers and writers, of which she was one of them. Shelley describes the Victor as Genevese by birth, and relates his family and personal history, describing his parents and his childhood. Shelley describes Victor's childhood as perfect, "No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself". Shelley here uses Victors parents to show their love and affection upon Victor. They themselves saw Victor as " a helpless creature, bestowed on them by heaven" Victor then goes about describing the circumstances of his cousin 'Elizabeth' and how he looked upon her as his to "protect, love, and cherish" This gives me incite that Victor is having his first real experience of what caring for another, in a loving way is like. Victor then describes his own youthful character and charisma as well as those of his companions. Elizabeth is seen as calmer than Victor and appreciates poetry and the beauty of nature, while the passionate Victor is "capable of intense application and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge" This thirst for knowledge became apparent when
Looking at Bram Stokers Dracula and Kenneth Brannaghs Frankenstein, show how the directors of these two films have adapted them from the text and also at how they attempted to make the film more appealing to a modern audience.
The horror genre remains very popular with cinema audiences even nowadays because the special effects today make creatures look even more terrifyingly realistic and it also means that you can film stunts or scenes like somebody turning into a werewolf for example, much more easy to film and much more effective. An example of a modern horror film that consists of very effective special effects is 'Underworld' that makes use of computer generation to make some impressive transformation scenes. The advances in technology give modern horror films an edge over classics and a modern audience expects a lot more from a horror film nowadays. Modern horror films consist of old and new tricks of filming to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. They consist of much more varied and clever plots and storylines. Re-workings of older horror films are filmed with the view to appeal to a modern audience and the audience go to see these horror films with an expectation of what they think will happen and the good thing about horror films is they can have plot twists and unexpected events occurring throughout the film. We watched two extracts from the film adaptations of two Gothic horror novels, Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and Kenneth Brannagh's 'Frankenstein'. We analysed these two scenes and then compared them to the written extracts. The two scenes we looked at are the creation scene
