Virtually all literature contain instinctive trends in the human consciousness to represent certain themes or motifs, these are defined as archetypes. Archetypes can be thought as blueprints or as bundles of psychic energy that influence the manner in which we understand and react to life. There are two different categories of archetypes, the plot archetype and the character archetype. The orphan, martyr, wanderer, warrior, magician, villain, wise child, temptress, rebel, underdog, fool, saint, virgin, wise, old man or woman are all considered to be character archetypes. Call to adventure, isolation, quest and monster that turns against its creator are all considered to be plot archetypes. The novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, contains archetypes.
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley contains the archetype of ‘great/terrible’ parent. The ‘great/terrible’ parent is a character archetype used in many novels and literatures. The ‘great/terrible’ parent is defined as a parent in the novel with either great or terrible parenting traits. The great parent is a caring, compassionate, loving, nurturing character who can either be a father, mother or creator. The terrible parent is uncompassionate, unaffectionate, uncaring, and a loveless character that can also be a creator, mother, or father. The monster created by Frankenstein is a victim of bad parenting because of the wrongdoing of the protagonist Victor Frankenstein. “I, the miserable and abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (Shelley, 204). Frankenstein is an example of a terrible parent because he creates a creature which he neglects to nurture and take care off. Instead he looks at it in disgust, mistreats it and abandons it as if it were ...
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... is guilty for the death off his best friend Henry Clerval. The ‘God’ archetype is used in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in both cases of creation and destruction.
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley consists of archetypes. The ‘great/terrible’ parent, the ‘wander’, and ‘God’ are some of the archetypes used in the novel Frankenstein. Archetypes have emerged through people in their dreams. The bases for these archetypes can be traced back to the start of religion, mythologies, legends and the first fairy tales. The have been believed to be general patterns that come from the collective unconscious. “Most religious stories and mythologies have some sort of similar root, some sort of global archetypes” (Maynard James Keenan, brainyquote.com).
Maynard James Keenan, brainyquote.com http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/maynardjam238216.html
For centauries, women have been forced to live life in the outskirts of a male dominated society. During the 1800’s, the opportunities for women were extremely limited and Mary Shelly does an excellent job in portraying this in her gothic novel, Frankenstein. Furthermore, in this novel, Mary Shelly shows how society considers women to be possessions rather than independent human beings. In addition, the female characters rely heavily on men for support and survival, thus proving their inability to do it on their own. Lastly, the female characters in this novel are in many ways victimized by the male characters. In conclusion, in Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, the female characters always fulfill the limited and archetypical roles that are set for them by society.
...that had to become evil in order to get what he wants. It was Frankenstein and the society’s fault that the monster actually turned into a monster, they didn’t reach out to him, and instead they froze him out of the society because of his looks.
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, illustrates the Romantic idea of the sublime naturalworld as an emotional experience for the characters of the novel. Within the text, Shelleyutilizes an allusion to the John Milton’s biblical story, Paradise Lost, to make a parallel betweenthe characters. Within the passage, the monster compares himself, as well as his creator, Victor,to the characters Adam and Satan. He comes to realize that he is more similar to Satan;ultimately, leading him to his reign of terror and the revenge he wishes to impose on Victor. Themonster realizes that he is similar to Adam in Paradise Lost in that they both do not want to bealone. The monster also realizes that there is good in the world that is deeply contrasted with
What is a monster, really? Is it really a Creature that has three eyes instead of two, with pus seeping out of every crevice in his face and an abnormally large form? Or is it someone with a mind so corrupt it rivals that of Satan? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a story within a story that centers on the tale of a man with an immense thirst of knowledge and a fetish to imitate the Creator. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a lot like the Greek mythological tale of the Greek God, Prometheus, and his brother, Epimetheus, who were assigned the task of creating man. The story captivates the theme of monstrosity. Mary Shelley wrote the novel in a form so the reader’s opinions never stray far from sympathy for the monster and apathy for Victor Frankenstein. The novel looks at “Monstrosity” and “Humanity” in a deeply analytical way.
The classic Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has many themes within it. These themes are both obvious and inconspicuous. These themes involve family and isolation; ambition and fallibility; secrecy; revenge; prejudice; lost innocence; and knowledge, wisdom, and discernment.
An archetype is a human experience or symbol that is universally known and accepted. Archetypes can be images or stories passed on through history. Carl Jung, a prominent psychiatrist in the early 1900’s, used archetypes in his theory about the human psyche and how humans can recognize these symbols because they reside in the collective human subconscious. Some common examples of archetypes are The Hero, The Mentor, The Mother, The Villain and many more. Archetypes like these can be seen in everyday things like books, tv or movies. In The Complete Stories by Zora Neale Hurston there are many different archetypes in each story but three prominent ones are The Trickster, The Devil or Evil, and The Hero. In the novel The Trickster archetype
The monster “Frankenstein” is thought of as a horrible, evil creation. One informant thought of him as frustrated, loud, and uncommunicative. Some others remember aspects from the many different movies such as the monster having “the mind of a killer and the heart of a kind man.” One informant recalled the monster having a “soft spot for children” when he helped a little girl kill all the evil monsters in one of the movies.
The use of archetypes in works of literature is especially prominent in stories of characters with bad past, the evident pattern of a bad home life or abandonment builds a connection between the readers and the character. While researching I was quite shocked by the vast resemblances, at odd times I has epiphanies of the subject and their attributes.Though many authors The similarity between Frankenstein’s monster and King Arthur is not difficult to find as both display the innocent and orphan archetype. In the same fashion, both men experience betrayal, loneliness, the need for approval, and pure optimism as children only to have it stripped away. In this research paper I aim to throw spotlight upon the affinity between the creature from
Frankenstein and his abominable creation are two characters inexorably linked with eachother, as father and son, as inventor and invention, and even as reflections of eachother. Their conflict deals with themes of the morality of science and the fears of child birth, and their characters are drawn from a wealth of experience and reading. Shelley’s doppleganger of mankind is like a twisted vision of reality; based in some sense on reality but wildly taken out of proportion, the monster is so inhuman that it cannot reconcile itself with its master or the world of humanity. Its tragic story serves as a warning of what mankind could become as well as a reflection of Shelley’s own personal demons, and her creation has changed the face of literature.
An archetype in literature is defined as a typical example of a certain type of person. A character in a poem or play can be placed into many different archetype categories. Archetypes help a reader to gain a better understanding of who a character in the work is on the inside. This deeper insight into the character allows the reader to follow the flow of the story easier and more effectively. There are many different archetypes that can help to advance the story. One of the most useful in advancing this story is the typical powerful character. Whether it be supernatural or cunningness this character always comes out on top in the situation and holds the most control over others and their actions. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”,
When Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is analyzed, critics comes to a conclusion about Victor Frankenstein's creation. The creature invokes the most sympathy from the readers than any other character in the novel. Because he is abandoned by society which manipulates the creature to do evil things despite his good heart. Therefore Shelley's message throughout the novel is that a person is not born evil, they are made evil.
Professor John Lye of Brock University, California describes literary theory as: "a collection of related theoretical concepts and practices which are marked by a number of premises, although not all of the theoretical approaches share or agree on all of them."
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein centers around a creator who rejects his own creation. The plot thickens as Victor Frankenstein turns his back on his creation out of fear and regret. The monster is cast out alone to figure out the world and as a result of a life with no love, he turns evil. Shelley seems to urge the reader to try a relate with this monster and avoid just seeing him as an evil being beyond repentance. There is no doubt that the monster is in fact evil; however, the monster’s evilness stems from rejection from his creator.
The idea of duality permeates the literary world. Certain contradictory commonplace themes exist throughout great works, creation versus destruction, light versus dark, love versus lust, to name a few, and this trend continues in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The pivotal pair in this text however, is monotony versus individuality. The opposing entities of this pairing greatly contrast against each other in Frankenstein, but individuality proves more dominant of the two in this book.
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. Throughout the novel, Shelley investigates the idea of monstrosity. She makes the point that a monster does not have to be genuinely evil in order to be considered monstrous.