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Language and identity in mother tongue by amy tan
The importance of language in education
Importance of language as a subject in school
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Recommended: Language and identity in mother tongue by amy tan
As Mendoza indicates, the creature's methods of indirect learning in Frankenstein are not particular to fictional works; indirect forms of learning such as observation, trial and error, and introspection have all played a crucial role in my intellectual development as well. I primarily spoke Gujarati during my early childhood, as my parents spoke it around me. As I was a child, I was unable to learn the fundamentals of English by reading a textbook. I learned the English language through many forms of both direct and indirect education. My mother taught me the fundamentals of the language, such as when to use "a" and when to use "an". However, as I began to speak more, indirect education proved to be substantially more helpful in learning the …show more content…
Although not always apparent, the effects of all forms of indirect education provide many advantages over direct forms of education, the most notable example being the depth of understanding obtained. True mastery of material cannot be taught via a book or lecture; rather, an individual must internalize and appreciate what they have learned beyond a superficial level. As discussed, the Indian cooking principle of Asram discourages the usage of measuring devices. While measuring ingredients with a culinary tool and memorizing the quantity of each does allow one to cook, an inherent understanding is not achieved, and the information learned is superficial at best. In the case that there is a limited supply of a crucial ingredient, how should a cook handle the situation? Whereas a cook informed by direct education would be dumbfounded, a cook informed by indirect education would be able to apply information learned and internalized and substitute one particular spice with another. The same level of understanding obtained by indirect education in language development is crucial. Whether the creature learning human communication or myself learning Latin or Guajarati, indirect forms of learning allow for a deeper understanding of the language. In all forms of communication and language, there lies a subtext that can only be understood through mastery. The creature, for example, is able to learn how to empathize with individuals through observation. Whereas teaching vocabulary via direct forms of education would not pose any difficulty, teaching an individual such as the creature empathy - an integral component of human communication - would be exceedingly difficult through direct means. Only a deeper understanding through indirect means would allow for such appreciation. For me, learning Latin posed a similar difficulty in that a single verb, such as solvo, can
Frankenstein, speaking of himself as a young man in his father’s home, points out that he is unlike Elizabeth, who would rather follow “the aerial creations of the poets”. Instead he pursues knowledge of the “world” though investigation. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word “world” is for Frankenstein, very much biased or limited. He thirsts for knowledge of the tangible world and if he perceives an idea to be as yet unrealised in the material world, he then attempts to work on the idea in order to give it, as it were, a worldly existence. Hence, he creates the creature that he rejects because its worldly form did not reflect the glory and magnificence of his original idea. Thrown, unaided and ignorant, into the world, the creature begins his own journey into the discovery of the strange and hidden meanings encoded in human language and society. In this essay, I will discuss how the creature can be regarded as a foil to Frankenstein through an examination of the schooling, formal and informal, that both of them go through. In some ways, the creature’s gain in knowledge can be seen to parallel Frankenstein’s, such as, when the creature begins to learn from books. Yet, in other ways, their experiences differ greatly, and one of the factors that contribute to these differences is a structured and systematic method of learning, based on philosophical tenets, that is available to Frankenstein but not to the creature.
The greater detail provided by the book about the monster’s experiences allows the reader to sympathize with the monster more so than an audience member. When the Frankenstein monster is retelling the story of the hardships he has endured, he mentions events that were overlooked in the play. One example of this is when the monster saved a girl’s life. Such an act would normally be considered very heroic and receive much praise under any circumstances, but instead the monster is rewarded by being shot, receiving only “the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone.” (Shelley 135) The book also examines the months of hard work the creature put into learning about human nature and language in order to be fully accepted when he chose to reveal himself. The monster hid by the cottage for around a year, listening and learning during t...
We first view Frankenstein’s ignorance while he is busy in his work. He had not visited his family for two straight years. These are the people that love and care about him, yet he does not go home. Not even to visit his own father, the man who pays for his schooling and necessities.
Knowledge comes from experience. Since birth, Mary Shelley’s Monster from her acclaimed epistolary novel, Frankenstein, has been assaulted by all of the difficulties of life, yet he has faced them completely alone. The Tabula Rasa concept is completely applicable to him. The Monster begins as a child, learning from mimicking and watching others. He then educates himself by reading a few books which help shape his personality and give him an identity. Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the Monster searches for and accomplishes the basic human necessities but feels alone, and needs human interaction and companionship. “My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine,” (Shelley 115). As the book progresses, the Monster ceases to be a one-dimensional and flat watcher of humanity. Through his numerous experiences and education, the monster instead morphs into a participator of humanity with the ability to achieve goals, broaden his personality and create himself an identity.
“I was benevolent and good; misery made me fiend” How far and in what ways is the creature a victim of Frankensteins thirst for knowledge?
There are a number of differences between the book and movie adaptation of Frankenstein. The first evident difference is that, in the book, the novel gets some books and learns on his own to read and write from them .Comparably, in the movie adaptation, the monster learned from watching the De Lacy family and how they communicated to each other. The book goes in great detain to explain the monsters education and how the books helped whereas, in the movie, little is shared of how fast the monster acquired education. The monsters education is reflected best in the book compared to the movie. In addition to this, the monsters appearance is very different in the movie compared to how he is described in the book. In the book, the creature taught himself how to read and write from the classic literature the Prometheus and Milton’s Paradise Lost, where he learnt to speak very clearly. In the movie, the creature is inarticulate.
...ime, such as reading, speaking, and how to find shelter. More importantly however, he learns something that affects his entirety of his short life: how humans truly are. Frankenstein learns that humans can be kind and moral, but more often are cruel, brutish, unfair, and unsympathetic. He learns that he will never be accepted, and learning this drives him to do rather evil human-ish acts. Even as he does these bad things though, he still experiences regret, longing for companionship, and the drive to do good things and be a good person. This inner conflict is present in all humans, as we struggle to do the right thing and avoid temptations and violence. This struggle is what causes the creature to truly be human, encompassing all of humanity’s aspects, including both the good and bad.
Children’s intelligence is being shaped everyday by experiences with people objects and events. Frankenstein's monster learned all that he knew from the family he watched after he escaped from the confines of Dr. Frankenstein. “Every conversation of the cottagers now opened new wonders to me” (Shelley 117). Here the monster is shown inquiring about his surroundings and wanting to learn from them. The monster explored the world on his own; he learned language and the nature of the world on his own. He watched human interaction and tried to mimic human behavior. “Men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other’s blood.” (Shelley 156) The author uses the word monsters to describe ordinary people suggesting that their intentions are the same as the monsters.
Education is a tool to advance an individual and a society; however, education can become a means to gain power when knowledge is used to exercise control over another. In Frankenstein, knowledge becomes the downfall of both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. The novel explores the consequent power struggle between Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the dichotomy of good and evil, and the contrast between intellectual and physical power. Finding themselves in mirroring journeys, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster are locked in a struggle for dominance. Through these two characters, Mary Shelley explores the consequences of an egotistical mindset and of using knowledge to exercise power over others.
For instance, the images on page 102, show that the monster is reading a diary written by his creator Victor Frankenstein that includes a hatred perspective towards the creature, therefore, proving that the creature can read and inform himself about what he is learning and apply it to himself. However, his ability to speak the English language in a clear and thorough manner makes him seem like a human even more. For instance, read this quote provided by the book that better proves this argument " If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who abhor me?" As the quote shows the monster can speak clearly in the English language making him more of a human. One of the most convincing details is how the monster can determine when someone shows a certain emotion and decide to do something good or bad about it. A good example of this is on both pages 98 and 99. On these pages, the images show the monster hiding in a sheltered area and spying on the family. However, instead of hurting them the monster realizes their lack of food and wood, making them unhappy. So, the monster decides to go out of his way to in fact go chop down wood and pick out food and bring it back to their house. The next day the monster then learns that the family is happy due to their big supply of food and wood, thenceforth making him happy and showing human emotions and ways to fix
There were many scenes in the story which reflect how Frankenstein had no guidance in learning how to interact in the real world. He did not know right from wrong and did several horrible things without completely knowing any better. For example, Viktor says “Could he be the murderer of my brother? No sooner did the idea cross my imagination, than I became convinced of its truth; my teeth shattered, and I was forced to lean against the tree for support.” Viktor is overwhelmed with the thought
...aracters in Frankenstein are more dominantly impacted by nurture, rather than nature. The upbringing in the lives of; Walton, Victor, and the Creature, significantly impact their outcomes. Shelly brings up the point of in the World what is more dominant to the final outcome of a person’s life, nature, or nurture. Shelly uses the creature as a way to show how powerful social acceptance can alter, or determine the outcome of someone’s life. From this novel, I looked back on my own life. Which is more dominant in my life, nature or nurture? It is far harder to change something that is already genetically imprinted in one’s genes. But you cannot force one self to not learn from life experiences. So, yet again it comes to the century old question, Do you genetically inherit your traits, or do you learn them over life experiences? Nature, versus Nurture, it is up to you.
Victor Frankenstein’s monster educates himself which shapes the role of his character in the novel. The monster receives the majority of his education through watching humans speak and the actions they portray. He finds books in the woods, including Paradise Lost and reads them. The story of the monster can somewhat be related to the reading from our textbook, “The Mis-Education of the Negro” by Carter G. Woodson. Several sources go about in different angles about the monster’s education. A blog about Frankenstein, The Monster of Literary Theory, mostly discusses the monster’s education through a literary sense by reading. Another source from a University of Pennsylvania English website talks about Mary Shelley and how the monster learns from observation, not just texts. The monster is abandoned and left uneducated. He goes about on his own to give himself an education through reading and the observation of others. The story of the monster can be compared to many realities that this world has faced over many years. He is said to be an evil monster because of his actions, but how would he really know what evil really is without the proper education?
Even as language plays a huge part in the definition of human, as taken from the OED, the narration, and thus language, in Frankenstein also helps to define the terms ‘monstrous’ and ‘human’. As the monster discovered, language is intertwined with culture (Brooks 594). He is on the side of nature, a deformed creature of appearance, and upon catching sight of his reflection understands not to show himself to the cottagers, of whom he yearns to win the love of, for fear of them fleeing (595). He is ‘excluded but learning the means, by which to be included’ (595) with language. It is the novels stark definition of monstrosity through physical appearance not through acquisition of language that starts the catalyst for corruption of the Monster spiritually and mentally.
The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.