The representation of human nature in literature can reveal an author’s or director’s views on the flaws in the characters and societies. This is evident in the texts, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Mystery Road by Ivan Sen, as they both make interpretations on the deadly sin, Greed. There are many character traits that make up human nature; greed is one such example, representing a flaw in people that drives an intense, destructive and selfish desire for something. Through Shelley’s characters, Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton, she portrayed examples of greed and selflessness through their unabated obsession for knowledge and intention to help others. Shelley has used allusion and characterisation to portray their human nature. Similarly, …show more content…
Shelley’s characterisation of Robert’s showed his personality traits and provide insight into Robert’s character to understand if his underlying quest regards either greedy or noble. Robert states, “My life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path.” This characterisation of Shelley’s clearly emphasises his greed for glory rather than money. As the first narrator in the novel, we discover many parallels between his character and Victor’s exploring greed. After he meets Victor his narrative continues to be told via letters he is writing to his sister. We discover his disregard for the safety of the crew where he carries on his quest in perilous conditions in the quote, “…nor do the floating sheets of ice that continually pass us, indicating the dangers of the region towards which we are advancing.” Namely, greed for glory at any cost, however, his views alternate to show his actions were also for noble reasons. The quote, “you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation by discovering a passage,” demonstrates this point. Greed is a destructive trait that can be to the detriment of human life, but it is sought so desperately because it can …show more content…
Sen used effective camera shots to represent the small desolate outback town to have few job opportunities, a long history of racial tension and addiction problems. Camera work such as extreme long shots confirmed the boredom and isolation the community felt, as Jay travelled out of the town Sen showed the viewer vast landscapes of desolate farmland. The lack of employment led to boredom and then into greed for escapism in the form of drugs, alcohol and gambling. This idea in the film represents a widespread problem occurring in current outback communities as addictive behaviour like alcoholism has become part of their culture. This was reflected in the action of Mary Swan, who Sen depicted gambling and drinking often early in the day. When Ashley Mason was told, her daughter had died immediately she said “I need a drink or somethin’ ” as she was clearly an alcoholic and used it to ease difficult situations. The young girls were desperate enough for drugs that they stood on the side of the road and went with “truckies.” This desire for escapism leads to the death of Julie and even children to gamble. It is human nature for people desire some form of escapism from a mundane life and the underlying flaw of greed explains the lengths people went to once they became
I can't believe that the creature killed himself. In Grus Grimly's Frankenstein, a creature was made by a man named Victor Frankenstein in a laboratory. The creature was created because Victor mother had passed, and Victor wanted to figure out the way of life and death. The creature ends up making Victor miserable since the creature was isolated from everyone and had a lot of indignation inside of him that Victor has caused. The creature didn't have a name he was just called "creature." In my opinion, Victor should have named him because of he, not a creature; if you think about it he was a human.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones.
As one of the first gothic novels Frankenstein explores the darker side of human nature, ambitions, and the human mind.
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’ the creature is presented through many narrative voices, it is through Victor's narrative that we see the Creature as a 'wretch', 'daemon' and a 'fiend'. Mary Shelley chooses to present the creature as a ‘fiend’ due to circumstance beyond the creature’s control
The characterisation of characters in texts are a reflection of the composers societal values and zeitgest of their time. The comparison of Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s 1992 science fiction film Blade Runner accentuate the mutable societal values and human identity. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley challenges aspects of the Enlightenment era seeking knowledge, scientism and rationalism. Ridley Scott explores in Blade Runner the effects of corporatism and industrialisation. Although the texts show a difference in societal values, both explore similar aspects of humanity to show that human nature is perpetual regardless of context.
Mary Shelley’s novel arises several questions relevant to the present day. A question that arises from the novel is whether man is born evil or made evil from his life experiences. The debate on whether how far man should pursue knowledge exists today as well as other questions challenged in the novel therefore “Frankenstein” is a popular novel at present as much as it was in the past.
The question “What makes us who we are?” has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born “good”, “evil”, and as “blank slates”, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in “good” homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818 to voice her opinions about determining personality and the consequences and repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially "good" in the beginning of life, but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as Frankenstein), Victor Frankenstein’s creature with human characteristics shows us that people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates how the influence of society can change one’s outlook of others and life itself by his reactions to adversity at “birth”, and his actions after being alienated and rejected by humans several times.
This paper will concentrate on the definition of human nature, the controversy of morality and science, the limits to scientific inquiry, and how this novel ties in with today’s world. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein expresses human nature specifically through the character of the “Creature” and its development. The Creature has an opportunity to explore his surroundings, and in doing so he learns that human nature is to run away from something so catastrophic in looks. The Creature discovers that he must limit himself in what he does due to the response of humans because of his deformities. I feel that Mary Shelley tries to depict human nature as running away from the abnormal, which results in alienation of the “abnormal.”
Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the embodiment of the Greek titan, Prometheus. Victor is controlled by his desire for results but he ignores his path to getting those results. It’s helpful that he is able to ignore reality when doing so because then he is able to focus more on the developments. Being on the selfish side, Victor Frankenstein never bothers with the questions such as “Why” but focuses on the “Why not”. Victor Frankenstein is the modern Prometheus because of his realization when reality does not match what he imagined, brute strength to compensate for his ignorance and constant reluctant to take responsibility for his actions.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the book looks at many examples of ambition. Victor’s ambition proves to be his undoing, and, in turn, Victor's example becomes a forewarning for Robert Walton; meanwhile, the Creature is, in a sense, Victor's child and thus inherits facets of Victor's ambition--but because the Creature is also a conglomerate of all the humans who embody him, he is thereby also symbolic of Mankind's ambitions that do not fully come to realization nor fulfillment, which is why readers can identify with the Creature's tragic elements. Frankenstein explores the repercussion of man and monster chasing ambition blindly. Victor Frankenstein discovered the obscure secret that allowed him to create life. And after Frankenstein
In many works of literature, authors place morally ambiguous characters in their work to allow the readers to decide on the character’s true morality. In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, Shelley inputs a morally ambiguous character, which takes on an extreme significance to the work, allowing the reader to understand the emotional journey that occurs throughout the novel. The morally ambiguous character in Frankenstein is Victor Frankenstein, which is displayed through the way he treats his creation, his arrogant personality, and his obsession with natural philosophy.
I had the opportunity to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley several years ago and it became one of my favorite books. My initial feeling was sorrow, what a wonderful story that has been slowly destroyed by Hollywood through the years. We think of Victor Frankenstein as a mad scientist trying to destroy mankind, and the monster having bolts in his neck with very little intellect. Mary Shelley’s book is completely different from the Hollywood version we are accustom to. The monster is intelligent and has emotions, the mad scientist or Victor was scared of his own creation due to his appearance. The monster initially showed no signs of evil in the novel, but where did he learn it from? Who is the real evil monster
The fact that Frankenstein’s creation turns on him and murders innocent people is never overlooked; it has been the subject of virtually every popularization of the novel. What is not often acknowledged is the fact that Frankenstein himself embodies some of the worst traits of humankind. He is self-centered, with little real love for those who care about him; he is prejudiced, inflexible and cannot forgive, even in death. While some of these traits could be forgivable, to own and flaunt them all should be enough to remind a careful reader that there are two "monsters" in Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. 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.
Mary shelley depicts the ambition of man as the source of fallibility in the novel Frankenstein. She uses the characters Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton as two of the major examples of this . Both of these men desired to be glorified by men through scientific achievements, but their unchecked ambition eventually leads to their non-fulfillment. Blinded by dreams of glory, they fail to consider the consequences of their actions.