Frankenstein and the “Rime of Time” Comparison Essay
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner it is referenced in Frankenstein in one of the letters Walton writes to his sister. It is also later mentioned by Victor. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a parallel to Frankenstein. With the way the story is being told and are being portrayed in they are a lot alike. If the story characters are a lot alike then that mean that there is similar symbolism.
The “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” is the story of a gruff, grumpy, and old sailor. In the story he tells people of a wedding. When he suddenly killed an Albatross on a voyage for no reason at all. The Albatross that was shot was innocent. The Mariner ended up returning for a big punishment, which he said
Throughout the history of literature, instances will always occur where themes repeat themselves constantly. One of these instances appears in the classic novel Frankenstein, where two characters, whom one would originally classify as opposites, truly possess many similarities to one another. Victor and the Creature share and oddly large amount of similarities between them. One of which being their drive to obtain knowledge, no matter the topic. With Victor, he typically is driven to discover things no one else has. The Creature however, constantly tries to find out how the world works and to find his place in society. Another similarity found in the novel would be the two characters isolation throughout the novel, self-inflicted or forced. For Victor, he always kept to himself,
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Part 1 a old man stops one man out of three that were walking down the street to go to a wedding the man is a relation of the married the man tries to get away but the old man grabs the man with his skinny hand the man is held there by the glitter of the old man's eye the man is listening intently "Like a three years' child" the old man has the man's attention the wedding guest sat down on a stone the mariner went on with his story the boat was anchored by a kirk KIRK- church EFTSOONS - unhand me ship was sailing south because sun came up on the left side of the boat they sailed closer to the equator every day because the sun came overhead MINSTRIL - musicians the bride has started to walk down the isle and the music is playing the old man carries on there was a storm at the equator the storm drove them to the south pole the storm was very strong they went through mist and then it started to snow it became very cold they went by very large chunks of ice floating through the water (icebergs) there was nothing but ice and snow and there was no animals, just ice an albatross flew over after a few days the men were happy to see it because they needed hope the men fed it the ice broke in front of the boat and then they sailed through the ice to safety a good south wind helped them sail north the bird followed them KEN - know something NE'ER - never VESPERS -days the bird stayed with them for nine days the ancient mariner shot the albatross with his cross bow HOLLOW - called albatross PART II burst of sea - ship wake there was no more bird following the boat (the felt alone again) they ran out of food the people on the boat cursed at the mariner for killing their omen of good luck the wind had stopped Gods own head - sun averred - swear, agree to they thought that the bird had brought the fog because the fog had cleared after the bird died the breeze stopped and the boat stopped the sky was clear and it was very hot they were at the equator because the sun at noon was above the mast they stayed there for a few days without wind it was like they were a painting "Water, water, everywhere," they could not see anything
The Epic of Gilgamesh and Frankenstein have two completely different story lines. The Epic of Gilgamesh was a piece of writing that was originally written over four thousand years ago on clay tablets, and was discovered by a man named George Smith in the late nineteenth century. It was a story that had been in completed, because of the fact that some portions of the Epic of Gilgamesh are missing, and it got lost in the broken off section of the tablets. Frankenstein on the other hand was a novel that a woman named Mary Shelly wrote. It was published almost 200 years ago on the date of March 11, 1818. Though these stories have very different plots, they also have something that is very similar.
The poem The Ancient Mariner is important to Walton because the sailor in the poem is going to polar regions and not respecting nature during its journey. The stranger is similar to the ancient mariner because they both have suffered tragedy, and now have a story as a result. The wedding guests in the poem can be related to Walton, while the unknown man represents the mariner. The author, Shelley, creates an enchanted and mysterious
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll both have similarities with The Odyssey by Homer. All three books tell the story through a journey archetype where the characters go though different events and face many challenges as the story progresses. One of the problems which the characters face is integration into another society with different inner workings and rules being in conflict with the character alongside with how human nature rejecting the any unnatural things.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Creature seem different from each other throughout the whole story, however, they actually share many similarities when the story is looked at deeper. Both the Creature and Frankenstein share a connection with nature, a desire for more knowledge, a need for family, and experiences in isolation.
In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley intertwines an intricate web of allusions through her characters' insatiable desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his creature allude to John Milton?s epic poem Paradise Lost. The legendary Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously immaculate world. In one split second sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving anguish and iniquity in its ramification. The troubles of Victor Frankenstein began with his quest for knowledge, and, end where both pieces end: death.
James Whale's Frankenstein is a VERY loose adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. The spirit of the film is preserved in its most basic sense, but the vast majority of the story has been entirely left out, which is unfortunate. The monster, for example, who possesses tremendous intellect in the novel and who goes on an epic quest seeking acceptance into the world in which he was created, has been reduced to little more than a lumbering klutz whose communication is limited to unearthly shrieks and grunts. Boris Karloff was understandably branded with the performance after the film was released, because it was undeniably a spectacular performance, but the monster's character was severely diminished from the novel.
If someone were to ask people who Frankenstein is they would probably describe a tall, hideous monster with bolts sticking out of its neck. But long before movies reinvented their version of the monster, there was a novel by Mary Shelley entitled Frankenstein. In her novel, the monster is shown as child-like and uneducated. But what really makes someone a monster? Who is the true monster of Mary Shelley’s novel? Victor and the Creature present similarities and differences in their action and character throughout the novel.
The first allusion occurs in the letters. Robert Walton writes to his sister Margaret to not worry because he “shall kill no albatross; therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the ‘Ancient Mariner” (Shelley 15). The Mariner he refers to, killed an albatross while on a voyage to the south pole, bringing back luck and death to his crew. Only after realizing all God’s creatures are beautiful and need respect does good luck finally follow him. Walton’s allusion informs Margaret he will literally kill no albatross as well as be careful and kind to all creatures. He follows suit with his promise by nursing a stranger and respecting the wishes of his crew members to return south when the ice breaks up. In the same fashion, several allusions in the plot occur between the two stories. Like the Mariner towards the albatross, Victor Frankenstein believes his creation to be a hideous monster. He then rejects his creation and later tries to kill him. In this situation, Frankenstein plays the role of God, because he created life, and the Creature represents the albatross, the life Frankenstein created. By rejecting his creation, Frankenstein disrespects it, similar to when the Mariner kills the albatross, foretelling of bad luck which plagues him thereafter. Frankenstein does not learn to respect and love his creation like God loves all his creatures and as his duty as a creator obligates him to. Thus, the Creature torments his creator for ignoring his obligations and needs. Shelley incorporates parallels to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to foreshadow Walton’s kindness and subsequent safe travels as well as Frankenstein’s
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein takes a lot of its influence from Milton’s Paradise Lost. In fact, many parallels can be drawn between some of the characters: God and Frankenstein, and the monster and Satan. There are also several themes that Shelley has lifted from Paradise Lost, such as the danger of knowledge or the sublime nature. Shelley’s inspirations by Milton are obvious in many places in the book.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein,” main character Victor Frankenstein creates a monster that would later on parallel many aspects of his own life. This creature had many shared characteristics with Victor such as their anger, wish to be reclusive, and their wish to help others in the beginning. Their shared quality of anger can be seen through the way Victor becomes mad at himself for creating another monster so he immediately tears it apart right in front of his original monster. This causes anger to arise in his original monster which is taken out on Victor’s best friend Henry. Henry is then found dead which devastated Victor and causes him to struggle with death himself.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the monster that he creates are very similar. For example, Victor creates the monster to be like himself. Another similarity is that the anger of both Victor and the monster is brought about by society. One more parallel between Victor and the monster is that they both became recluses. These traits that Victor and the monster possess show that they are very similar.
Since the original novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, to the multiple movie adaptations, the monster is almost always predicted as the monster of the story. It may be his physical appearance, from his tall, broad frame, to the signature screws in his neck. It may also be his unnatural upbringing and interpreted evil characteristics. We have grown to fear the monster, which ultimately, has masked the true monster, Dr. Frankenstein. With each coming movie, the good side of the monster is brought to light, while the real monster shows his true colors.
As the ancient Mariner described his adventures at sea to the Wedding-Guest, the Guest became saddened because he identified his own selfish ways with those of the Mariner. The mariner told the Guest that he and his ship-mates were lucky because at the beginning of their voyage they had good weather. The mariner only saw what was on the surface -- he did not see the good weather as evidence that Someone was guiding them. Also, when he shot the Albatross, the Mariner did not have any reason for doing so. The Albatross did nothing wrong, yet the Mariner thought nothing of it and without thinking of the significance of the act, he killed the bird. At this, the Guest was reminded of how self-absorbed he, too, was, and the sinful nature of man. At the beginning of the poem he was very much intent on arriving at the wedding on time. He did not care at all about what it was that the Mariner had to tell him; he did not want to be detained even if the Mariner was in trouble. Instead, he spoke rudely to the mariner, calling him a "gray-beard loon", and tried to go on his own way.