Alienation & Rejection
The famous songwriter and musician Billy Joel once said, “I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.” From this alone, one can conclude that the themes of alienation and rejection occupy the minds of everyone, including a famous pop musician. Because these themes are something shared by everyone, they are common in all forms of literature. Two prime examples of this can be seen in Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein and John Gardner’s 1971 parallel novel Grendel. Two secondary examples of these themes are seen in Anthony Burgess’ dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange and Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club. Each one of these novels have numerous themes, such as anger, hate, prejudice, nihilism, and existentialism, but they can all be defined in two words: alienation and rejection. From this, it can be proven that alienation and rejection affect everybody, therefore are an indispensible premise in literature.
In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, alienation and rejection are experienced by the two protagonists, Victor Frankenstein and his creature, for many reasons. The most apparent example is the creature made by Victor. The creature was, in simple terms, horrifying and ugly. He was constructed from the body parts of the deceased and was considerably larger and more exact than the average human body. Every character that came across the creature, assuming they had sight (the exception being Mr. Delacey), were struck with fear and either ran from him or tried to kill him. Considering that the creature was a “noble savage” who had human characteristics and emotions, this trend of alienation eventually turned his life miserable to the point that his only way...
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...lence they are associated with, are an indispensible part of literature.
Hence, alienation and rejection are major themes in both the lives of human beings and the pieces of literature mentioned above. The range of literature mentioned is enough to confirm that all literature is going to have times when these themes are necessary. Regardless, these themes and elements add various levels of depth and texture to a story. Without them, literature would be losing a lot and certain aspects of writing would lose the flavor that makes them unique.
Works Cited
Burgan, Michael, Dennis Calero, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Frankenstein. Minneapolis: Stone Arch, 2008. Print.
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: Norton, 1986. Print.
Gardner, John. Grendel. New York: Knopf, 1971. Print.
Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: W.W. Norton &, 1996. Print.
Rather, it is others who alienate it because of its grotesque appearance. The monster is quite literally ‘born’ into perpetual isolation beginning with Victor’s abandonment of it. He denies it domestic safety when he flees to his bedchamber. Victor disregards the monster’s utterance of “inarticulate sounds while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” then escapes its outstretched hand “seemingly to detain [him]” [Shelley 49]. Examining the monster’s body language as though an impressionable infant, its actions can be read as a child-like plea for its father though the absence of speech not yet learned. Instead, its unattractive appearance causes Victor to run, leaving the creature alone with no information about himself or his surroundings. Therefore, Victor’s abandonment is a crucial justification of the monster’s negative experiences with society and nature and actions in desiring community. The monster’s alienation from family is the missing first school of human nature, and the first lesson where he learns he does not belong. The creature leaves into the wilderness to learn about the world and himself on it own, only to understand his interactions are
Rejection is one of the issues associated with social prejudice in Shelly’s novel. The monster in Frankenstein is abandoned because of his hideous features. Victor, who was his creator, cannot look upon what he has brought to life. Victor explains, “I beheld the wretch-- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs” (Shelly chapter 5 p 43). The monster responds to Victor as a child who looks to his father for reassurance and acceptance. Though the monster was not a child in his physical appearance, his emotional state was that of young child. Since the 1890s, researchers have conducted studies called Parental acceptance-rejections t...
In Mary Shelly's novel Frankenstein, The Creature's sad fate is a representation of what it means to be different. Because of this unfortunate destiny, The Creature remains hidden and secluded. He feels the isolation forced upon him and wicked appearance.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
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It is amazing that two completely different characters could not only be faced with an identical dilemma, but also both react in such comparable ways. The resemblance of the characters’ struggles because of alienation in the popular novels The Catcher in the Rye and Speak is astonishing. Alienation can be caused by many factors and result in many consequences. But it is interesting how the situations individuals face can be quite similar. Within Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and Anderson’s novel, Speak, both protagonists are alienated by those around them. As a result, they must endure the negative effects of this isolation and, ultimately it leads both these individuals to alienate themselves.
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