Monsters embody brutality, twisted morality, and irrationality—the banes of human existence, yet the children of man’s inner demons. Monsters are, in short, projections of man’s wicked id. The term creature may suggest monstrosity, and Frankenstein’s creation in Mary Shelley’s novel may be perceived as a personification of the Freudian id. In this case, however, the creature also mediates between its neurotic creator and societal values, just as the Freudian ego, conditioned by the reality principle, mediates between external reality and inner turmoil through practicality. The ego is the psyche’s driving force and, arguably, the real protagonist of Frankenstein. But in the fierce tug-of-war within the ego between the id and its law-abiding opposite—the superego—lies the true battlefield of Shelley’s novel. For ironically the man of science embodies an ego-ridden id, a man-monster, but creates a monster-man that embodies his counterpart: an id-ridden ego. In the wake of his mother’s death, Frankenstein’s tinkering with reanimation unconsciously shapes a symbiosis between himself and his creation—between two tortured halves of one neurotic mind. In fact, Shelley’s novel sinks deep into the crevices of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, oozing into pits of neurosis, repression, parapraxes, dream symbolism, and the Oedipus complex.
Freud developed his theory from interactions with his neurotic patients and his own psychological experiences. He classifies an obsessional neurotic is classified as one who if “aware of impulses in [himself] which appear very strange,” is “led to actions, the performance of which, give him no enjoyment, but which it is quite impossible for [him] to omit” (Freud Abstracts 2). In Frankenstein’s ...
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...ll Stories. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004.
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Gilmore, David D. "Why Study Monsters?" Gilmore, David D. Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. 210.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. 2nd. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1818.
Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1996.
Freud, S., Strachey, J., Freud, A., Rothgeb, C., & Richards, A. (1953). The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (1st ed.). London: Hogarth Press.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Ed. Paul J. Hunter. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1996.
Wilson, Sarah. "Sigmund Freud and the oedipal complex." The Observer”. Guardian News and Media, 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/08/sigmund-freud-oedipal-complex>.
“Allure, Authority, and Psychoanalysis” discusses the unconscious wishes, effects, conflicts, anxieties, and fantasies within “Frankenstein.” The absence of strong female characters in “Frankenstein” suggests the idea of Victor’s desire to create life without the female. This desire possibly stems from Victor’s attempt to compensate for the lack of a penis or, similarly, from the fear of female sexuality. Victor’s strong desire for maternal love is transferred to Elizabeth, the orphan taken into the Frankenstein family. This idea is then reincarnated in the form of a monster which leads to the conclusion that Mary Shelley felt like an abandoned child who is reflected in the rage of the monster.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1996.
“When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation.” In her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley creates Victor Frankenstein, as a character who becomes psychologically unable to continue his normal life after he turns lifeless mater into a living creature through his studies of natural anatomy. Though many years have passed between the writing of Frankenstein and the making of the Television hit, Dexter, the creator of the show, James Manos Jr., created a character in Dexter that is psychologically very similar to Victor. Dexter is also unable to live a normal life after he realizes something about him is different from other human beings.
The obsessed search for knowledge, fame and fortune can often undervalue one’s life and become the main focus of their existence. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, she proves that obsession is a dangerous aspect of the human behavior, which always results in a negative outcome, this is mainly portrayed through the protagonist of the story Dr. Victor Frankenstein, because of Dr. Frankenstein’s obsessive personality he fails to recognize the affects of his scientific experiments which eventually lead to his and his family’s death.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W.
Peter Brooks' essay "What Is a Monster" tackles many complex ideas within Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the main concept that is the title of the essay itself. What is the definition of a monster, or to be monstrous? Is a monster the classic representation we know, green skin, neck bolts, grunting and groaning? A cartoon wishing to deliver sugary cereal? or someone we dislike so greatly their qualities invade our language and affect our interpretation of their image and physical being? Brooks' essay approaches this question by using Shelley's narrative structure to examine how language, not nature, is mainly accountable for creating the idea of the monstrous body.
I have decided this mathematical exploration will center around rock climbing. As I read the list of sample topics handed to me by my teacher, I instantly gravitated to rock climbing. It is a topic I have substantial interest in and a sport I routinely participate in. However the crag is a long away from the classroom, does math really have its place in rock climbing? I needed to decide where math applies in the vertical world. The solution to this question is the Spring Loaded Camming Device (SLCD). Used in rock climbing, this removable piece of protection is placed into a crack and has a unique self-locking property that prevents the “Cam” from being pulled out, especially when holding a fall. SLCD’s are so successful because of the logarithmic spiral or golden ratio they were designed from. The SLCD’s logarithmic shape, allows the device to have the same ratio of pulling force to frictional force. This ratio is completely independent of the size of the crack the cam is placed in or the amount the lobes are extended or retracted. The optimal camming angle is found between 13.5º and 14º.
“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose -- a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.” Mary Shelley said after writing ‘Frankenstein’. She focused her mind on writing and used the left hemisphere of her brain, the creative side, which many people of the 1800s would not dare to do. The reason for this fear of using one of the many parts of our brains for a career or hobby was due to the fact that anyone who used this part were looked at as rather “crazy” which we now refer to as mentally ill. Mental illness was not always treated as an illness and was treated as a choice these people made and were, more or less, committing a crime, socially and legally. Frankenstein can be analyzed and certain
Freud, S. (1957b). Some character types met with in psychoanalytic work. In J. Strachey (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14, pp. 309–333). London: Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1916)
Freud’s conception of the mind is characterized by primarily by dynamism, seen in the distribution of psychic energy, the interplay between the different levels of consciousness, and the interaction between the various functions of the mind. The single function of the mind, which brings together these various aspects, is repression, the maintenance of what is and what isn’t appropriately retained in the conscious mind.
The Effect of the Development of Large Firms on Society Many firms choose to expand in size because of the cost and market share benefits the firms can reap. However, the development of large firms may not always be of benefit to consumers, and the advantages and disadvantages will be discussed in the following essay. Because larger firms such as Shell Petrol Station are able to experience internal economies of scale through lower unit costs, many of the cost savings are then passed on to the consumers through lower prices. Hence consumers are then able to enjoy greater consumer surplus, defined as the difference between the maximum price that a buyer is willing to pay for a good or service and the actual price paid. As seen from the diagram below, the marginal cost curve shifts to the right such that the new marginal cost = marginal revenue equilibrium lowers the price and increases the output level compared with the initial equilibrium.