Three Key Ideas from "The Reading Monster" by Patrick Brantlinger
1. Frankenstein is filled with political meanings. This piece of criticism looks at a context set in the French Revolution or the Enlightenment, and Victor as being aristocratic oppression, reationality, or radicalism. Therefore, the Monster represents the working-class. This view gives a whole new personality to Victor, as being the over powerful aristocracy over the poor, soulless, education-less, working class Monster.
2. Frankenstein is a novel about two educations, or "miseducations," and discusses literacy, and science. Victor's story is filled with the pursuit of knowledge and science. In this essay, Brantlinger describes that Mary Shelley expresses a continuity of alchemy into modern chemistry. Also, it is "undecidable whether the Monster's creation is the result of modern science or of black magic." So the question of science appears in many instances. Beyond science, the Monster learning to speak, and read comes up in the education topic. "The family circle the Monster longs to join represents everything that Victor, in his obsessive pursuit of the secrets of life and death, has rejected." The Monster self-educates himself and gains the capabilities of challenging his creator. Again, Brantlinger suggests that the most difficult ideas for readers to accept is the Monster's literacy.
3. Why has the Monster, already stripped of soul and education, taken on his creator's name, Frankenstein? This is one of the shorter ideas finishing off the essay, but is an interesting topic for Brantlinger to bring up. After reading Frankenstein, it is obvious that the Monster has no name, and Frankenstein is the name of the creator. Several possible answers are given: "because the Monster is nameless, it makes sense to give him his father-maker's name," the Monster is a symbol of Victor's identification, or the Monster is Victor's alter ego. This topic does not necessarily change interpretation of the novel itself, but asks an interesting question regarding the confusion over the name of Frankenstein and the Monster.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Blog assignment #3 - Victor Frankenstein's complexities
In the passage where Victor Frankenstein describes his goals and work of assembling the creature, it seems as though Victor is attempting to play the role of God. He makes his intentions clear in that he wants to create “a new species [that] would bless [him] as its creator and source.” When he figures out how to create life, he also thinks that he can bring people back to life and therefore cheat death. Mary Shelley creates this attitude in which Victor thinks he is worthy of praise and all-powerful. Yet, Victor fails to think of the immediate future when his creation is immediately brought to life and what the consequences of that would be.
In the passage where Victor Frankenstein describes his goals and work of assembling the creature, it seems as though Victor is attempting to play the role of God. He makes his intentions clear in that he wants to create “a new species [that] would bless [him] as its creator and source.” When he figures out how to create life, he also thinks that he can bring people back to life and therefore cheat death. Mary Shelley creates this attitude in which Victor thinks he is worthy of praise and all-powerful. Yet, Victor fails to think of the immediate future when his creation is immediately brought to life and what the consequences of that would be.
Victor’s
overall composure that Mary Shelley creates is tense, complex, and always
changing. The passage immediately
begins with saying that “no one can conceive the variety of feelings” that
Victor felt. Victor becomes
obsessed with the idea of having creatures look up to him as their creator. His obsession is such that he “lost all
soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.” He clings to some hope that he can complete his project, yet
also is somewhat disgusted. He
describes his work as being tremendous that can come with great outcomes, yet
he calls his creation “filthy.”
Eagerness pushed him to finish his work, but he naturally loathed the
inhuman aspects as well.
Victor
narrates his own story, and so at this point he is telling of his past. One can find hints of disgust can
possibly regret in the tone in which Victory retells his story. His original motives were to seek
praise and to control life and death.
Upon retelling his past, there is a bit of remorse that Victor
feels. There is a little bit of a
contrast between his original drive to create life and his gradual feelings of
disgust that develop up to the monster’s animation.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Blog assignment #2 - character, scene, incident, or brief passage from Frankenstein that stands out
The monster that Victor Frankenstein creates sticks out to me, particularly the chapters in which the monster tells his story to his creator. Upon creation, the monster was like an infant; he did not know how to communicate or what his purpose was. His story is fascinating in how he had to learn everything on his own. He learned to collect food, use fire for warmth, and learned to speak by secretly listening to the De Lacey family. His story is also filled with misery; on first sight, everybody he comes across is frightened; he was shot by a man after attempting to rescue a young girl; the De Lacey family - his only "friends" - rejected him. At the end of the monster's story, I thought about what his situation would have been like if Victor had taken on the fatherly figure for him. If Victor did not react how he originally did towards the monster, would there have been so much misery in both their lives? The monster's story sticks out to me the most because of the idea that things could have turned out so differently if Victor had reacted to his creation in a different manner.
The monster that Victor Frankenstein creates sticks out to me, particularly the chapters in which the monster tells his story to his creator. Upon creation, the monster was like an infant; he did not know how to communicate or what his purpose was. His story is fascinating in how he had to learn everything on his own. He learned to collect food, use fire for warmth, and learned to speak by secretly listening to the De Lacey family. His story is also filled with misery; on first sight, everybody he comes across is frightened; he was shot by a man after attempting to rescue a young girl; the De Lacey family - his only "friends" - rejected him. At the end of the monster's story, I thought about what his situation would have been like if Victor had taken on the fatherly figure for him. If Victor did not react how he originally did towards the monster, would there have been so much misery in both their lives? The monster's story sticks out to me the most because of the idea that things could have turned out so differently if Victor had reacted to his creation in a different manner.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Blog assignment #1 -- Most memorable books
My most memorable reading experiences come from several different genres and appear below in no particular order. Each of these books has, in some way, left a significant mark on me.
1. When The Sun Goes Down: A Collection of Philmont Ghost Stories, Lori and Jared Chatterley. I read this immediately after I had gotten off the trail from a three week backpacking trek going through Philmont, the location that the book has stories of. On my backpacking trip we went through almost every spot that the book has a ghost story for. The book has a majority of its ghost stories set on top of Urraca Mesa. On a map, Urraca Mesa looks like a skull, and there is one spot that is called "The Eye" (because it looks like the eye of the skull). The Anasazi believed that "The Eye" was the portal to the afterlife and that a creature - the Imp - protected it so that evil spirits would never get out. Many stories have been told about the area. On my trip, my crew was told many of these scary stories, and one night hiked onto Urraca Mesa at midnight and slept inside "The Eye." (I get chills by simply writing this account)
2. Boy Scouts Handbook (The First Edition, 1911). As a Boy Scout, this was a particularly interesting read for me. The current 2010 edition is extremely different from the 1911 edition. I very much enjoyed discovering how many differences there are between editions, and seeing what it was like to be a scout in 1911. Requirements for the ranks and merit badges were much different. There were also some badges that we no longer have, such as "Stalking." The two sections that struck me the most were the chapters titled "Chivalry" and "Patriotism and Citizenship." The section on chivalry talked about the old knights and stories of pioneers and struggles for freedom. It is a great section that teaches good manners, cheerfulness, character, courage, duty to God, and qualities that each scout should individually develop. I was also surprised to find a whole section that covered U.S. history in how we acquired our land, the wars we have been a part of, significant figures such as Abraham Lincoln, the functions of government, military, etc... The book ends with a letter written by President Theodore Roosevelt emphasizing the importance of scouting, and supporting the Boy Scout movement.
3. The Bible. I've been reading through the Bible to strengthen my faith. It is a book that is in many ways widely misunderstood. Through deeper study and analysis I have been able to find truth that strengthens my belief in God. I've carried it many places with me.
4. The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara. This reading for AP US History fed my interest in Civil War history. As soon as I began to read this book, I could not put it down and finished it within three days. The history got me interested in the events that occurred at Gettysburg, and the different perspectives that the story was told from particularly hooked me. It was interesting to get a glimpse into the minds of both Union and Confederate leaders.
5. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury. The story of this book hooked me. I kept reading to find out what would happen to such a censored and brain washed civilization. I found the book frightening in its suggestions on what could happen in a censored and homogeneous society where all books are banned and people are all alike.
6. The Maximum Ride Series, James Patterson. I read this series around 7th and 8th grade, and something about teenage mutant bird people interested me. 98% human, 2% avian, adventure, action, and a plot to save the world.
7. The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins. I honestly did not think that I would enjoy these three books when I first heard about them. My younger cousins loved them, and my mom had read the first one and suggested that I read it. I picked the first book up while traveling over spring break during 11th grade. I simply couldn't put them down until I discovered what had happened to all of the characters. I got through the first book quickly, and could not stop until I finished the third. I finished the trilogy over one week. It was a new kind of book for me, and the whole survival aspect kept everything interesting.
8. Redwall, Brian Jacques. A story filled with action, adventure, and interesting mice/rat characters. This novel caught my attention at a younger age. The plot is filled with mystery and develops perfectly to grab the attention of young boys.
9. The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame. I read this book during middle school, and don't remember too much about it. I remember really loving the story and animal characters. It contains a variety of character personalities, adventure, morality... It is a book that I will definitely go back to read again soon.
10. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls. I read this at about 13, and loved the raccoon hunting stories. It is a great read about a boy and his two hunting dogs. I fell in love with the dogs and the ending was very touching. In my adventures into the wilderness, I now always look for ferns.
My most memorable reading experiences come from several different genres and appear below in no particular order. Each of these books has, in some way, left a significant mark on me.
1. When The Sun Goes Down: A Collection of Philmont Ghost Stories, Lori and Jared Chatterley. I read this immediately after I had gotten off the trail from a three week backpacking trek going through Philmont, the location that the book has stories of. On my backpacking trip we went through almost every spot that the book has a ghost story for. The book has a majority of its ghost stories set on top of Urraca Mesa. On a map, Urraca Mesa looks like a skull, and there is one spot that is called "The Eye" (because it looks like the eye of the skull). The Anasazi believed that "The Eye" was the portal to the afterlife and that a creature - the Imp - protected it so that evil spirits would never get out. Many stories have been told about the area. On my trip, my crew was told many of these scary stories, and one night hiked onto Urraca Mesa at midnight and slept inside "The Eye." (I get chills by simply writing this account)
2. Boy Scouts Handbook (The First Edition, 1911). As a Boy Scout, this was a particularly interesting read for me. The current 2010 edition is extremely different from the 1911 edition. I very much enjoyed discovering how many differences there are between editions, and seeing what it was like to be a scout in 1911. Requirements for the ranks and merit badges were much different. There were also some badges that we no longer have, such as "Stalking." The two sections that struck me the most were the chapters titled "Chivalry" and "Patriotism and Citizenship." The section on chivalry talked about the old knights and stories of pioneers and struggles for freedom. It is a great section that teaches good manners, cheerfulness, character, courage, duty to God, and qualities that each scout should individually develop. I was also surprised to find a whole section that covered U.S. history in how we acquired our land, the wars we have been a part of, significant figures such as Abraham Lincoln, the functions of government, military, etc... The book ends with a letter written by President Theodore Roosevelt emphasizing the importance of scouting, and supporting the Boy Scout movement.
3. The Bible. I've been reading through the Bible to strengthen my faith. It is a book that is in many ways widely misunderstood. Through deeper study and analysis I have been able to find truth that strengthens my belief in God. I've carried it many places with me.
4. The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara. This reading for AP US History fed my interest in Civil War history. As soon as I began to read this book, I could not put it down and finished it within three days. The history got me interested in the events that occurred at Gettysburg, and the different perspectives that the story was told from particularly hooked me. It was interesting to get a glimpse into the minds of both Union and Confederate leaders.
5. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury. The story of this book hooked me. I kept reading to find out what would happen to such a censored and brain washed civilization. I found the book frightening in its suggestions on what could happen in a censored and homogeneous society where all books are banned and people are all alike.
6. The Maximum Ride Series, James Patterson. I read this series around 7th and 8th grade, and something about teenage mutant bird people interested me. 98% human, 2% avian, adventure, action, and a plot to save the world.
7. The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins. I honestly did not think that I would enjoy these three books when I first heard about them. My younger cousins loved them, and my mom had read the first one and suggested that I read it. I picked the first book up while traveling over spring break during 11th grade. I simply couldn't put them down until I discovered what had happened to all of the characters. I got through the first book quickly, and could not stop until I finished the third. I finished the trilogy over one week. It was a new kind of book for me, and the whole survival aspect kept everything interesting.
8. Redwall, Brian Jacques. A story filled with action, adventure, and interesting mice/rat characters. This novel caught my attention at a younger age. The plot is filled with mystery and develops perfectly to grab the attention of young boys.
9. The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame. I read this book during middle school, and don't remember too much about it. I remember really loving the story and animal characters. It contains a variety of character personalities, adventure, morality... It is a book that I will definitely go back to read again soon.
10. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls. I read this at about 13, and loved the raccoon hunting stories. It is a great read about a boy and his two hunting dogs. I fell in love with the dogs and the ending was very touching. In my adventures into the wilderness, I now always look for ferns.
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