As a professor of psychology and the author of a host of books that examine various psychological elements at play in some of the most recognized pop culture mainstays within the science fiction genre, Sherri Ginn seems more than qualified to offer an insightful analysis...
From its outset, Frankenstein establishes a link between the procuring of knowledge, or the uncovering of secrets, and evil. Walton’s sister’s ‘evil forebodings’ that surround his attempt to reach the North Pole, pointed out in the very first sentence, signal immediately not only the dangers...
The Modern Prometheus: Reworked Myth in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein As the subtitle of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein implies, the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and his creation takes elements of classical myth and reinterprets them through the advances of “modern” science. Against the backdrop of the...
The creation of life is a cautionary metaphor for the advancement of science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Today, however, this type of life-generating science is commonplace. It does not take place in the laboratory of a mad scientist, but in sterile and advanced research facilities....
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the novel is the view of Robert Walton. Walton uses his letters during his journey on the Pacific Ocean to allow the reader to understand the tragedy of both the Monster and Frankenstein from an unbiased perspective, giving mankind a ray...
Author Mary Shelley uses the creature in her book Frankenstein to depict the dangers of humans creating artificial intelligence. Shelley presents these ideas through using Victor Frankenstein as a creator of a new species of life, and the creature as a naive, fiendish artificial intelligence....
Humans are emotional and fears, anxieties, desires, and ultimately become monsters. In all societies, people organize themselves and others into groups or categories based on the social classes, physical features, languages, religions, etc. Along with categories, society comes with a set of social norms as...
Different authors have different intentions for authoring their books. Whereas some write to expand literature and demonstrate literal techniques, others write to communicate on a specific issue either directly or indirectly. In a way, therefore, although writing is an art it is more or less...
In the early 1800s, tense relationships between Europe and the rest of the world greatly impacted modern world history. In 1803, the newly formed United States nearly doubled its domain after purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France. Soon after, in 1804, Haiti won its independence...
In the very act of composing a novel, a writer sets out on a quest, in many ways, to discover some fraction of their true self, whether large or small. Within each novel readers indulge in attempting to uncover these shreds of the authors actual...
Victor Frankenstein, a young doctor, creates a monster out of dead body parts. Shattered by his mother’s death, he becomes consumed with the idea of bringing the dead back to life. He creates a monster with no plan to take care of it, so he...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the 19th century tells the story of a monster created by Victor Frankenstein who is abandoned at birth. When examining this novel from the lens of a feminist literary perspective, we can clearly read how the novel shows us the...
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was destined to be an enigma. She was born August 30, 1797 in Somers Town, England to two highly intellectual, unorthodox, but profoundly influential parents. Her father, William, was a historian, journalist, and philosophist. He was a champion of utilitarianism, an advocate...
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein follows one man’s dangerous obsession with reanimating the dead. In his efforts to create a living human, Dr. Victor Frankenstein ironically loses his humanity. He becomes obsessed, cruel, and treats his own creation with contempt and hatred. Dr. Frankenstein never...
Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto” informed the world about the political and economic conflict of the proletariat against the bourgeois and by extension, the aristocracy. Marx disputes that the proletariat should possess the means of production and that united, they are able to overthrow both...
For many, it is hard to think of the world of science and the art of literature working in tandem. In the 1800s, the discipline of natural philosophy rapidly changed due to the Enlightenment, moving toward formal sciences. Romanticism served as a backlash to the...
Elizabeth Lavenza is a woman who is constantly commodified throughout Shelley’s work. Elizabeth is objectified by Shelley as an object of Victor’s, since she is only ever discussed in terms of her significance to others. To Victor, Elizabeth is “the beautiful and adored companion of...
Exclusively raising opposition to commonplace phenomena can only go as far as just that: talk of a new contrary, and usually unwanted, opinion. The crucial ingredient in making a significant impact with a foreign idea is to make a claim so inconspicuous, that a person...
If a child committed a crime against someone else, is the child culpable for his or her actions, or should the child’s parents being responsible for failing to educate their child on what is right and wrong? The theme of individual responsibility appears throughout the...