Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Little Girl and the Wolf by James Thurber - Assignment Example

1. Frankenstein Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley, it was narrated in the form of letters sent by a ship captain d Robert Walton to his sister. Walton encounters an unusual man named Viktor in the North Pole during the time that his ship was trapped in ice. The story revolves around Viktor Frankenstein, a man consumed by an obsession to seek the secret of life by putting together body parts from corpses. He succeeds in doing so but the monster wreaks havoc in the creator’s life by killing his younger brother William. Until one night in the woods, Viktor met his creation and understands the inner conflicts of sadness and isolation that the creature felt. The creature asked Viktor to create a mate for him to end his loneliness to which Viktor did. However, Viktor realized that he is creating another monster and disposes of the second creature. Frankenstein retaliates by killing Viktor’s Friend; moreover, he threatens to kill the new wife of Viktor himself. Because of this events, Viktor vows to destroy his creature before it consumes again innocent people in his life. In the end, Viktor pursues Frankenstein in the north pole and dies. Answer : Walton and Frankenstein are alike in many ways. For one, both of them are relentlessly searched to find meaning in their life. While Walton is exploring the far ends of the earth to find hidden knowledge; on the other hand, Frankenstein is searching for the secret of life. Both of them have exposed themselves to the dangers that their pursuit has given them. Yet, they are not as brave as they ought to be since they also felt dread in confronting the monsters that they created. 2. The Little Girl and The Wolf is an updated story written by James Thurber. The main character is little girl who was befriended by a mean wolf on her way to her grandmother’s cottage in the forest. The wolf ascertained where she was heading so he could devour the little girl. When the girl arrived at her destination, she recognized that the wolf was disguising as her grandmother so she took out her automatic and killed the wolf on the spot. Fairy Tales are fictional stories that presents characters from folklore like giants, elves, fairies, goblins, trolls and sometimes even talking animals. Similarly, fables are narratives that use allegory in deriving a moral lesson; commonly, animal characters that talk and act like people are found on this type of stories. Myths are also fictional stories largely based on a worldview or culture of a certain group of people. The usual characters in myths are supernatural beings, heroes or even ancestors which represent a culture. Mythical stories focus on presenting the ideals, thinking or beliefs of a certain society; also, they are longer compared to fairy tales and fables. 3. Into The Woods is a musical based on the book of James Lapine. The story is set in the Woods where three characters namely: Cinderella, Jack, the Baker and his wife come across each while searching for ways to fulfill their wishes. Along their journey, their life’s get tangled with other fairy-tale characters such as Rapunzel , Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty as they try to overcome the challenges presented to them not only by the main antagonist but conflicts from their own personal lives. The fairy tale character’s experience into the musical is much different from that of the original story. For example, Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were devoured b y the wolf in the play and rescued by the Baker. Also, secondary characters such as Cinderella’s prince play important roles in the play by causing the Baker’s wife to trade the shoes with Cinderella. The Prince portrayed was not the faithful prince as we know him. Apparently, the play diminishes the magical powers of each of the characters and emphasizes the need to depend on one’s self to achieve wishes and overcome conflict as well. 4. The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare which presents the theme of justice and vengeance in the hands of one man- Prospero. Prospero, having been wronged by his own brother Antonio, seeks revenge using sorcery. He does that well by sending a storm that would capsize the boat containing the people who were responsible for his untimely exile from Milan. All of them would join each other on an island where Prospero would use his magical powers to make his enemies realize their wrongdoings. In the end, Prospero will have a change of heart and make decisions that would surprise everyone including his slaves. I find the play satisfying since Prospero was able to forgive his enemies by making them realize their wrongdoings. He has also released his slaves as well as turned his back from his cruel magic. Unfortunately, since this is a play meant to amuse people then, the issue of taking justice into one’s hands has not been the focus. Instead, all the characters become complacent not critical in end resigning their fate to destiny. After all, the important things is that Prospero is at peace with himself. 5. The Left Hand of Darkness is a sci-fi novel written by Ursula Le Guin. It is considered a feminist science fiction. It explores the possibility that both sexes can exchange roles and perform the obligations of both mother and father without conflict. The story’s plot revolves around the life of hermaphrodite members of Gethen and the relation of neuter society to a war free-world. Answer: There is no difference between men and women since both can perform the biological roles of the other. This was illustrated in Chapter 7 where the individual can become a man or a woman depending upon the mate he chooses. My answer would be the same since if the same given conditions exist (planet Gethen), then men and women would not have any difference. It would even be a less restrictive society because both sexes can explore the realm of the opposite sex. 6. The Bear is the longest story written by Faulkner in Go Down Moses. It is a story of a young man’s initiation into the wilderness and man’s struggle to control the natural world. The main character- Isaac McCaslin is on a relentless pursuit in bringing down a fierce bear. However, it is in his encounters in the wilderness that the earth( forest) is not something that must be owned; rather, it is a community that must be shared by men. Because of this, Isaac turns his back on owning the lands that was given to him by his father. In this story, the natural world is a teacher, educating man on the consequences of wanton destruction of nature brought about by his greed. This is explicitly symbolized by the bear that sets an example to the people that nature cannot be easily conquered by man. The natural world affects people in two ways: either by developing a conscience that leads to conservation as experienced by the main character or lead to control of nature for profit. 7. Savage Spawn is a disturbing book that presents to the readers the conclusion that young children who have violent tendencies are future killers, dictators, mob boss, or cult leader. The book gives a critical insight on how biology and environment interplay together to produce children who can commit crimes in cold-blood. The book is a reminder to the general society that rearing children is everybody’s business and it is a serious obligation that must be done well. Savage Spawn provokes readers to contemplate on how children should be raised by society. The cases of school shootings are no accident according to this explosive book by Kellerman. Thus, it must be considered seriously by parents who are seeing indications of violence in their young children which is apparent at age 3. Also, schools that handle early childhood education must continually develop intervention strategies that can effectively handle young children with violent tendencies. Social services on the other hand must act immediately on cases where domestic violence is concerned since these environment are breeding grounds for such kind of children. 8. The Brothers Karamazov is Fyodor Dosteovsky’s last novel .The story is about a father who begets three sons from different women whose fate would lead them to murder. On a deeper context, the brothers in the novel represents faith, doubt, and free will as each of them explore the consequences of their pervading beliefs in life that will eventually teach them a lesson in the end about faith and suffering. Aloysha represents the good nature of man as evidenced by his compasion, forgiving attitude and kindness. But from a philosophical viewpoint as Dosteovsky presented it, Aloysha symbolizes faith. On the other hand his brother Ivan is the accurate representation of doubt as well as cold intellectuals who disregard faith. Similarly, Dmitri is a wretched man who is ruthless in getting what he wants .However, he also symbolizes that through suffering , man can learn from his mistakes and be given a second chance. Ivan’s role is to present to readers the lesson one cannot acquire faith by analyzing God or events , it can only acquired through a suffering experience and belief. Eventually, this realization would lead him to faith in God if he turns his back on his philosophical beliefs that have somehow corrupted other people. The role of Aloysha is to serve as an example of how an ideal man should act and live. Since he is morally upright, his life has less complications and achieves a peaceful and meaningful existence. 9. Clockwork Orange – The novel clockwork Orange was written by Anthony Brugess and published in England. The novel’s genre is philosophical since it narrates how the main character, Alex commits acts such as rape, murder which are against the state. The main theme of the novel is free will which can be a choice for individuals ;yet, the government would control that free will in accordance with the rules stated by society. Answer: The musical elements in the novel such as classical music is the author’s textual pattern which is evident in repeated phrases throughout the novel. The musical element also parallels with Alex deviant behavior. This was evident in the main character’s passion for classical music which lose interest when he was subjected by the authorities. 10. Clockwork Orange Film is a view of Stanley Kubrick against the conspiracies he viewed that time. Kubrick was projecting distrust to an authoritarian government that promoted the Vietnam War as well as man’s landing on the moon. At first, the movie seems to be pro-violence but what it really implies is that people in the corridors of power such as politicians who seem harmless and educated can possibly commit acts of violence that are unimaginable. The Clockwork Orange Film shows that a decadent society produces the types of “Alex “character; yet, when the society itself is threatened it will punish its own offsprings. Read More