Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, has used a framing narrative in the opening letters of the novel, to help set up the major premise of the novel. Through the epistolary form it eases the reader into the story and adds a subplot that gives the main story texture and richness. This technique also focuses on the character parallels between Walton and Frankenstein, and how Walton foreshadows Frankenstein’s story. Many writers of the time wrote in the traditional romantic genre, however Shelley challenges this by writing in the gothic genre through the epistolary form and negative message she conveys through Victor of the dangers of romanticism. To force the reader to actively engage in the text, Shelley uses a fallible narrator unlike the traditional novel.
In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of Frankenstein and Blade Runner? The values and morals of society have dramatically changed throughout the course of history, so too has the knowledge of science, its teachings and influences on the world. As new technologies have been under further experimentation into the production of man-made life forms, the debate between science and religion has continued. It is these issues within an author’s context that influences them and the texts they create. Mary Shelley’s gothic promethean novel, Frankenstein (1818), was released during the industrial revolution as romanticism was thriving, while Ridley Scott’s futuristic sci-fi Blade runner (1992) grew with the dawning of a capitalistic increasingly globalised and technologically driven society.
Victor mentions the “sublime shapes of the mountains” in the chapter before the creature kills Elizabeth on their wedding night. This chapter is interesting structurally because it uses sublime settings to restore a sense of ease to Victor, before the next chapter shatters his false sense of security. However, while the use of sublime settings is sometimes used positively to reflect the beauty and power of nature as well as Victor’s mood, it is also used by Shelley to highlight Victor’s isolation – another example of how it is impossible to say whether places or characters are more important because they both co-operate in Gothic literature. Shelley uses the sea in particular as a place that reflects Victor’s anguish, isolation and nature as a tormented Gothic protagonist. At one point Victor states, “I looked upon the sea; it was to be my grave”.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, are both excellent examples of Gothic literature and the elements which set this genre apart from others. Each author employs such Gothic elements as metonymy, mystery and suspense, and overwrought emotion to create pieces of writing that have affected the way we tell stories even to the present day. Metonymy is an element that affects the way the reader interprets the scene without knowing it. In Gothic literature, metonymy usually makes for much “doom and gloom.” Blowing winds, howls, moans, sighs, and eerie sounds are all entwined within Frankenstein, illustrating Shelley’s use of metonymy. All of these are used to subtly reference the overall air of darkness and horror apparent in the novel.
God occupies the main place in Berkeley’s metaphysics. Indeed, Berkeley’s entire philosophical project is directed as establishing God’s existence. The central role of God in Berkeley’s metaphysics can be seen when he ends his Principles of Human Knowledge by declaring that “what deserves the first place in our studies is the consideration of God and our duty, which to promote was the main drift and design of my labours” ( Berkeley 1982, P. 87). For Berkeley, God is not simply the creator of the universe, but a “provident governor, actually and intimately present, and he is attentive to all of our interests and motions”. In A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge published in 1982, there are passages that Berkeley treats the
Christianity Worldviews Origin-Genesis 1:1 shows God creating the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Christianity affirms that “God is the infinite, personal (triune), transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign and good being who created the universe.” (James Sire, The Universe Next Door, p.23, 26). To say that God is infinite is to say that He is a necessary Being and there was never a time when God did not exist. God is transcendent in that He is not part of the creation, but separate from it. However, He is also immanent, in that He cares for His creation, enough to reveal Himself to mankind.
(Heb. 6:1 faith is the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen. I would answer the Axiological question by saying, “God is the creator of the for universe.” Not only does he creates everything, he is everything. So that means because God is of value, we are of value too.We have to always keep God center. (Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other Gods me.)
Ephesians and Colossians: The epistle to the Ephesians church is a faith treatise on victorious Christian living or said in other words a ‘triumph of faith’ and so does Colossians.However,Colossians the apostle addresses some heretical teachings probably by Gnostics who argued the body was bad or evil and that nothing good can come from the evil body. Some also taught of celestial and constellation worship and philosophies of men. (Tokunboh Adeyemo: 2005:1155: Biblestudies.org). Paul explains how believers’ faith is rooted in Christ and how Christ overcame the devil and triumphed on the cross. Believers in Ephesus are reminded how Christ broke the dividing wall of separation and reconciled man with God.
The two biggest and most conflicting religions in this period were two sects of Christianity, Protestantism and Catholicism. This conflict can be seen in a lot of literature in the Gothic genre, as the villains were mainly Catholic, which gave authors a gateway in which to insult Catholicism. However, in Dracula, Stoker creates the setting for Gothic conventions, but does not fully concede to this stereotype, making one of his protagonists Protestant but using Catholic symbols to help protect him. At the start of the novel, when Harker is travelling to Dracula’s home, he seems to be travelling between two different worlds, when passing through the landscape Harker notices a thunderstorm at the Carpathian Mountains which seems to “[separate] two atmospheres” (14) and describes the scenery as a “frontier… [that] has had a very stormy existence” (6). This suggests that Harker is leaving one world behind, the world of security, and is passing a world of superstition and danger, which can be otherwise seen as Harker digressing into Limbo, the theological “in between” world, between Heaven and Hell, in this context Heaven is Britain is Heaven and Transylvania is Hell.
English 113 February 16, 2013 “The Tell-Tale Heart”: Elements of Gothicism As an offshoot to Romanticism, Gothic literature became keen in the 19th Century, leaving Edgar Allen Poe to claim his title as the father of Gothicism. In Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator himself is a classic character of Gothicism. Witnessing the insanity his character is consumed by and the murder he commits, this story really gives the reader a dark perception and demonstrates a feeling of abnormality and general deviance. Throughout the entire story, the conflict morphs from the narrator versus the eye, to the narrator versus his own madness. The “Tell-Tale Heart” can be definitively be classified as Gothic literature because Poe’s strong use of imagery, symbolism, and the element of suspense captivates and further heightens the sense of how insane the narrator really is.