Frankenstein was being written in a time when philosophers and writers such as Rousseau and John Locke where developing their ideas on the human condition. Rousseau’s Theory of Natural Human, which acknowledged that morality was not a societal construct but rather “natural” and “innate”, is questioned throughout the novel. Shelley examines the effect of society and knowledge on the innate goodness of the Creature, suggesting that he has become the monster that Victor sees him as because of the unwillingness of his creator to accept him and nurture him. The idea that humans’ innate goodness is tainted and polluted by society is present when the Creature expresses that his “sorrow only increased with knowledge” and this “increase of knowledge only discovered to [him] more clearly what wretched outcast [he] was”. The relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature is also paralleled with that of Lucifer and God and this is shown when the Creature, a symbol of humankind, acknowledges that “I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed”, suggesting that had it been nurtured/educated, it would have become an
Sanders believes Rushdie’s beliefs are an “orthodoxy that... [Sanders]... wish[es] to encounter,” stating his belief that migration only harms the environment, not only to the creatures around us, but to ourselves as well. Sanders uses a metaphor in his essay to emphasize his beliefs that migration is harmful; “the habit … has been to force identical schemes onto differing locales, as though the mind were a cookie-cutter and the land were dough.” The author states that the “mind” is a “cookie-cutter” demonstrating that the industry and commerce believe that every place is the same and could be treated exactly the same as the town next door, explaining the meaning of the “land” being the “dough.” Sanders believes there needs to be respect for the places they live. Different land cannot be treated the same as another
Stedmon Parker 1 April 2011 HIS 201 In the Time of the Butterflies Las Mariposas Throughout the course of human history men have given way to their base primitive instincts in an effort to hoard and consolidate power. Moral and philosophical, even religious and scientific studies demonstrate that holding despotic rulers as a adumbration for the nature of man is a flawed method of attempting to understand humanity as a whole. However, it cannot be denied the power is often the only necessary catalyst for corruption. Similar to any addiction, once started down that dark road acquisition becomes the law of the land. Adhering to the trite caricature of most despots Rafael Trujillo is a man who employs cruelty and fear to preserve
Lord of the Flies & Cast Away Cast Away and Lord of the Flies are very similar books, albeit only on the surface. Their themes differ greatly although they have a few key similarities. Just as Tom Hanks attempts to hold on to civilization by keeping a FedEx package, Piggy attempts to maintain the rules and refuses to lose his morals despite being stranded on an island. Lord of the Flies delves much deeper into the inherit evil that exists within us and the descent into savagery whereas Cast Away deals more with the inner struggle of man. Tom Hanks must fight with himself and nature to survive rather than the boys fighting against each other or good vs. evil.
Individualism is a key aspect in both novels, most prevalently in the protagonist of each story. The presence of it maintains a positive aura in the story, and its gradual diminishment drains the aura out eventually, leaving the feeling of a grim ending. This is done by the relevant authorities in both novels – Jack’s “tribe” from Lord of the Flies and “the Party” from 1984 – who have many similarities. They are both totalitarian (since in Lord of the Flies becoming a “savage” in the tribe changes relevant individual aspects), they both gain power from collectivism and they both use violence to enforce their systems. Consequently the very nature of both authorities demands collective conformity, and this is the driving force for the abolishment of individualism.
But Jack sees Piggy as almost a threat, as although he is different in terms of being like the other children, he is clever and has strong views, which, further through the book, Piggy expresses more and more for example “I was with him when he found the conch!” Piggy is seeing how he is going to be left out unless he starts making himself heard. The individual deaths of Piggy and Simon are quite different because, it is visible that the chapter, and partly the book build up to Piggy’s death but Simon’s death is quite unexpected. Although in the death of Simon the weather changes as the mood does, this is an example of pathetic fallacy. The ironic thing is that Simon had come down from the hill to tell the ‘tribe’ the news that there was no beast, but in rushing in at the time he did, the children see him as the beast, and on a number of occasions at that point Simon is described as the beast. Another example of irony is that possibly two of the most useful
Citing Watchmen as the point where the comic book medium "came of age", Iain Thomson wrote in his essay "Deconstructing the Hero" that the story accomplished this by "developing its heroes precisely in order to deconstruct the very idea of the hero and so encouraging us to reflect upon its significance from the many different angles of the shards left lying on the ground". [38] Thomson stated that the heroes in Watchmen almost all share a nihilistic outlook, and that Moore presents this outlook "as the simple, unvarnished truth" to "deconstruct the would-be hero's ultimate motivation, namely, to provide a secular salvation and so attain a mortal immortality". [39] He wrote that the story "develops its heroes precisely in order to ask us if we would not in fact be better off without heroes". [40] Thomson added that the story's deconstruction of the hero concept "suggests that perhaps the time for heroes has passed", which he feels distinguishes "this postmodern work" from the deconstructions of the hero in the existentialism movement. [41] Richard Reynolds states that without any supervillains in the story, the superheroes of Watchmen are forced to confront "more intangible social and moral concerns", adding that this removes the superhero concept from the normal narrative expectations of the genre.
CHAPTERS (5 to 8) Marria Qibtia Sikandar The novel “Lord of the Flies” is a constitution of human psychology that aptly explores the dynamics of human nature with particular reference to the primal survival instinct that is well embedded within each individual. Survival Instinct acts as a center pin that gels the novel and relates it to the chief theme of the novel, the tendency of man for evil. Golding wrote the novel as a reaction to the destructive World War Two that was intended as a “war to end all wars”. Initially Golding, as he states in his essay “Fable”, contended that “a reorganization of the society” was possible through the “removal of social ills.” His contentions received unbearable thrashing as a consequence of the World War, compelling him to realize the fact that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey”, which he advocates in his novel, Lord of the Flies .With respect to the conundrum of the boys in the novel, Golding remarked, “the boys try to construct a civilization on the island; but it breaks down in blood and terror because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human”. Being human, they are not void of the inherent streak of evil that permeates their character which is a by -product of their survival instinct.
The boys in Lord of the Flies demonstrate this natural goodness and evilness for when they are free from society, their arguably natural goodness (seen in Ralph, Simon and Piggy) is revealed, but also the natural evil (seen in Jack, Roger and most of the boys) is also revealed. The one other direction we can take our interpretation is to reject this is a realist text and consider to be a fantastical story presenting issues for society to consider. For example, if Ben is not a real 'type' but rather represents dysfunction, then society is asked what it does with this dysfunction. This view also lets David and Harriet off the hook, questioning society's treatment of them as parents of a dysfunctional child, rather than questioning their parenthood. Harriet knew that Ben was going to be different compared to the other
Hobbes sees natural law as a state of war in which every man is an enemy to every man. (Hobbs, T. 1991 p.94) Locke on the other hand, sees natural law as a state of equality and freedom. (Locke, J. 1967 p. 289). This difference of opinion flows through to their views on social contract and this essay will discuss this difference in theory as Locke is of the belief that government is necessary in order to preserve natural law, and on the contrary, Hobbes sees government as necessary in order to control natural law.