Shadow of the Vampire Essay Shadow of the Vampire is a post-modern appropriation of the past texts Dracula by Bram Stoker and the silent film Nosferatu. Through omission, subversion and transformation a new text is created for a new context. This is done through both the use of gothic elements and post-modernist techniques. These aspects shape and modify the characterisation, the plot and the setting. The films story line is based around the creation of the silent film Nosferatu, and the director Murnau’s lust for modern-day immortality with an underlying conceit of the traditional vampire who is embodied by Max Schreck.
The parallelism between Victor Frankenstein and Prometheus is seen through both of their actions of trying to play God by giving life. Both Frankenstein and Prometheus tried to create their own being or race to worship them, and were punished in the end for their endeavors. In “Frankenstein”, one can see the power struggle between Frankenstein and The Creature. Frankenstein becomes obsessed with his studies and project of creating a human, and in a way becomes power thirsty as he plays God by giving life. When his experiment comes to life, Frankenstein gets scared, thus giving The Creature all of the power he previously held.
The main character’s name is Victor Frankenstein and the entire novel is based on what he has done. What he did to ruin his life, how he played god and in the end caused the killings of his loved ones, everything is centered on his decisions. Every moment that lead to his demise, that is what this novel is about. Shelley’s technique is amazing. She puts a story within a story and within that story lays another story.
Chapters 10-17 (creature’s narrative and Frankenstein’s framing chapters) Explore how the creature’s experience shapes both his and Frankenstein’s attitudes and behaviour. Focus on strong feelings including attitudes towards mercy, persecution and revenge. In Chapters 10 to 17, the creature has many character shaping experiences, effecting how he behaves towards Frankenstein and the people surrounding him. The same applies to Frankenstein; his experiences with the monster also affect his feelings towards him, as well as his actions. To begin with the creature encounters the De Lacey family.
In pursuit of knowledge and technology, society begins to lose a sense of humanity. The 1818 gothic novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and 1982 science fiction film, Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott although composed over one hundred years apart contain the same concepts on the nature of humanity. Through context and a variety of film and literary techniques both composers were able to convey their purpose of a cautionary warning about the consequences of playing God. This was achieved through the dislocation of the natural world and mans attempt to play God. The texts present a view that questions the ethics of science which progress is unchecked.
Compare how the treatment of similar content in a pair of texts composed in different times and contexts may reflect changing values and perceptives. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley and Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott, both reflect the period industrially, socially and the technological revolution surrounding the time composition. Frankenstein and Blade Runner are products of their time with the values and ideas they represent and are understood within the historical context in which they were composed. Both texts explore and question various aspects of humanity, creation, nature, science and technology via a wide range of techniques characteristic to their medium of production. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1818,
Throughout Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein readers are forced to compare and contrast the morality and monstrosity of both Victor Frankenstein and ‘the monster’. In literal terms, behaving monstrously is described as ‘committing actions that are inhumanly or outrageously evil or wrong’. To this end, it could most definitely be argued that both of the main characters in the novel are monstrous at one point or another. Ultimately, the following essay is intent upon exploring whether it is in fact the humans or the monster that act ‘the most monstrously’. Firstly, Shelley depicts Victor Frankenstein as more monstrous than the ‘monster’ through the use of a careful plot structure.
Frankenstein and the Mariner In the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and the novel Frankenstein¸ there are many similarities. When the shift occurs, it changes the characters’ lives significantly. Once they have realized what they caused, they feel penitent and end up solitary and disgusted with themselves. The antagonist characters have similarities as well, such as killing people that the main characters loved, and were close to, and setting a bad curse or problem to everyone around them. There are many similarities seen throughout the novel and poem, but these are the biggest eye openers.
Throughout the novel Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley defines morality based on a nature and nurture of ones and it plays relevant role on a person life. Shelley explains sometimes a mankind’s morality can be bad and she mentions it through her the characters Victor Frankenstein, the creature and Robert Walden. Frankenstein’s great desire of creating life endanger his family and goes against nature, his careless disregard for a naïve creature turns it into vicious exterminator and Walden’s unachievable fantasy of finding north pole put his crew in deadly
Although Victor Frankenstein brings a monster to life in the novel of Frankenstein; he himself grows to become a monster throughout the process. He becomes a disheartened, guilt-ridden man that is determined to achieve his goal but gives up his family. He desires to obtain a godlike power of creating new life which can be interpreted as monster-like. Since Victor is the responsible party for creating the monster which is to blame for the violence, he is the monster in that sense. As a scientist, he should have done more research on the topic and considered the consequences beforehand.