The period in which Frankenstein was written was also a time of great change. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley questions the suppression of the working class and the creature’s hunting down of Frankenstein can be seen as representative of the rise of this working class. The gothic novel rose to popularity in the late eighteenth century, partly due to a desire to escape the reality of the terrific events of the French Revolution through literary extremes, and its many elements are reflected in the novel, Frankenstein. The gothic novel can be considered an amalgamation of elements of romance, the natural and supernatural, monstrous all set in a landscape of macabre and desolation. Although the setting of Frankenstein cannot be considered desolate and macabre the themes of the natural and supernatural are certainly prevalent.
Comparison of Frankenstein and Blade Runner While Blade Runner is a collaborative work of the twentieth century using technological mediums, Frankenstein is a more traditional novel written as part of a competition to see who could create the most Gothic (horror) story using language. The two are separated by two hundred years and yet share many of the same concerns. BLADE RUNNER | FRANKENSTEIN | Blade Runner1 is a Ridley Scott adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?As a dystopia (dark future) it uses the glazed cinematic techniques of film noir that tends to distance us from the characters and actions. More @ Cinematic Techniques: | This is a Gothic Novel. Mary claims the inspiration for her story came from a vision she had during a dream.
‘Some Houses are born Bad’ (Shirley Jackson, The Haunting). Discuss the Representation of the House or ‘Home’ in a Range of Writers Studied on the Course Throughout the history of both European and American gothic fiction, the setting has played an important role in ensuring the correct atmosphere is achieved; ‘that atmosphere of gloom and decay which adheres to the crumbling abbey and ruined castle in the gothic novel. In few other genres does the setting play such a significant role’ During the ascendancy of European Gothic, novels were typically set in remote structures such as Manfred’s castle in The Castle of Otranto, and, in The Monk the Castle Lindenberg and the Abbey. These settings were inspired by a fear of what lies beyond the borders of civilisation , remote catholic countries generally provided the location for these settings. By the gothic revival of 1850-1880, with the exception of Castle Dracula, the setting had moved from grand, mysterious structures of foreign lands to the urban dwellings and labyrinthine streets of Victorian cities such as Edinburgh and London, the setting for Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner and Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde respectively.
The (Now) Obvious Themes of Reverse Colonization Within Stoker's Dracula Stephen D. Arata's article The Occidental Tourist: Dracula and the Anxiety of Reverse Colonization, was written to highlight the no longer subtle and hidden themes of imperialism, race and culture found within Bram Stoker's Dracula. Arata categorizes Dracula with other written works of the Victorian era such as The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling and The Time Machine and War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. In each of these tales, the reader finds a story of reversal of roles: the colonized becomes the colonizer, the victim becomes the villain, the exploiter becomes the exploited. These stories were written in “response to cultural guilt and to atone for imperial sins”.
Analyse how Frankenstein and Blade Runner imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of their time. Mary Shelley’s epistolary Novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s pastiche film, Blade Runner both express the contextual concerns of the post-industrial and post-modern eras respectively. Shelley’s novel operates as a Gothic expression of the conflicting values of the romantic and enlightenment eras, whereas Scott’s film acts as a predicted response to disillusion of boundaries of the post-modern period. Both composers, however imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of their time, in accordance with the values and attitudes of their respective contexts. Through the characterisation of Victor Frankenstein, Shelley explores the concerns of the two prominent socio-cultural ideologies of her own context.
GOTHIC, EXOTIC AND ISOLATED SETTINGS by SEHAR ADNAN. ANALYSIS OF "NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR" EXPLANATION The shots sequence selected for [the] analysis has been taken from F.W. Murnau’s movie, ‘Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror’, released in 1922. The scene is [the] Act 2 in the black and white(low-contrast) film. It shows Hutter’s experiences with Count Orlock in his Castle, while effectively revealing the gothic conventions of the exotic or isolated settings.
This is evident in Shelley’s Frankenstein where she uses the description of a “dreary night” when horrifying events are about to occur. There is also a sense of mystery involved through this description of Heathcliff’s heritage, the use of ‘storm’ demonstrates to the reader that he is perceived as not being human. This again is reminiscent to Frankenstein’s creature who had no clear heritage and was incidentally born during a storm. The similarities with Gothic monsters and Heathcliff does not end there. In Stoker’s Dracula the vampires are refered to as the “children of the night”.
Texts reflect the social, economic and historical contexts of which the author compose their work in. Both Mary Shelley’s 19th century gothic novel “Frankenstein” and the science fiction film “Blade Runner” directed by Ridley Scott propose similar concepts even though their work were compose during different era. As a Romanticist, Shelley put down the idea of man playing ‘God’, Scott’s responds to Shelley warning is also condemn man’s thoughtless ambition. However the context of greed and mass industrialisation shifts the criticism onto the pursuit of commercial dominance. Both texts have used many language techniques and features to describe similar dystopian visions result from man’s abandonment of nature.
How do you respond to the view that the Monster is Frankenstein’s double, representing the evil side of his character? The theme of the double is a particularly common feature in nineteenth century Gothic Literature. As an externalization of a part of the self it is often used to demonstrate the tension between the laws of society and the desires of the individual and to give voice to that which has been silenced by rational discourse. It can be argued that the Monster is Frankenstein’s double representing the evil side of his character as when Victor refers to the monster as ‘my own spirit’ he provides the clearest expression of the notion that he and the monster may be doubles, with the monster acting out Victor’s own aggressions. Victor says that the monster is ‘my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave and forced to destroy all that was dear to me’.
In the novel Jane Eyre, Bronte presents the theme of gothic horror throughout. The gothic plot can be identified in the mysterious castle of Thornfield; along with the moonlit natural environment. The Gothic plot is Romantic in the literary sense. Firstly the red room shows resemblance of blood and death. Jane imagines Mr Reed’s ghost haunting the room, from wrongdoing regarding his last wishes.