ipl-logo

The Influence Of Perception In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

427 Words2 Pages

Kim articulates a metaphor through the motif of snow as seen in the quote: “You see, before he came downhere, it never snowed. And afterwards, it did…” Kim's reflection on Edward's influence on the weather is ametaphor for his impact on the community, demonstrating her acceptance for his uniqueness through a positiveoutlook on his presence. Whilst the majority of society eventually rejected him, a scarce few were able to ignoreexterior appearances and identify the value in Edward's interior beauty. Shelley and Burton emphasise thetheme of isolation with correlation to acceptance, beauty, and perception, employing a variety of languagefeatures to effectively convey these concepts.Shelley and Burton use the intertwined themes of perception and …show more content…

The foreshadowing of the quote in Chapter 5 articulated byVictor has an extensive significance to the story "I beheld the wretch — the miserable monster whom I hadcreated." Victor's initial judgement of his creation establishes a tone for how society views the creature, hisperceived nature biased due to his unconventional appearance. This foreshadows the prejudice that follows as aresult of judgements, his own appearance preventing him from being perceived as a fellow being, perpetuatinghis isolation. This can also be exemplified by the creature's interaction with the residents of the cottage, facing aprejudice due to his exterior appearance. Contrarily, in Edward Scissorhands, his unusual hands are initiallyjudged by the majority of the townspeople, yet they become significant to his eventual acceptance into society.The quote: "Keep him out of sight, okay? Don't let anyone see him.", is enunciated by the townspeople andestablishes a prejudice, dehumanising Edward due to his unusual appearance. Despite this, the visualsymbolism of his ‘scissorhands' and their capability to reflect his creative and artistic capabilities demonstrateshis true nature, changing perceptions of his

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between Frankenstein And Edward Scissorhands

    488 Words  | 2 Pages

    By using both the monster and Edward as a vessel for abandonment, with the incorporation of developed language and scenery by both Shelley and Burton, the audience can determine what to feel in that situation and therefore either empathise or despise a certain

    Read More

  • How Does Victor Create Self Sacrifice In Frankenstein

    1684 Words  | 7 Pages

    After acting on his impulse and killing the young boy he met with the same last name as the monster’s creator, the monster “‘gaze[s] on [his] victim, and [his] heart swell[s] with exultation and hellish triumph’” (Shelley 153). By juxtaposing “victim” and “exultation” as well as “hellish” and “triumph,” the monster paints himself as an unpleasant grotesque creature. His newly destructive character brings pain and conflict everywhere he goes. In fact, later in the novel, the monster kills Victor’s wife, and while pointing towards her corpse “a grin [is] on the face of the monster; he seem[s] to jeer” (Shelley 213).

    Read More

  • Perceptions In Frankenstein

    749 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who gives life to a creature he created. However, this monster is not what he envisioned, and it is an ugly creature that both he and humanity reject. This creation, which goes by the name "creature", later engages in abhorrent behavior due to how it perceives the world and the way it is treated. Throughout the novel, the creature exhibits a variety of actions and behaviors that may be evaluated to gain insight into their worldview through his feelings and perceptions. Overall, it is clear in Frankenstein, particularly in the nature of the creature, that behaviors point to a worldview.

    Read More

  • Power Of Looks In Frankenstein By Mary Shelly

    602 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Power of Looks in Frankenstein Everyday people judge one another. Whether it is subconsciously or consciously, mankind will judge. People will judge others from skin color, to hair texture, to clothes. The way people perceive others has an effect on how they treat each other. In the book “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly, the creature lives his life as an eight foot target for everyone to attack.

    Read More

  • Curiosity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    Curiosity is a very important trait for normal people. It is only natural for all of us to be curious, for us, as humans, find it interesting discovering and learning new things. In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, curiosity is expressed as a negative feature us humans have. Mary Shelley describes Curiosity’s impacts and how it, for the most part, leads to misery and despair, but how it can also be used for better if you know how to control it. Curiosity can be essential if used correctly, but if it goes too far, it can lead to regretful pain.

    Read More

  • Interpreting Perspectives In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1243 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout life, a person will encounter all kinds of different perspectives from the people they meet. To truly be able to connect with and understand a person, one must accept and come to terms with the concept that their own perspective is never the only perspective. Without understanding situations from other peoples’ perspectives, a person can become prejudiced and intolerant towards others and the things they may go through. Being able to connect with a person and understand their thoughts and beliefs, even if you may not agree with them, is a key skill that is needed for effective communication and meaningful relationships. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, one of the main characters suffers from isolation and lack of human connection

    Read More

  • Prejudice And Appearance In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    832 Words  | 4 Pages

    The definition of Prejudice is, “An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason”(Dictionary.com) The majority of humans tend to judge others by appearance rather than personality. Examples derive from culture and treatment of African American people and how others perceive them to be. Prejudice and appearance are prevalent in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein as well as today’s culture which has consequences regarding race, age, religion, etc. In Frankenstein, the monster is a hideous, vicious being of large stature who has the potential to cause injury, so he is perceived to be malicious due to these characteristics.

    Read More

  • The Struggle For Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    672 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dangerous Minds- Rough Draft Knowledge has the capability to be used for both good and evil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a consistent message throughout the novel showing the dangerous and destructive power that knowledge can have. Two key characters, Victor Frankenstein and his monster, are shaped through their obsessions with knowledge and the power and responsibility that it brings. Ultimately, Victor’s downfall is a result of his uncontrollable thirst for knowledge, and is brought about through the monster which is the embodiment of his obsession. Victor is a brilliant scientist who figures out a way to create life from death using galvanism, or electricity.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Pursuit Of Knowledge

    1420 Words  | 6 Pages

    ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1191 Words  | 5 Pages

    Numerous research has concluded that several emotional bonds exist between humanity and nature that can impact everything from attitude to anxiety. Novels of the romanticism period, a significant literary era that encompassed most European works written in the early 1800’s, are most known for describing the impacts that nature has on people and implying that unexpected consequences can arise out of this relationship; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of such a novel. The prime conflict of this 1818 science-fiction story occurs between the titular character, Victor Frankenstein, and a monster he creates through his own scientific innovations. Because of Victor’s abandonment of the monster, it becomes intent on destroying the scientist’s

    Read More

  • Beauty And Ugliness In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1363 Words  | 6 Pages

    Beauty and ugliness is often used to justify the reaction of others in the novel, Frankenstein; in which the relation between external appearance and internal desires are shown to be related. The theme of how appearance affects judgement is often demonstrated through the characters response to the monster’s physical being. Shelley depicts this situation through Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the Delacey family, and through the monster himself. The use of appearance to determine judgement is shown to be a negative habit. By automatically associating ugliness with evil, and beauty with innocence, society unintentionally develops a negative being in those considered ugly, while at the same creating an illusion of innocence over beautiful individuals.

    Read More

  • The Narrative Voice In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1003 Words  | 5 Pages

    When writing any piece of fiction, an author 's choice of narrative voice has a huge impact on how readers experience the story. From the slightly less personal yet versatile third-person to the narrow, limited view of first-person, the narrative voice literally provides the voice of literature. It affects which characters the reader really connects with, the opinions that influence them, the knowledge they have, and numerous other aspects. While most authors stick with only one tense, Mary Shelley challenged that standard in Frankenstein. In Frankenstein, Shelley changes her narrative voice numerous times in order to fully develop all aspects of the story through Walton 's letters, Frankenstein 's story, the Monster 's story, and also the

    Read More

  • Innovative Literary Techniques In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    Written during the ninteenth century, the gothic Frankensteinnovel by Marry Shelly, tells the story of a young educated student Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque but fantastic creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment, which leads to different tragic events. Shelly writes about the creation of the creature and how he is first introduce to his livelihood and this world. In this novel Shelly uses different types of literary techniques to convey the expression of the creature as a baby just learning about life and the world, and by employing innovative literary techniques such as imagery, setting, theme, and characterization, she creates a feeling of sympathy on the readers. This feeling is created through Shelly establishment of pity on the readers by reavealing the creature’s loathsome creation, habitat, or even existence.

    Read More

  • Nature And Romanticism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    758 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen in the novel. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.

    Read More

  • Nature And Setting In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    764 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel Frankenstein has a unique way of expressing how the setting functions as a whole. Mary Shelley used an early 1800s setting in Switzerland and London to show how Victor made it through this extraordinary adventure. There were multiple themes that affected how the setting functioned in the novel. Nature, weather, and season all affect the mood of the characters. These things all have a great impact on the setting of the book.

    Read More

More about The Influence Of Perception In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Open Document