Frankenstein/ Blade Runner Notes and Quotes http://www.shmoop.com/frankenstein/victor-frankenstein-quotes.html Frankenstein http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/95761.html?utm_expid=174881-1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.au%2F * 19th Century. * Post-enlightenment era: Pursuit for knowledge and reasoning over religious dogma. Science was arising * Industrial Revolution: A period of scientific and technological advancement
Manual labour was replaced by machinery and the working class were devalued with long hours and low wages * Post French Revolution: The traditional monarchy was overthrown and replaces with the values of democracy and equality (De Lacey’s Egalitarianism). Aristocracy and strict social hierarchy is threatened. * Romanticism: Rejection of science and embrace the sublimity of untamed nature and personal experiences. Romantic composers sought a way to capture and represent the sublime moment and experiences. * Constant foreshadowing. Ubiquitous=omnipresent * Victor uses words such as “fate” and “omen” to hint the tragedy that has befallen on him * Themes: * Dangerous knowledge/ Promethean acquisition: “I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge”. Victor to Walton, “Learn from me, how dangerous the acquirement of knowledge”
God-like transgression against nature unleashes tragedy and retribution
Shelley warnings against the dangers of man grasping Godlike power and playing with nature.
God-like transgression against nature unleashes tragedy and retribution. Like Prometheus, Victor transgresses his mortal limits and rebels against the natural order * Injustice/ Corruption in society: The monster learns that the most respected men of society have wealth and influence, “I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property..."
The justice system represented by the magistrates is only comprised of men. Justine’s sentence. “My passionate appeals were lost upon them. I received their cold answers and heard the harsh, unfeeling reasoning of these men”
Cruel treatment and immediate rejection towards the Monster results in his pathos as highlighted by the quote “I was benevolent and good… misery made be a fiend” -> allusion to Rousseau’s philosophy “Tabula rasa” where everyone naturally have the potential to be
