Mary Shelley and some Issues
(Simply because I believe it repetative to create yet another post entitled My Problem or Frankenstein/Rousseau.)
To say that Frankenstein's creation is a representative of Rousseau's natural man is both intelligent and unreasonable. At first the monster seems to be a peaceful, observatory creature, more interested in studying the civilization than anything else. This is very well aligned with Rousseau's idea of the natural man. He exists on his own, without interaction with others. Later in the story, too, the creature shows himself as Rousseau's natural man, when he asks for a female companion, and speaks about how nuts and berries are enough food to satisfy him. He does not, however, reflect Rousseau's thinking when he revels in the kill of his first victim, and in every subsequent victim. Rousseau would say that these actions and urges were thrust upon his character by the presence of the society around him. It could be argued, however, that in some way these actions were done only to get what he wanted, in which case they are incredibly infantile. If this is the case, the unbridled action upon instinct also agrees with Rousseau's idea of the natural man.
The thing most plaguing to me at the moment is the complete lack of stability in any and every human life (particularly my own). Every day we live, every action we take, every thing we say, all alter the way our next daay will be lived. And subsequently, there is no thing (tangible or otherwise) in our lives that will remain constant. Everything will eventually change. When each of us is done with our education, we must attempt to support ourselves in some way. Whether it be by working, thieving, manipulating, or what have you, this, then will change. Along the way the people we stay in contact with will fluctuate. Our pets will change, be it number, kind, gender, age, health, or existence. Our points of view of the world will also be altered in this process. All throughout our lives we will be worried about what threat the next shift will bring, be it poverty, poor health, or poor company. When we reach a certain point, everything once again shifts, as we become supported by our government, our significant others, our children, or whatever. Our daily routines will change again. And then, just as we become comfortable with ourselves, and our lives, something tragic happens, and we are handicapped, bedridden, severely injured, or even killed.
I suppose what I'm trying to say in all this is that I would like to have some any one thing that I know will be constant for the rest of my life. I'm not talking about nothing ever changing. I just want one something I know I can count on.
To say that Frankenstein's creation is a representative of Rousseau's natural man is both intelligent and unreasonable. At first the monster seems to be a peaceful, observatory creature, more interested in studying the civilization than anything else. This is very well aligned with Rousseau's idea of the natural man. He exists on his own, without interaction with others. Later in the story, too, the creature shows himself as Rousseau's natural man, when he asks for a female companion, and speaks about how nuts and berries are enough food to satisfy him. He does not, however, reflect Rousseau's thinking when he revels in the kill of his first victim, and in every subsequent victim. Rousseau would say that these actions and urges were thrust upon his character by the presence of the society around him. It could be argued, however, that in some way these actions were done only to get what he wanted, in which case they are incredibly infantile. If this is the case, the unbridled action upon instinct also agrees with Rousseau's idea of the natural man.
The thing most plaguing to me at the moment is the complete lack of stability in any and every human life (particularly my own). Every day we live, every action we take, every thing we say, all alter the way our next daay will be lived. And subsequently, there is no thing (tangible or otherwise) in our lives that will remain constant. Everything will eventually change. When each of us is done with our education, we must attempt to support ourselves in some way. Whether it be by working, thieving, manipulating, or what have you, this, then will change. Along the way the people we stay in contact with will fluctuate. Our pets will change, be it number, kind, gender, age, health, or existence. Our points of view of the world will also be altered in this process. All throughout our lives we will be worried about what threat the next shift will bring, be it poverty, poor health, or poor company. When we reach a certain point, everything once again shifts, as we become supported by our government, our significant others, our children, or whatever. Our daily routines will change again. And then, just as we become comfortable with ourselves, and our lives, something tragic happens, and we are handicapped, bedridden, severely injured, or even killed.
I suppose what I'm trying to say in all this is that I would like to have some any one thing that I know will be constant for the rest of my life. I'm not talking about nothing ever changing. I just want one something I know I can count on.
posted by E. M. G. at 2:02 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home