Month: November 2014

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and William Shakespeare both explore power and control the the characters of Prospero,Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster.Frankenstein, written in 1818 by Mary Shelly one wet summer in Switzerland with Percy Shelly and Byron is one of the most well known piece of literature. Shelly got the idea for Frankenstein due to what was going on historically, Aldini was experimenting with electricity on a deceased man which caused movement and even an eye to open, this was the thing everyone was talking about and was part of the reason for Shelly’s novel.The romantic movement also occurred in this era it caused writers to start describing nature as a beautiful setting. The Tempest written by William Shakespeare in 1611 is one of  Shakespeare’s most well known plays. It was based on the English fleet crashing on an island due to a tempest, again this was a popular topic of conversation in that time. Also, the name given to one of the characters, Caliban, came from a book called “The Cannibals” which was a popular book of its time. Frankenstein follows Victor Frankenstein who has a love for science, intrigued by the power of electricity, he tries to use it to infuse life into the dead. After many failed attempts he finally succeeds but it is not as he imagined, he gives life to an atrocious creature, frightened by the monster he runs from it until morning. When he returned he found no monster in sight. After receiving news of his brother’s murder, wandering the park where his brother was murdered he encountered the monster and realizes his creation had killed his brother. Filled with guilt he walks along the Swiss Alps where he encounters the creature again who asks for a female mate, Victor refuses and the creature threatens to kill everyone Victor cares about. After refusing to the terms Victor’s friends and family start getting murdered until finally his wife gets killed. Victor decides to pursue the creature where he dies of sickness. The Tempest begins with a ship in a tempest and everyone on board goes overboard and ends up on a mysterious island. The island’s inhabitants Prospero and Miranda talk about what Prospero had done they go back to their cave where we learn of another character Caliban, Prosper sends his slave to fetch wood but when he sees dark clouds he fears a storm and takes shelter under the cloth he was using to hold the wood, after a while Trinculo comes and finds the material and also decides to hide under it during this time Stephano come across the two of them and they all go off and try to dethrone the King of the island Prospero. Miranda come across Ferdinand and the two fall in love, Ferdinand starts to do jobs for Prospero. Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano go in search for the hide out of Prospero when their plan is overheard by Prospero’s spy Ariel, Ariel reports back to Prospero we find out that it was Ariel that controlled the tempest. Ariel is then told by Prospero to lure them through a dangerous path to the cave, after going through numerous dangers they make it to the cave where they see wealthy clothing and steal it, they then encounter Prospero, Ariel, Miranda and everyone that was on the ship. After realizing that Prospero should not be vengeful of his brother Antonio and his accomplice and Alonso and decides to get rid of his powerful stick and helps them all go home.

EDIT DOWN LATER

In the Tempest act 1 scene 2 Prosper and Ariel are discussing the tempest which was caused by Ariel due to Prospero’s command, towards the end of the conversation Ariel asks for it’s freedom and Prospero replies with a violent an aggressive response. “If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak and peg thee in it’s knotty entrails till thou hast howl’d away twelve winters.” Shakespeare is trying to say that power and control can cause people to be violent towards others and they eventually abuse their power. Shakespeare uses painful imagery by saying he will “…peg thee in its knotty entrails…” this makes the audience imagine the amount of pain. Power and control is explored through the violent language used in the quote above and through the characterization of Prospero as he has spoken to others like he is superior to them.

In Frankenstein chapter 2 Victor Frankenstein describes an experience from his past, he talks about a thunder storm that was coming towards their house in Belrive “And so soon as the dazzling vanished, the oak had disappeared” Shelley uses the word “dazzling” to describe the bolt of lightning that destroyed the tree, usually something so dangerous and destructive such as lightning is not described as dazzling; this tells us that Victor is power hungry and is set on controlling something as powerful as lightning; “The catastrophe of the tree excited my extreme astonishment.”  Shelley is saying that power can be so destructive and so dangerous that people will try to get control of it, Shelley also uses imagery to give us an idea of how Victor viewed lightning and the destruction that it left. In both examples the power portrayed is violent and destructive.

In act 3 scene 2 Stephano believes he has the authority to threaten Trinculo as Caliban has been worshiping Stephano like a god, this gives Stephano power and control over Caliban and makes him think he has power and control over Trinculo “Triculo if you trouble him anymore in’s tale, by this hand, I will supplant some of your teeth” This is a direct threat to Triculo as the power given to Stephano by Caliban has gone to his head. Shakespeare uses the phrase “I will supplant some of your teeth” as it tells the audience that Stephano thinks he has the power to abuse others, in this example Shakespeare is saying that power and control given to people will sometimes result in a cruel and abusive leader.

Frankenstein chapter 9 Victor encounters the creature which he has created, the creature demands that Victor creates him a female counterpart, after Victor refuses, Frankenstein replies with “Have a care, I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart.” The creature has the power to make Frankenstein suffer mentally as he also has the power to kill his family, in this example Shelley is saying that someone with power can use their power to gain control over someone else whether it be to threaten to kill the person they want control their family or threaten to kill their family. Shelley again uses violent imagery to give the reader an idea of what the Creature means by “I will work at your destruction.” In both examples both Stephano and the Creature (the one with power) threaten others (the ones without power) to get what they wish for.

In act 5 scene 1 of the Tempest, Sebastion and Antonio see Caliban for the first time they believe because he is an inferior race that they can buy him, “… Will money buy ’em” Sebastion believes that because him and Antonio are more powerful that they can control others and in fact buy people. Shakespeare is saying that power can go to the head of people who have it causing them to abuse it and also causes tremendous arrogance. Shakespeare uses the question “…will money buy em” to portray the arrogance from Sebastion and the disrespect to Caliban.

In chapter 2 volume 2 of Frankenstein Victor encounters the monster for the first time, Victor immediately starts to shout at it and threatens to kill it “Begone vile insect, or rather stay, that I may trample you to dust.” Victor seems to lose his mind due to the anger and adrenaline there for also losing the control that goes with knowledge, however he gains power through strength, although he does not strike the creature he still has power through his strength. Mary Shelley uses the threat “… I may trample you to dust.” to give the audience an idea of the amount of anger inside Victor. Shelley is trying to say that even though you have power it does not mean you have control of that power.

In act 5 scene 1 of the Tempest Stephano, Trinculo, Prospero, Cliban, Antonio, Alonso and Ariel are all in the same room speaking about the events that have unfurled, Antonio ,on first sight of Caliban, says “One of them is a plain fish and no doubt marketable” being someone with power like Antonio the Duke of Milan he thinks that he can make profit from someone who doesn’t have power or control and uses Caliban’s lack of knowledge of freedom to exploit him for profit. Shakespeare is saying that power and control can lead to manipulation of others that are not powerful or do not have control to do what the powerful and controlling people want. Shakespeare uses the line “… and no doubt profitable.” to show Antonio’s arrogance.

In Frankenstein chapter 4 Frankenstein finally succeeds in reanimating life and gains the knowledge of how to do that, this gives him power of reanimating life “I had worked hard for nearly two years for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.” this also gives him control of the deceased and power over them as well. Shelley is saying in this chapter that people will try and get power and control over anything and everything if given the chance. Shelley uses imagery of Victor working hard over dead bodies to portray his obsession for power and control over the dead.

In conclusion, power and control play a part in both texts, the people that have power and control are portrayed as abusive, mentally unstable and power hungry. It occurs in every chapter in both texts but is only given to the abusive or mentally unstable characters, this implies two things, power and control given to abusive people generally make for a better story or power and control causes some of the people it is given to to go insane. The people that are given power and control include Prospero, Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s creature and King Alonso. Shakespeare gives an overall view of power and control as quite a negative thing, Mary Shelley also gives quite a negative thing as they both write about people with power and how they have abused it to get them into a certain situation and how they realize that their abusiveness got them into that situation. Both authors do this by describing the character, imagery or certain questions that portrays heir personality.

Many people are afraid to come to school or work, and why? because of bullying. Bullying affects all schools and workplaces across the world, not one is unaffected by bullying, every second that  someone is bullied is a second of that persons life ruined. Is this acceptable? of course its not, and why? because we live in a society where bullying is unacceptable and wrong, but then why does it still continue? because many people in the world have not gotten the message that bullying is wrong. This is what I want all bullies to hear; what you are doing is wrong. Everyone civilised will agree that abusing somebody (both physically and verbally) is a disgrace to our society.

Bullying does not just take one disguise, it has many forms than just physical or verbal, for example there’s cyber bullying, this is when someone sends verbally abusive messages to someone via text messaging, e-mailing or social networks. This form of bullying is very popular with our modern day technology and like all forms of bullying drives many people to the brink of suicide and unfortunately some to suicide.This form of bullying is very popular because the victim doesn’t always know who’s bullying them, so the bully gets to victimise someone without the repercussions and without their identity being revealed. ‘some children are biologically predisposed to bullying because such behaviour lent their ancestors a selective advantage in our evolutionary past.’ this is one theory by a bullying psychologist, it shows that bullying could be caused by ancestral behaviour that got an ‘advantage’ through bullying. ‘a Washington middle school teacher allegedly joined bullies in beating a 13-year-old boy to the ground and physically abusing him.’ this is a newspaper article (the Daily Mail) it shows that although there are many anti-bullying websites and groups, bullying persists throughout the world and stands strong; even the ones we trust with education are joining in with a sickening act towards a 13-year-old boy.

The main form of bullying is physical bullying, this form of bullying is very popular and has been an issue for many years, it is very popular as the bully can determine the amount of damage that is dealt to the victim, ‘The tendency for school children to bully others was conceived as lying along a continuum of frequency, ranging from zero to very high’ this is a quote from a psychologist that specialises in bullying from a young age, trauma from a young could cause an influential child that abusing someone for personal pleasure; whether it’s mental abuse or physical abuse, is the right way to behave and treat others, so in later life this is the way that person would treat the people around them. the effects of physical bullying range from slight effects to physical and mental scarring that could last for many years, ‘It has been suggested that the mental health of schoolchildren can be undermined by repeated bullying at school’ this is a quote from the association for professionals in adolescent bullying.

Many people try and stop all forms of bullying by starting up anti-bullying websites and by handing out leaflets and so on, but if there are so many people trying to stop bullying than why does it still persist. Well some believe that the sheer size of people that bully others is just too hard to stop; so the possibility that bullying is abolished is hard to imagine. Others believe that it is because people don’t try hard enough to try and stop it, so the efforts that do try and stop bullying seem pathetic and don’t seem to make a difference. Some anti-bullying websites like childline work hard to help prevent children  all over from getting bullied by holding events that raise money for victim of bullying and also raise awareness of bullying and its effects. “I am really upset as I am being bullied at school. They call me fat which has made me stop eating. I have tried to talk to my dad and the teachers but they don’t seem to listen or do anything about it. I am bullied online all the time  and sometimes get threatened. They say they will find out where  I am and hurt me. They tell me I should keep quiet but I really want to tell someone. I am scared that I might get hurt if I do tell someone. Help!” this is from a young boy who contacted childline for help.

Another major event that takes place to raise awareness of anti-social behaviour is anti-bullying week;’This Anti-Bullying Week we call on children and young people, schools, media, government, parents and carers and the voluntary sector to raise awareness of the disproportionate amount that children and young people who have special educational needs and disabilities that are bullied in schools.’ This is a statement from another anti-bullying group called anti-bullying alliance who say that the amount of disabled children that get bullied is a ‘disproportionate amount’ this shows that there are many people that believe that bullying has gotten out of hand in terms of numbers, this is why people hold these events and run these websites because if more people are aware of bullying hopefully the less it will happen.

In conclusion, most people turn a blind eye to bullying, they see it as childish fun but when someone starts disliking the fun, not coming into school because of it or hide in toilets to avoid certain people then that to me is when the ‘fun’ turns into bullying. No one deserves to be treated like that, no one deserves to be bullied so if you see a person being verbally or physically bullied are you going to turn a blind eye and be as bad as the bully or are

are you going to do something about it and stand up for what is right.

The air was cold and dusty, the sky was grey and cloudy, behind the wall of dust were two men they stood back to back, as more dust cleared many more figures could be seen, but these were no friendly figures they were running towards the two men, each of the many figures held weapons and each were pointing at the men, the men did not flinch they did not move, one of the men also held a gun and it was pointing at the figures this man was known as Jack, there was an eerie silence no one moved, although the eerie silence lasted only a few seconds it felt like years but the sudden blast of weapons broke it and it turned into an all out war.

Jack shot the first shot, it threw a few of the enemies off guard giving them enough time to find cover behind a destroyed car that deflected many bullets aimed at Jack, the figures started to move towards the car but before they could move another foot Jack let of a few rounds in their direction, it hit one of the figures now known to be soldiers and he went down with the sound of his helmet smacking the ground, this made his fellow soldiers backtrack to their starting position another group moved in and gin Jck let of a few rounds hitting another one but this time it did not stop the still advancing soldiers.

Jack knew he was not going to stop this group so he grabbed his friends arm and started to run to a wall which used to hold a corner shop which was now demolished now laying on the road, Jack shot of another shot and this time hit two of the soldiers but it did not stop the three advancing soldiers left, before Jack could get back behind his cover one of the soldiers let off a couple of rounds hitting Jack arm and knocking his only protection out of his hands, a drop of sweat rolled down his neck both mens hearts beat faster and faster and a look of worry ascended upon both of their faces,

Knowing that was their only salvation Jack made a quick dash into the open to pick up his gun, the soldiers bullets followed his feet missing by mere inches, he picked it up and made a roll behind another wall two of the three went after Jack’s friend and the remaining soldier fired at Jack, the soldier started to reload but before he could put  new clip in Jack stood before him and before the soldier realised what was going on he was on the floor breathing his last breaths, the remaining two who were oblivious to what had happened had their backs turned towards Jack, he shot off two precise shots both hitting their mark and killing both of them.

Only a few soldiers remained, but they were quite far away and also quite hesitant to advance on the two men. Jack fired his remaining few bullets and then decided  to run, the two men  ran  for their lives. They knew if they were caught they would be killed . As they ran they could hear the soldiers behind them and the occasional blast from a gun. They dodged trees and  bullets to survive. Neither of the two knew where they were or how long they had been running.

hat felt like hours was actually minuets, the two stopped running as they did not hear the sound of the soldiers feet, both of them had no breath so they waited for a few seconds, but before the were completely recovered they were faced with a soldier who let of a shot that hit a tree next to Jack and with that the two started to run again, still dodging bullets and tree stumps they came to a halt as they were met by a waterfall with jagged rocks at the bottom, accessing their options within seconds Jack jumped pulling his friend with him.