‘for Me, the Story Is Less a Horror…Than a Larger Than...

‘For me, the story is less a horror†¦than a larger than life gothic fairytale’ (Kenneth Brannagh) How far and in what ways do you agree with this description of the text? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a novel which forces the reader to question whether it is a simple horror story or whether it is a gothic fairytale of many depths. Frankenstein is considered by many critics as the first modern horror story ever written, and it opened a whole new world of ideas for novels and has inspired many similar works since its publication in 1818. As we see by the prelude, Shelley’s first ambition is to horrify the reader as she describes wanting to ‘awaken thrilling horror - one to make the reader dread to look around, to curdle the blood and†¦show more content†¦For many readers, Frankenstein is much more than a simple horror story, it is a story about family, abandonment, the consequences of the quest for knowledge, and many other themes which influence the path of the story. One of the most notable themes within the novel is the idea of good versus evil. This theme adds extreme depth to the text, as the reader is left to decide w hich character is good and which is evil. Shelley’s use of intertextuality in the novel emphasises her point, especially with the inclusion of the strong influence that Milton’s Paradise Lost has on the monster. I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. From the moment he is created, we, like the monster question whether he is Adam, or the fallen angel, and therefore wonder whether it is he or Victor which is the creature of evil. The tale of Frankenstein leads the reader into the logic of creation and of the mind, and through her thoughts on good versus evil; Shelley also forces the reader to look even further beyond the horror of the novel to the idea of the doppelganger effect. In the National Theatre’s production of the novel, the two main characters switched the roles of Victor and the monster, emphasizing the point that both characters could be in fact

The Is The Most Important Quality - 1438 Words

â€Å"When the gods wish to take vengeance on a man for his crimes they usually grant him considerable success and a period of impunity, so that when his fortune is reversed he will feel it all the more bitterly.â€Å"- Julius Caesar. Everyone wishes to be fortunate, and that word has many differing and contradicting meanings, each suited to one or two particular people with that set of goals in their lives. Therefore it is no surprise that humanity has a natural tendency to be ambitious, and to strive to great heights. While this is a beneficial trait, society as a collective whole has brainwashed humanity to believe that ambition is the most important quality an individual can possess. This has caused a conundrum in many great people; that even†¦show more content†¦Even though the witches may have been lying, and most definitely did not have Macbeth and Banquo’s best interests in mind, the two friends believed the prophecy, and their belief was strengthened when M acbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor at the request of the King Duncan. While the title was certainly prestigious it didn’t satiate Macbeth’s aspirations to be great, especially now that the idea that he would be King was planted in his mind. In order to achieve his goals he would forego basic humanity and morality, betraying the trust of the King, the honor of his comrades, and the sanctity of friendship. Ambition to be greater than what was destined is what killed Macbeth, not some concept of the wrong kind of ambition. The want or drive to be great is not inherently good nor evil, simply a desire, and Macbeth’s natural yearning to be great was spurred into overdrive with the idea that he could actually achieve it. However what happens to many great men is that once they stumble upon or actually accomplish their goals, they are not satisfied and must have more. This is their downfall, their inability to be happy with what they have achieved, their ambition to have o r be more that what they feasibly can have or be, this is what causes the greatest of men to fall. According to an article on Forbes.com by Steve Forbes and John Prevas, â€Å"Left unchecked, ambition can cross the line, mutating into arrogance and avarice, two of the most destructive

High School Speech Essay Example For Students

High School Speech Essay I want to start off this speech with the one quote that keeps me moving forward and has kept me motivated through high school. Michael Jordan once said, â€Å"If youre trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. Ive had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles dont have to stop you. If you run into a wall, dont turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. † This is what pushed me to where I am today, and what I thought about graduation. Coming into high I thought it was going to be a scary experience. All the classic rumors of older kids throwing you in lockers, nd treating the freshman bad was all that went through my head as I approached 9th grade. I was worried about the fact that I was going to do freshman year in my first private school ever. I never wanted to go to a private school because of the whole uniform thing, and thought kids from my old school would make fun of me. I was never really the kid that wore shoes and dressed up a lot, but of course I had no choice because that’s where my parents wanted me to go. They wanted me to get a good education and be surrounded by kids of different ethnicity since college would be the same. They wanted me to be challenged as much as possible. My parents always wanted the best for me and I love them for that. At the beginning 9th grade, I was really shy and afraid because I knew I was going to a new school where I didnt know anyone. Making new friends and meeting new people wasnt really the type of person I was. I was always the kid that would sit by himself, doing their work or eating their lunch alone until someone came over to talk to me. As that year went on I began to make friends and started opening up a little more. I’m always the type to try and fit in with the popular crowd. I hate to always stand out or have people talk about me. When I was in private school I wasnt really worried about that since everyone looked the same with the uniform. It was just all about how you portrayed yourself to others and that’s how they would judge you. I played a lot of sports in middle school and am generally a very athletic person. However, in 9th grade I was too afraid, so I only played lacrosse. I wasnt allowed to play basketball that year, because my grades werent where they were supposed to be. My parents said,School comes first, and if your grades are not up then you wont be able to play sports. Even though the year seemed like it went slowly, it was an okay year. 10th grade year I knew was my year to do everything. This is the year where I changed the most. The people I hang out with in 9th grade were totally different from the people I hung out with in 10th grade. This was the year I played all the sports I played and met people that I knew would be my friends for a long time. After playing basketball I was well known and a lot of people knew who I was. It was a good feeling because I thought I would be that kid that no one really noticed. This was also the year that I had my first high school relationship and really liked this one girl which I now hate with a passion now. It’s really funny how things like feelings can go from love to hate so quickly. This was also the year that my parents had a hard time paying for this annoying tuition. They said that I couldnt take my finals or regents if I didn’t pay the tuition. My mom wasnt able to pay the bill every month so of course like all bills, the price increased as time ent on and she wasnt able to pay it. She ended up owing the school a lot of money which was forced to have me go to a different school. Alexander The Great EssayI barely knew people in my graduating class, but as people say this might have been the worst graduating class ever. Every day as I wake up or sit in school, I wish I was in my old school with all my friends and graduating with them. As of right now I’m focusing on getting this advanced regents diploma and passing my Trig and physics regents. Then after that is all over I will be graduating from this boring school in June. Just thinking about leaving this school makes me really happy. Goodbye to you all and wish you luck in your future.

Reflective Report Social Mobility Essay Example

Reflective Report: Social Mobility Essay Social Mobility with reference to my own area of teaching. The term â€Å"Social Mobility† refers to the social standing, social position in conjunction with classes and social hierarchy. Within this reflective report I will concerned the focus on Social Mobility measured alongside education. The main hub for this report refers to â€Å"vertical mobility† – movement of individuals upwards from one level to another by joining the Armed Forces: Showing that â€Å"in-School† and â€Å"out-of-school† has an impact on the Social Mobility of individuals or groups. Factors effecting mobility are varied from economic capital, cultural capital, human capital and social capital, all of which enable social mobility to change direction. Within my role as a Military Teacher, learners embark on their future career from a varying class background; the Armed Forces draws its personnel from a broad cross section of society who have widely differing social backgrounds; educational standards and learning ability. The Armed Forces recruit from a diverse educational ability from those with university degrees to individuals with no general education. This has an impact upon how these very different learners view education. I will reflect on those learners that are from disadvantaged backgrounds, lower social mobility, as it is those I feel the Armed Forces have had the greater impact upon which impacts on their vertical mobility. Sociologists describe â€Å"in-school and â€Å"out-of-school† factors as the examination of differences in education beyond the confines of the school. This assists us within this report to understand why upward mobility can be achieved within the Armed Forces during their initial and on-job training. In other words, sociologists have to look both within and beyond the immediate environment of the school to explain why students do well or bad within different educational systems† (Kidd et al, 2003. Pge 240) There are many authors discussing the relationship between education and class / poverty and how the sequence of reduced or no education attainment leads to decreased opportunities in a dulthood. Common themes amongst these authors are better education (in-school, out-of-school or both) can be a way to break this succession. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflective Report: Social Mobility specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reflective Report: Social Mobility specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reflective Report: Social Mobility specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer On further reflection this highlighted that there are several parts to this area with regards to the solution and the difference in views [on education and class] of the learner are at the centre of educational achievement and increased [or decreased] mobility. Hirsch (2007, p. 1) underlines this point: â€Å"Just 14 per cent of variation in individual’s performance is accounted for by school quality. Most variation is explained by other factors, underlining the need to look at the range of children’s experiences, inside and outside school, when seeking to raise achievement. The well intentioned 2011 strategy by the government wasn’t to increase social mobility, meaning the continual transfer of levels by all (upwards or downwards). The problem, as stated by Helen Barnard (2011) â€Å"is that people from low-income backgrounds find it extremely difficult to get a good education and a good job†. The military tackles some of this distinction by reducing the boundaries between social classes. Raffo et al (2007, p. 2) states: â€Å"If the critical perspective teaches us one thing, it is that the relationship between poverty and education is unlikely to be disturbed unless fundamental issues of power and interest, advantage and disadvantage are addressed. † The Armed Forces reduce these boundaries by introducing them to a greater [social, human, economic, culture] capital ensuring all learners have access to the same educational environment. The difference outside of the military and classroom (families, peer groups, neighbourhoods) has a lesser influence on the learners. For example, increased culture capital is increased in-school [within the classroom] learning about the Battle of Trafalgar and/or out-of-school onboard HMS Victory within a national museum, both areas of which increase the capital normally open to certain class groups. In turn, I also believe as the teacher, I have a responsibility to every individual on having a positive impact upon their development of positive relationships within supervising and authoritative figures; this will have secondary effects on the learner’s class standing. The learner is expected to uphold a set of core values resulting in human capital. As highlighted by Lefrancois; Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory explains the social learning involved; as describe above individuals are taken away from their normal environment resulting in the â€Å"acquisition of patterns of behaviour that conform to social expectations-learning what is acceptable and what is unacceptable in a given culture† (2000, pge. 149 In summary, the study of mobility is the study of change for in this case those learners from a lower class background; the military goes some way to removing advantage / disadvantages thus creating a more inclusive class environment. If the learner does achieve personal development more through the military system, I believe this will go a long way to breaking the disadvantage cycle, thus having a positive impact upon the individual’s vertical mobility. Another functionally significant aspect towards social mobility is personnel employment and the fact the individual is employed within the Armed Forces will impact on their mobility.