Frankenstein

“When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it. Although I possessed the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all it’s intricacies of fibers, muscles and veins still remained a work of inconceivable difficulty and labour. I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself or one of similar organization; but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man” (Shelly, 31).

I found this paragraph to be significant, this was the moment when the decision of the creation of Frankenstein came about. After Victor spent countless hours discovering the cause of life and became fascinated in matters of the non-living. He contemplated how he would exploit his new found knowledge. So far I have gathered through victors reflection of his background, he presents accounts that lead him to his misfortune and landed him on Captain Walton’s ship sharing his tale of dangerous of the power of knowledge and trying to play “god” it can cause. I feel this was the tone for the story Mary Shelling was trying to portray.

Victor shares how his nights and days were spent into his creation his life was drowned in his work he had joyous thoughts of gratitude from those he would give existence to. After all the hard work his creation was complete and the moment his first breath was taken victor’s bliss was overwhelmed with disgust when he realized what he had leashed upon the world. He feels by sharing his tale he may prevent Walton from repeating the same mistake, that although he did have the knowledge it may not always be wise to take part in matters that were not meant for man to achieve.
This a link that shares a poem of frankenstien that I enjoyed.


picture from http://dcolton7.glogster.com/frankenstien/

Feild of skulls

Zareth Martinez

Laura Cline

English 102

15 September 2011

Suicidal

Mary Karr’s poem Field of skulls gives the reader a forbidding and sinister glimpse into the deepest buried thoughts that creeps around ones mind. For he, the speaker is someone who is lost in thought of the “darkness” lurking about. He presents an emptiness for life, for this his thoughts manifest into a disturbing conviction that many souls are terrorized by mischievous sprites. He ponders the idea that anyone can be capable of just about anything; it can be any unsuspecting individual such as your neighbor, your friend, even yourself. He is at this time fighting his own inner demon who has given up on all hope of life and sees no good is left in the world. Overall, the speaker is contemplating suicide and weighing out his reasons to die.

The speakers tone is edgy and chilling, he has conveyed no difference in life and death. The "nights scrim" is a perfect way to think about the authors mindset, an illusion filled mind that has broken from reality trying to gain serenity through suicide, to find an alternative way out from all the despondent in his mind’s eye. The mention of the skulls, is a connection between the living and dead this seems to be a theme of this poem.

The beginning of the poem opens with the speaker illuminating his state of depression, his isolation from others and views of despair. The linguistic features are subtle and to the point.

“Stare hard enough at the fabric of the night,

and if you’re predisposed to dark--let’s say

the window you’ve picked is a black

postage stamp you spend hours at,

sleepless, drinking gin after the I love

Lucy”

(Karr lines 1-6)

The poem provides contrast imagery to the readers mind.
“--stare like your eyes have force, and behind

any night’s taut scrim will come the forms

you expect pressing from the other side.”

(Karr lines 7-10)

In this verse the speaker continues to reference darkness, almost as if it is an inner darkness within. The speaker uses Taut scrim as an imagery, scrim is a backdrop, cloth used in theaters to create illusions using light that can only be seen from behind . This can be interpreted as the speakers sight of darkness or source of pain. How he will only catch sight of the light, which is his peace, or happiness, would only be seen or felt through death. When acknowledging monsters such as Adolf Hitler and Uncle Joe (Josef Stalin) two of the mankind's most infamous criminals towards humans and the carnage they committed seems to be a driving force of evidence as to how he is viewing the world. He appears to have lost faith in mankind and views the world as a dark place filled with false illusions, such as happiness or moral.

The poem then shifts to his paranoia, his mind fills with the presumption that his life will come to bitter end.

"that disgruntled mail clerk from your job

has already scratched your name on a bullet--that’s him

rustling in the azaleas."

(Karr lines 19-21)

He appeals the thought that someone has already intended on killing him, giving justification to take his own life, rather than giving someone else the gratification of doing so. This speaker also insinuates that life has much less beauty and a lot of ugliness. "you stare, and furious stare,

confident their are no gods out there."

Again this is depression and justification for suicide.

“If the skulls are there--

let’s say they do press toward you

against nights scrim-- could they not stare

with slack jawed envy at the fine flesh

that cover your scalp, the numbered hairs,

at the force your hands hold?”

(Mary Karr lines 29-34)

As the poem came to an end, the speaker reflectively elicits of his own actions which creates a debacle in his mind regarding his actions being justified? Is he committing sin as those monsters? Is it fair for him to go through such a horrendous act and take his own life, when so many who’s life where cut short long for life.

Work Citation

Karr, Mary “Field of Skulls” poetryfoundation.org. Poetry foundation

2011. Web.

I believe I am getting the concept of analyzing, well at least I hope! I have notice I have difficuly ending a paper so if anyone has any advise I would appreciate it ..Thanks !

The Second Coming

The Second Coming written by W.B Yates (1865-1939)  sparked a reaction out of me.  This week marked the 10th  anniversary of the tragic day of 9/11/2001 and everywhere I went I was reminded of it. The news, bill boards, newspaper, even church sermons spoke of  the unspeakable merciless acts human kind can do to one another. As I read this poem I thought of this tragic event and several others our world has endured and brought upon ourselves such as; The great depression, the holocaust, slavery, and the many wars that were fought. Today our country continues to face its own tribulations.  I did have to look up the definitions of a few words to understand the context of the words used in poem for it to all come together.  As I read the first paragraph his words painted a gloomy picture of our a world that is constantly changing and growing and expressed how he foresees mankind self destructing, how we have become cruel in nature and don’t cherish our world and all that we have. Yates feels there is a need to reset and rebuild our lives, or must we face the extinction of life so we can begin all over again?  In the first paragraph Yates uses a falcon as representation of humans (they prey on others smaller than themselves in this situation its the earth and each other) he states how there is nothing but chaos seen around the world in this case he may be talking about wars that he has witnessed in his time and sees this trend of killing is spreading throughout the years, people are becoming more careless and ruthless innocence in people is no longer seen when he states “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and is everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned;” (5-6 ).  Yates goes on to speak  that those who are malicious are passionate to takeover and create mayhem, and are succeeding.
“Surely some revelation at hand, Surly the second coming is at hand” (9-10).
 Here Yates feels throughout all these viciousness acts there is good to come in the end, our second chance to redeem ourselves will come in the end.  Yet Yates wonder if it is possible for us to change when he writes “When a vast image out of spiritus mundi Troubles my sight; a waste of dessert sand.”(12-13). “A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun is moving its slow thighs, while all about it”(15-16).
Yates finishes this poem with the line “slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” I felt he was saying do we have a chance or must earth be reborn.   For more information on Yates click here.
Picture provided by:
http://www.discogs.com/artist/William+Butler+Yeats?anv=W.B.+Yates&filter_anv=1

Summary VS Analysis

Summery vs analysis1

View more presentations from Shortygirl