A Blessing and a Curse

Frankenstein decides to tell his story to Walton because he hopes to avert him from making his same mistakes of throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of knowledge and success. He states that in his youth, his throat for knowledge propelled him forward, into habits of reading and crating his own studies. He then advances to a university where he continues to obsess over his own theories and experiments. Frankenstein leaves the boundaries of science behind him as he discovered and puts to use the source of creation of life. Though all of his efforts ended in success, Frankenstein regards his gift for learning as a curse. "Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow". Frankenstein tries to warn Walton in essentially the same lesson as "curiosity killed the cat". He tells him to be wary of the information he seeks because he might not like what he finds. This is a central theme in Mary Shelly's novel Frankenstein, with the remainder of the story regarding all of the repercussions of Frankenstein's challenging the laws of nature.

Similarities between Walton and Frankenstein

I still wonder why Frankenstein decided to tell Walton his story. He stated that he wanted to share his experiences in hopes that they might serve as a warning for Walton, "You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been".  Why does he care for Walton in the first place? I think the answer to this question lies in the unmistakable similarities between the two men. Very early in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein we see that Walton has a close relationship with his sister. His tone and words of admiration in the letters he writes her make this very clear. When Frankenstein begins to tell his story, he also describes his more-than-sister in an affectionate and adoring manner. The two men are also both self-educated to some degree. They both took their education into their own hands to accomplish their dreams. Though Frankenstein attended a university, the science that led him to create life and his early fascination with learning in his youth were self inflicted. Walton received no former education, using the books in his Uncle's library to fuel his passion for exploration. These men share an obsession with reaching beyond the boundaries of science to benefit and make their own mark on humanity.

APO 96225

APO 96225 by Larry Rottmann reminds me a lot of questions that I encounter everyday. These questions usually start out with, "Tell me the truth..." And continue with a question whose truthful answer would probably result in the hurt feelings of the asker. For example, the classic, "Tell me truth, does this make me look fat?" is one of my favorites, because it is obvious that people only want to hear that they look beautiful. I am usually very honest with my friends and family when asked to be, but what kind of a person would reply with, "yes, you look huge. Go run 5 miles,"? Exactly. Sometimes I think it is not only acceptable, but necessary to bend the truth or lie in order to preserve the feelings of someone around you. When people ask these questions, they don't really want to hear that they look fat, they just want you to tell them they look good and to boost their confidence. This is exactly the case in this poem. The son is sparing his mother from the ugly truth that is war. He wants to protect her from the horrid tasks he performs each day. Eenfually he gives in to her insistence that she wants to hear everything, doubting his correct assumption that she just wars to ascertain that he is doing okay. His original assumption is reaffirmed by the father's reply. The mother didn't really want to know everything ahoy her son's daily tasks and the place where he is stationed, she wants the bossy of confidence that he is alive  and well, as any mother would. This poem very clearly shows this funny quirk of society.

Much Madness is divinest Sense

Much Madness is divinest Sense is another of Emily Dickinsons's poems that discusses the idea of sanity verses insanity. This poem states a slightly confusing paradox, that madness is actually the greatest form of sense, and sanity is really madness. According to the poem, sanity is only called "sense" because the majority of people think this way and agree upon this way of thinking, "Much Sense- the starkest Madness- 'Tis the Majority". I don't really understand how sanity could be madness, and vice versa, but her idea that if a person doesn't agree with the majority, they are considered wrong, is quite true. Dickinsons's poem states, "Assent- and you are sane-, Demur- and you're straightaway dangerous-". This idea is very profound and so true. No matter the reasoning, someone who goes against the majority of society, someone who questions the masses, is automatically frowned upon. Not only frowned upon, but "straightaway dangerous". People are really almost scared of those who are different, and yearn to be considers "sane" bu the act of fitting in and attempting to be just like everyone else.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

In I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, the speaker creates and extended metaphor of the loss of his/her mind. The funeral represents the end of normal functioning in the brain, as normal functioning of the body ends when a person dies. It seems that this person gradually lost their mind, as shown by the words "treading- treading" and "beating- bearing". It is possible that the loss of her mind could be a very sad realization to which the speaker has arrived because of be comparison to a funeral. The reason for we insanity is unknown, but it doesn't seem central to the overall theme of the poem anyways. Another unclear spectrum of this poem is the random capitalization of words. Sometime this can indicate important words or words with a greater meaning. For example, "As all the Heavens were a Bell". Why is "Heavens" and "Bell" capitalized? My favorite line that Emily Dickinson writes in this poem is  "and then a Plank in Reason, broke," because it very nicely, yet clearly deceives her insanity.

Miss Brill

I found this story extremely depressing, even more than Bartleby. Katherine Mansfield develops great amounts of pathos throughout Miss Brill with her character of Miss Brill, the lonely old woman whose highlight of the week consists of affirming her lovely fur and strolling down the street in order to people-watch and listen in on other's' conversations. This is probably one of my worst fears, growing old and being left all alone. Miss Brill even begins to speak to her little fur because of the lack of human interaction she has. Her lack of companionship and loneliness is further illustrated in her necessity to participate in the lives of others walking along the streets. She overhears conversations and yearns to participate, "No, nothing would please her. 'They'll always be sliding down my nose!' Miss Brill had wanted to shake her." Her excitement to "participate" in other people's lives is a further indication of desperation for human interaction because she doesn't actually participate, she watches and listens and pretends that other people's lives pertain to her own. The saddest fact is that she absolutely loves her routine of people-watching and genuinely seems to care about each of them. "Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all!"

Bartleby the Scrivener

"I would prefer not to..." This is Bartleby's constant remark to the characters of Herman Melville's  Bartleby the Scrivener.  Most of the characters, particularly the narrator's three employees, Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut, get wry annoyed of Bartleby's refrain very quickly. In the other hand, the speaker in the story doesn't show any anger towards Bartleby's response and is always very patient. His patience remains throughout the story, even when he is forced to love offices to escape from the stalker Bartleby. I think the reason for his putting up for Bartleby's presence and annoying tendencies is that he sees bits of himself in Bartleby. This is made especially evident at the end of the story when the narrator discovers Bartleby's backstory of having worked in a dead letter office. He sees how this depressing job has affected Bartleby and in my opinion, I think he believed he would have reacted the same way if he'd been in Bartleby's position. Throughout the story, resemblances can be seen between the speaker and Bartley such as their reserved demeanor and loneliness. This is all confirmed by the way the narrator reacts to his discovering Bartleby's story in the end.