My Life Vs Frankenstein

Thesis: Although both texts focus on the negativity of people with non-normative bodies, “The Story of My Life” describes the mental intellect of the person being trapped in their body, while “The Monster” views the person’s mental intellect as being equivalent to their outwardly appearance.
Topic sentence 1: In “The Monster” all the characters treated the monster poorly and did not view Henry Johnson as a human being, while in “The Story of My Life”, Helen Keller was treated with pity and Helen viewed herself as being trapped in her own body.
Evidence: “She was not coherent even to her mother. Was it a man? She didn’t know. It was simply a thing, a dreadful thing” (Stephen, 120).
Analysis: Not only was Henry Johnson treated poorly, but
At the time this was written, African Americans were regarded as being inferior to white Americans. Anyone who was mentally less than African Americans were people with disabilities. By describing her reign over Martha Washington, Keller proved to her audience that mentally she was fine and that only her body was impaired. Keller wanted to tell her audience that she was mentally fine and by using her race as superiority over African Americans, she convinced her audience of her mental stability. Although race was not as heavily emphasized in “The Story of My Life” as it was in “The Monster”, both texts still had the message of African Americans not being smart.
Topic sentence 3: In “The Story of My Life” it teaches the readers that physical disability is something that can be overcome, while in “The Monster” Henry Johnson was no longer considered a human, so he could not overcome his issues with his non-normative body.
Evidence: “Folks go round sayin’ he ain’t Henry Johnson at all. They say he’s er devil!” (Stephen,
Even the doctor pays someone else to take care of Johnson and his care takers lock him up in a room all day. Due to Johnson’s poor treatment he is not able to live a normal life anymore. This tells the reader that appearance determines how you are treated and that mental ability can be judged solely on the person’s physical appearance.
Evidence: “There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away” (192).
Analysis: Unlike in “The Monster”, Keller overcame her disability and became viewed as a human being. Keller describes her life before as being lost. Before Keller learned the English language, people viewed her as being uncivilized and her parents wanted to take her to an asylum. It is because of Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan, that she could learn how to communicate with others and overcome her disability. By Keller writing her experience as something she overcame, it teaches the audience that even though someone has physical disabilities, it is separate from the mind and can be