philosophers such as John Locke believed in what is known as the tabula rasa. It is a theory which suggests the human mind begins as a "white paper void of all characters without any ideas‚" (Gerrig et al. 51-57). This theory is what Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein revolves on as one researcher suggests that this notion of tabula rasa is what Shelley ’s account of the Creature ’s development seems to hold (Higgins 61). By considering this concept‚ where all humans start as a "blank slate‚" as reflected in
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Jealousy and Guilt Distressing the Individual and the Community In the novel‚ “Beloved‚” Toni Morrison explores how human attributes of jealousy and guilt overcome individuals in the novel‚ ultimately leading to the contamination of an entire community. One can observe such idiosyncrasies from the beginning of the novel with Denver‚ an adolescent girl who quietly grows up in a spiteful home filled with sadness‚ guilt‚ and jealousy: Hot‚ shy‚ now Denver was lonely. All that leaving: first her
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Sherman English 212 April 16‚ 2013 Male Ambition: Life’s Sweet Poison In Mary Shelley’s‚ Frankenstein‚ male ambition is the central theme‚ acting as the sole motivation for the main characters. The male ambition has the potential to lead to success‚ but in excessive use it becomes a catalyst for the demise of the human soul. The misuse of science results in succumbing to male ambition in Frankenstein. Shelley examines the pursuit of knowledge within the early 1800s‚ highlighting the ethics
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feelings of guilt and shame lead to Hanna’s tragic death near the end of the story. Bernhard Schlink is trying to portray these two emotions in his book as things that can destroy one’s life‚ and possibly the life of those around us. Examples of them can be found throughout the whole book. One of the first major examples is the shame that many adults‚ including Michael’s father‚ felt because of their tolerance and acceptance of the Nazi regime. The second is Michael’s feelings of guilt for "betraying"
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Frankenstein: The Creature If the creature were placed in modern times‚ then people would treat him exactly as characters in the book treated him. If a family raises the creature like any normal human being would be raised‚ then the creature would have turned out different. When he enters a school‚ people would treat him wrong and like if he was a terrible person. Society today would not have treated him any better than society during Victor Frankenstein’ s time period; if anything today’s society
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The role of guilt in "Spunk" by Zora Neale Hurston In "Spunk" by Zora Neale Hurston‚ the main character Joe Kanty’s death is the tool used to shape the characters in her story. Following Joe’s murder‚ the characters experience different forms of guilt‚ representing Hurston’s belief that everyone in our world has a conscience. As the characters develop a guilty conscience‚ they realize just that. Bullies‚ cheaters‚ and murderers are all susceptible to the feelings of a guilty conscience as illustrated
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The poem‚ "Guilt‚" by Leona Gom addresses four examples of memories that bear a burden of guilt within them which the narrator can’t get rid of. In this poem‚ the narrator‚ who is speaking in the second person‚ is most likely a female because a mother usually doesn’t give a set of dishes to a male. The structural layout in this poem suggests that a progression of ideas is taking place. The poem is divided into two stanzas; the first stanza indicates struggle and conflict‚ while the second stanza
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Frankenstein Essay Prompts Due date: March 4‚ 2011 Directions: Answer one of the following prompts in a well-crafted five paragraph essay. Ensure that you provide a thesis statement which gives a clear focus and direction for the paper and that your topic sentences do the same for each paragraph. Your thesis statement must discuss what Shelley is saying about the theme on which you are writing. Once you have a thoughtful and clearly stated thesis‚ the quality of your paper will be
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The Reader Bernhard Schlink Themes War Guilt One of the main ideas in The Reader is German war guilt - guilt felt by both the war-time generation and the post-war generation. The post-war generation‚ to which the author‚ Schlink‚ belongs‚ has struggled to come to terms with the war crimes committed by the previous generation. The novel begins with a sick Michael being comforted by the maternal Hanna. This is an obvious symbol for the idea that the post-war generation needs to confront the deeds
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have his liver eaten out every day by an eagle. Every night his liver would grow back. This was to be his punishment for all of eternity. Frankenstein was influenced by this tale. Her husband‚ Percy Shelley‚ began composing his own tale of Prometheus with the title ‘Prometheus Unbound’. He began composing this at the same time Mary starting composing Frankenstein Victor is her modern incarnation of Prometheus. He as Prometheus was‚ is fascinated by the power of electricity (lightning). We can recall
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