Summary Of Margaret Atwood's Lusus Naturae

After Horace Walpole redefined the term “Gothic” with his literary form that mixed history and fantasy in a way that was meant to create wonder and terror, the term developed to take a on many interconnected meanings. These meanings include “Goths/Visigoths” which Edward Gibbon describes as “a general appellation of rude and warlike barbarism”(Moreland, slide 29). It is also a Medieval style of architecture and an “unwritten” constitution which describes the “ traditional balance of power in British politics between the royalty and the people”(Moreland, slide 31). The final meaning is that of Gothic fiction whose characteristics include: strong emotion (mainly terror/horror), antiquity, haunting, isolation, obscurity/mystery and/or monstrousness/grotesquerie. Among the 18th and 19th century fiction that draw upon and foreground these meanings are Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher and Stoker’s Dracula.

Flannery O’Connor has long been criticized for her blatant incorporation of religious symbols into sinister, dark stories. In the short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the dark and apathetic Misfit is said to portray, in an allegorical sense, a Christ-like figure. However, through the interpretation of the inversions of divine characteristics, his repulsion of Christ’s very existence, and the denial of any powers beyond the observable realm, we find that the Misfit is actually representative of the Anti-Christ.

Regardless of personal beliefs or opinions, it is nearly impossible to imagine the existence of modern English literature without the influence of religion. Since the dawn of recorded history, religion has played a vital, recurring role in works of fact and fiction, alike. In his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, author Thomas Foster asserts several points about this relationship between religion and literature, especially in relation to the image of Christ, and states, “Culture is so influenced by its dominant religious systems that whether a writer adheres to the beliefs or not, the values and principles of those religions will inevitably inform the literary work” (125).

In a time never given, a young girl suffers from Porphyria, and goes through a journey of self-discovery and acceptance in the short story, Lusus Naturae by Margaret Atwood. The reader never learns the narrator's name, and she is only known as Lusus Naturae, which translates into freak of nature. Diagnosed by a foreign doctor, the young girl seems to be forever cursed and becomes a burden to her family and shame to her village. Throughout the story, Atwood uses different forms of figurative language-such as symbolism and irony- and the first person narrative to portray the theme of how self-discovery can be an independent, and lifelong journey.

In the tragic short story, “Lusus Naturae”, which translates to “Freak of Nature”, written by Margaret Atwood, describes the event of a young, ill-fated girl diagnosed with an incurable genetic disorder, who is forced by society and its extreme pressure to mature all by herself while progressively turning into more of a monster figure day by day. Eventually, it escalates to her family planning her death in order to save the rest of the family’s future. Although the little girl is continuously being put down for her appearance along with persistent chatters discussing about her death, she is still able to find ways to love herself. Throughout the story, Atwood uses a unique first person point of view and grotesque characters to parallel to society’s mistreatment and suppression toward differently-abled people.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a book containing social and political issues. Religion serves as a huge issue in this novel, religion is a powerful thing that can constrain and blind someone. The way Barbara Kingsolver further dissects the issue of religion is by using various literary elements. With the literary elements involving religion, this further contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole to being about religion, and its power to control and be the motive of someone’s actions, without them thinking deeply about what they are doing. Some issues stated with religion, in this novel supported by literary devices, is how humans use it for bad and or selfish desires, and how over faithfulness can blind some, and lastly

Religion and faith play numerous roles in people’s lives. From being a unifying factor to alienating people, and from comforting people to terrifying others, the roles of religion is vast and boundless. In The Crucible and “Upon the Burning of Our House”, it is evident that religion and faith play a subconscious role in the lives of people by acting as an inner conscience and by giving people a spiritual peace of mind.

In this essay, I will be while answering the questions from prompt one, “How and why does the protagonist's attitude toward her own situation change over the course of the story? How and why does she paradoxically become more alive and powerful after she “dies”?”, to complete Journal Assignment One. I will be discussing the short story by Margaret Atwood, titled “Lusus Naturae”.

Brandon Bocanegra Mrs. Leeman English 1 (Period 3) March 4, 2015 Night: Theme Analysis The theme I had decided to analyse in the book “Night” by Ellie Wiesel is the theme of “Faith.” The reason for me deciding to choose this theme is solely for the purpose of how expressed it is shown in the writing of the entire book not to mention this theme is dynamic enough to be applied upon nearly every character that is mentioned and described in the book “Night” by Ellie Wiesel. I will now first start drafting out onto detail on what I currently mean by “Faith.” Before I start I would also like to mention that this type of faith in the theme also reaches out to more than just the religious spectrum to a wide variety of instances such as families

Religion often takes a central theme in both Gothic literature and literature from The Romantic Movement. When these two literary genres combine, it is inevitable that religion will take an even more important role in the author’s expression. It follows that a novel with such commercial success in this century (Caleb Williams, Godwin, 2008) demonstrated the theme of religion. “Caleb Williams” attracted many negative reactions as many saw it as an affront to virtue, religion and government. The British Critic (1794) stated that “This piece is a striking example of the evil use which may be made of considerable talents…every gentleman is a hard-hearted assassin, or a prejudiced tyrant; every Judge is unjust, every Justice corrupt and blind.”

Religion also plays an important function in allowing the authors to comment on society and faith’s role in it. For example, both authors seem to be suggesting that our religion is only compatible in society as we know it, that is to say that it is not compatible with other situations. In The Children of Men a major disruption to the working of society, mass infertility, has led to a total destruction of the Christian faith. In Brave New World, an unstoppable surge of machinery and technology has led to the disregard of religious moral and the introduction of a new set of hedonist attitudes, both scenarios being deplored by the reader. This could also be seen as the authors’ asserting that a civilized society desperately needs stable religion and morals, given that the utter breakdown in The Children of Men is arguably as shocking as the superficial worship of machinery and pleasure in Brave New World.

Arthur Machen and H.G. Wells were one of the most influential writers in the history of the English language. Through their works, both Machen and Wells illustrated the themes of sexuality and horror by exploring the idea of the supernatural. However, Machen’s gothic novella The Great God Pan (1894) and H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) further exemplified the theme of humankind’s relationship to God. In the late Victorian period, the influence of religious mythology fell upon writers in England, and stories of the “unseen” became popular and abundant. This era was a time when the public started to seriously question their religious lives. Nevertheless, The Great God Pan was denounced by the public upon its publication for its focus on God as a powerful symbol for horror and sexuality. On the other hand, Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau was written as a satire, mocking Christianity and other forms of religion. In this short essay, I will expand on religious symbolism and point out the influence of Christianity using Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan and H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau.

In his description of other pilgrims, Chaucer points out how the lack of morality within the Church is echoed by the rest of society. Several pilgrims have non-religious reasons for going on the pilgrimage. The Wife of Bath, for instance, is looking for her sixth husband, hoping that “Som Cristen man shal wed me [her] anoon” (WBT 54). Many of the characters have little or no regard for others, but instead are focused only on their own desires. The Franklin is so gluttonous that “It snewed [snows] in his hous of mete and drinke, / Of alle daintees that men coude thinke” (GP 347-8). Chaucer even suggests that the Sergeant at Law, a prominent figure in society, “seemed bisier than he was” (GP 324). The corruption of the Church has, according to Chaucer, affected the way individuals act. If the Church is immoral it is not surprising that much of society mirrors the Church’s immoral actions. The Parson cleverly describes the effect of a lack of morality in the leaders of society by comparing the corruption of individuals to the rusting of metals: “if gold ruste, what shal iren do? / For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste, / No wonder is a lewed man to ruste” (GP 502-4). Chaucer attacks not only the behaviour of the Church officials but also the immorality of the laypeople in Medieval society.

The following piece of writing will explore factors of a gothic novel. It will exclusively do so in regards of the two novels Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein. These very famous novels will be looked at in a very in depth piece of writing. Each novels main themes and their background will be presented. The morality and the gothic novel with specific reference to Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights will be assessed. The second aspect will be the social and cultural of the genre, the genre being the gothic novel. Thirdly, the monster as punishment and the punishment of the monster in both novels. The final aspect that will be analysed is the constructed nature of boundaries in both texts.

Gothic literature’s desire to explore the unknown, the unexplainable, inexplicable and the terrifying can be seen as a reaction to the Enlightenment’s emphasis on the rational and knowable. The Enlightenment rejected the belief in superstition, and religion. Reason, deductive logic, and observation were the methods of examining the world. A clash of these two approaches is noticeable in Otranto. The novel violates 18th century