The War Between Infinite Creativity And Finite Teachings

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818, and is now famous as one of the pioneering science fiction novels. Mary Shelley herself is sometimes even referred to as the mother of science fiction. While her work has been scrutinized numerous times by feminists and moral critics, in recent times ecologists have also been examining her novel. Ecocriticism, while still a relatively new field of criticism, is highly interested in how weather and natural events effected both the writing and plot of the novel. Ecocriticism of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein focuses on the weather in the novel itself, the eruption of the Tambora Volcano in 1815, and the monster as symbolism for weather in the early 1800s.

I did not appreciate this information at all because I am going into the next chapter thinking it is going to be difficult and it was. There is a lot of terminologies that I was looking up to better grasp the concept. When reading in chapter six Entwistle (2010) makes us think of nature and a time that we were in awe of it (p.94). He goes on to talk about how science plays a big role in the world today to make sense of things like what we view to be beautiful in nature. The concept made more sense because I could relate it to my life where science and my beliefs meet. I remember the science from field trips to the wilderness and the religious part comes from knowing who made the

Complete intelligence of the mystery of nature is an impossible task. Ron Rash’s short story, “Something Rich and Strange”, displays that human nature does not allow individuals to comprehend the mystery of nature while living. Authors use literary elements to add depth to their writing and help support the meaning. In “Something Rich and Strange” Rash uses symbolism and plot to show the reader what understanding characters such as the drowned girl, the sheriff, and the diver have obtained about the mystery of nature.

“The best among [the scientists] move deep into a wilderness region where they know almost nothing, where the very tools and techniques needed to clear the wilderness, to bring order to it, do not exist” (25-29). By referencing the need “to clear the wilderness”, Barry conjures an image of a lumberjack, who heroically conquers the wilderness to nurture the advent of civilization. In a similar manner, he claims that scientists wield axes to chop away the foliage that obscure scientific discoveries opening the gateways for unparalleled growth and innovation. Moreover, Barry continues his claim by asserting that“If the researcher succeeds, a flood of colleagues will pave roads over the path laid, and those roads will be orderly and straight, taking an investigator in minutes to a place the pioneer spent months or years looking for” (Barry 49-53). Following the back-breaking labor of clearing forests, Barry muses how the “flood” of subsequent scientists lay down the bricks to form a continuous road that civilizes and tames the unknown. In addition, Barry channels the immense power of “floods” and bestows it upon scientists; this evokes the notion that scientists possess power of equal magnitude, when well-harnessed, can transform and innovate scientific research. Thus, by utilizing metaphors as a vessel to grant powers to

Using nature is a way of creating art this is beautiful. Andy Goldsworthy, and earth artist, lived by one simple rule for his style of art. He would work outside and only use materials he could find nearby. (Hulick 7) Andy Goldsworthy made

Many people of 20th century though, turned for truth in the logic of science. It had made many things simpler for them and had offered them a better standard of living. Even so, as Cat’s Cradle demonstrates, their is both a good and evil side to science. When it is used with careless negligence, the results of manipulating nature can be formidable. It is a tool, and must be used with respect for others. Because of this, there is ultimately a limit to the truth many people search for in this field; although we can advance through science and exploration, it doesn’t take into account human ethics and morals. It therefore doesn’t offer meaning, and it doesn’t offer happiness. One must search for those realizations from

Crake is very satisfied with the invention of Crakers. On the other hand, the snowman finds the task of explaining the fatigue and frustration of the world's Crakers. They are so strange to their world that every explanation makes him feel more isolated than before. Snowman feel heavy responsibility. In other words, he has been responsible for ensuring Crakers's survival, and inadvertently responsible for remembering things that no one can remember because he is the last person. The weight of these duties sometimes crushes snowmen. In response to his situation, the snowman often turns to the bottle. Alcohol has escaped from the spirit that has become a nightmare. However, at the end of chapter five, Snowman began to realize that this would no longer be a viable option as alcohol had run out. He raided the alcohol supply during the day. His new alcohol-free presence provides a

Under the research of J. Michael Bishop, Science is being defended and explored for positive and negative out comes in the past years, to form an argument against the critics who believe science is no longer the answer. Throughout the article I discovered quality examples that support claims of ethos, pathos, and logos. Logos being the most reoccurring from of argument that Bishop chose, in my opinion reveals a stronger argument rather than one that has an argument revolved around pathos.

Shelley’s uses of romantic and gothic elements also enhance the negative portrayal of science and its potential destruction. Her writing conveys gloomy settings of Frankenstein as well as the appreciation of nature. Dark ambiance is evident in the description of Frankenstein’s laboratory: “In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of my house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation...the dissecting room and the slaughterhouse furnished many of my materials”. This description invokes a repulsive reaction in the reader and therefore a tainted opinion of science. One of the important scenes that reflected Mary Shelley’s attitudes towards science is the portrayal of Frankenstein’s awe when he sees the lightening strike the tree, showing his curiosity towards science-“As I stood at the door, on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak...and no soon as the sizzling light vanished, the oak disappeared, and nothing was left but a blasted stump”. In this quote the power and beauty of nature is apparent and

Science has long been held as a field of study intent on “playing God,” in which scientists attempt to alter nature in hopes to perfect its faults and flaws. Authors often portray characters with a similar mindset to scientists like this in their stories and use them as a way to caution readers about the dangers of seeking perfection. This is done in “The Birthmark,” a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and in Oryx and Crake, a novel by Margaret Atwood. Both works contain scientists who aim to reach the unattainable goal of “perfection.” With these two characters, Hawthorne and Atwood warn readers that trying to perfect humankind will ultimately affect humanity and that, once they go too far, humanity itself will be almost, if not totally, eliminated.

The narrator builds this dramatic fight between Nature and scientific work in various ways within

“Here we find nature to be the circumstance which[…] judges like a god all men that come to her.” is one of the first statements by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay “Nature”, referring to nature’s role in romanticism. Nature, as well as science, are one of the main topics depicted in writings of the romantic period. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can be attached to these writings. Her novel implies many natural and scientific characteristics that approach throughout the novel and finally clash by Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the monster. The following essay states the importance of nature and science in Frankenstein and argues that Frankenstein’s monster is a personalization of the danger involved in connecting both nature and science.

Language forms the basis of knowledge upon which people perceive the world around them. In Margaret Atwood’s apocalyptic novel Oryx and Crake, the function of language as a way of perceiving reality is an underlying concept throughout the story. Snowman who identified as Jimmy before the apocalypse holds onto the memory of the world that had come to pass through language which as of the apocalypse is meaningful only to him. Jimmy is an outlier in a society driven by the scientific method who seeks solace in language and carries on being an outcast under the guise of Snowman in a post apocalyptic environment. Jimmy is fascinated with language because it is a part of his identity as Atwood conveys the concept of language as a construct of the human world and humanity itself whose denigration would result in a dehumanized society.

In American Literature many authors write about nature and how nature affects man's lives. In life, nature is an important part of people. Many people live, work, or partake in revelry in nature. Nature has received attention from authors spanning several centuries. Their attitudes vary over time and also reflect the different outlooks of the authors who chose to discuss this important historical movement. A further examination of this movement, reveals prevalence of nature's influence on man and how it affects their lives.

The beauty of nature is often overlooked and underappreciated in today’s society. The neglect and lack of respect given to such a beautiful creation by members of society is widely reflected in Romantic poetry. The romantic era began in 1798, where writers such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge expressed their opinions and feelings towards nature. Overall such writers typically express a positive outlook on the natural world around them, however some stray the other way. Specifically Coleridge and Wordsworth began to express the feeling of disconnect towards nature. Both writers began to feel as though they could not understand nature and cannot connect with the beauty it gives off as expressed in poems such as “Dejection”, “London 1802”, and “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey”. Not only did some of these writers begin to feel a disconnect but a select few also begin to feel as though people are disrespecting the balance of nature and are trying to disrupt the balance and manipulate it. Writers such as Mary Shelley, author of the novel Frankenstein, expresses the concern of people taking the laws of nature and twisting them. Writers and people living during this time period not only express an appreciation for nature but also the truth about the human relationship with nature. The relationship between humans and nature is on of mistreatment.