blog
media download page
Essay / Frankenstein: The War of the Worlds and Representations of Danger are largely unknown to the reader. Wells and Shelley, although they face enemies in different forms (one a single monster, the other a squadron, one man-made and the other beyond man's comprehension), both present the threat of this enemy in terms of tension and suspense. When reading about this “enemy,” the reader feels anxious due to the use of foreboding retrospection in the narrative and the gradual revelation of the monster at hand. The two monsters are introduced slowly and seemingly without threat, but these details, combined with the narrative's ominous foreshadowing, develop the idea that there is a threat at hand. The reader is given little or gradual information about the enemy and, as a result, both writers create tension around what is unknown – making the reader feel the threat of danger in a visceral way, as if the reality of each narrative was his. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Both authors use ominous foreshadowing to indicate to the reader that there is a constant threat – but one that the reader still knows little about. The use of retrospection is an integral part of narratives because it makes the reader aware that the worst can result from each event they are presented with. For Shelley, the use of prolepsy is integral to communicating the constant threat posed by the monster in his story. When we first meet Victor, he is described as "terribly emaciated with fatigue and suffering" – it seems that he is not only physically distraught, but has also endured extreme emotional strain. Readers then wonder what the reason for this "fatigue" could be, as Victor begins to warn Walton that his destruction was the result of scientific effort. He comments on how Walton seeks "knowledge and wisdom" as he "once did" and asks the captain to listen to his own story in the hope that he will learn from his mistakes. The use of the adverb "once" not only informs us of his earlier quest (i.e. more) for knowledge, but implies a kind of remorse. This suggests that Victor "once" sought wisdom and strived to become a great scientist, but his experience of such scientific development led him to view this as a thing of his past. Shelley's use of prolepsy here connects his earlier scientific activity to his current broken state. Another example is when he returned home shortly after the creature's "birth", expressing that he "had not conceived [at that time]" what "anguish" he was "destined to endure" following the creation of the monster. . For readers of Frankenstein, Victor's use of galvanism and current scientific theories would be recognizable and spark curiosity about the direction in which science might move us as a society. Yet hearing him speak with finality about his quest for “knowledge and wisdom” (he “once” sought them) casts a negative light on what scientific endeavor might actually cause. This use of prolepsis constantly reminds us that his contribution to science did not lead him to success and greatness but to become this “man on the brink of destruction”. Victor is therefore himself theproof that, in the face of the threat of danger that hangs over his life, his story – the constant threat of the monster and the death it brings. In The War of the Worlds, retrospection contrasts with the narrator's feelings at the early stages of the invasion. Evidence of the narrator's confidence during these stages is seen when he reassures his wife by telling her that "the Martians were attached to the pit by sheer weight and that at most they could only crawl out of it." little ". The adjectives present illustrate how confident the narrator was in this false knowledge—that the enemy was held back by “heaviness” and could only move “a little.” The phrase “to the fullest” is also a kind of overly reassuring colloquialism – demonstrating the narrator's level of confidence in feeling safe. In retrospect, his confidence turns into foreboding. Upon hearing of the army's advance on the Martians, he said, "It didn't seem like a fair fight to me at that time." Adding "at that time" to the end of this expression immediately juxtaposes his opinion of the events with his complacent confidence at the time (representative of most Victorians at the height of the British Empire) and his sympathy towards the Martians. Ironically, the fight is far from "fair" in the end - by subtly adding "at that time" to his comment, the narrator alludes to the threat of destruction looming in the future. Not only that, but the reader is curious and concerned as to why the situation might be far from a "fair fight." Especially since this book was published at a time when people were easily confused by the literature about potential realities presented (consider how people reacted when The Battle of Dorking was published and the need for government to reassure the public), Wells's elusive critique of the invasion. of the future would undoubtedly have worried its readers. As a result, both narratives create tension through subtle moments of foreboding retrospection that indicate a constant sense of threat to the future, from which both narrators reflect on events. The use of contemporary fears or curiosity in scientific development or the possibility of invasion are integrated into both novels and reinforce the sense of threat already created by prolepsy and foreshadowing. Similarly, Shelley and Wells bring out the revelation in each “enemy.” in such a gradual manner that it builds suspense – such suspense that leaves the reader feeling threatened but with little information about the real nature of the threat. This gradual introduction of the enemy is particularly poignant in The War of the Worlds, when the Martians are slowly and painfully revealed to the narrator. Not only do the cylinders arrive one by one over several weeks, but the first description of a Martian is drawn and embroidered with visceral adverbs. He describes it as "a large rounded grayish mass, perhaps the size of a bear" which was "rising slowly and painfully". Not only do the adverbs "slowly" and "painfully" depict the Martian's movement in a way that generates suspense, but the narrator also demonstrates uncertainty when attempting to describe it - "the size, perhaps, of 'a bear'. The word "perhaps" indicates a guess - he can only guess how big this Martian is, due to the "slowness" with which it reveals itself. There is little information gathered about the Martian, leaving the reader curious to understand the specifics of what is being observed. Later, the narrator describes how the Martian looked at him "steadily" and "heaved and throbbed convulsively." One more.
Navigation
« Prev
1
2
3
4
5
Next »
Get In Touch