When I think of vampires and literary monsters, I think of traditional or stereotypical monsters. Like most of the class, Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and Jekyll & Hyde embody the idea of "literary monsters". Considering the flexibility of the term monster, and literary, some less expected characters some to mind as well, such as Medusa and Grendel. The title of monster and their similar functions in a story is not reserved to the gothic literature genre. Monsters as a whole in more recent centuries have played the part of exemplifying a negative aspect of humanity and taking it to the extreme, which is what makes them sub-human in the first place. The role of Frankenstein's monster was to be a personification of Victor's impulses and ideas. He is essentially his child, and Victor probably the monster's parent in a more pure and literal sense because he personally created each part of him, going as far to refer to the act of creation as "time spent in painful labour," though readers do not know the gritty and gory details. Shelley also uses the monster to make a point on how he was not made to be evil or born evil, but rather shaped this way by his interactions with others and how he was treated. This was not a popular theme at the time, seeing that religion of the era consisted of the notion that humans were born evil, and that someone's morality could not be changed and was predetermined. The consistent message from others that he is a monster both creates and enforces the notion in Frankenstein Jr's psyche that he must be a monster.
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What is the connection between monsters, folklore, folk groups and narrative? How can we understand those concepts within our contemporary society?
Folklore in a society or culture is the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community passed through generations by word of mouth. These communities are referred to as folk groups. A folk group shares something in common that makes them distinctive and gives them their identity. Folk groups can be based on such elements as ethnicity, tribe, religion, region, occupation, family, age, or gender. Folklore in our contemporary society manifests in the form of campfire stories, chain mail, and the like. Until the internet social media existed, folklore was communicated by word of mouth and spread by print media, radio, and television. Stories travelled more slowly, evolving as they were told and retold within and between communities, leading to the co-existence of multiple variants of the same tale. Traditional folklore still exists in children's stories such as Goldilocks and Cinderella, and modern iterations can also be found and propagated like Creepypasta forums on the internet. Narratives use monsters to reveal tensions, inconsistencies, and gaps in society. Monsters help authors draw attention to the construction of narrative itself, and to the agency or performance of the story. The most notable difference between contemporary society and monsters of old folklore is that popular culture sympathizes with the monster's goals and social scrutiny. Modern monsters have notably human like characteristics and powers that are even desirable at times. They aim to assimilate and blend in with existing society. Monsters manifest numerous fears and taboos including violence, ridicule, destruction of nature, oppression, violation of gender roles, promiscuity, attempted immortality, prolonged youth, and artificial creation. |
AuthorSoumya Jaiswal Archives
April 2021
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