Day: April 17, 2015

In their novels, ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The Tempest’, Mary Shelley and Shakespeare both present Caliban and Frankenstein’s creation as victims of circumstance. They do this by using different language features and different themes throughout the novels. Frankenstein was written in 1818 when there was much unrest and suspicion from secret experiments based on bringing the dead back to life, questioning religion and science. The Tempest was written in 1611, when slave trade and freak shows were still allowed and very much active. The contextual backgrounds of the novels have a direct link on the creation and Caliban being perceived as victims of circumstance. In this essay, I will analyse examples of this and how language features and themes are used to highlight this.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creation is presented as a victim of circumstance due to being abandoned at birth. This is a prime example of the creation being a victim of circumstance as it has no control over the situation. The consequences of this make the creation a victim because he’s not accepted into society, as he isn’t given any guidance, support or advice. ‘’Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room.’’ This quotation uses purposeful language features to express how the creation is a victim of circumstance. Firstly, the use of the word ‘rushed’ indicates Frankenstein’s shock and horror or what he had created. This is supported by the hyperbole “unable to endure” presenting how utterly hideous the creation is. This quote shows that the creation is a victim of circumstance as exaggerated language is used to stress the point that even his own creator is disgusted by him, let alone the rest of society.

Similarly, in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, Caliban is also raised without a parent due to his mother’s death. This is another blatant example of Caliban being a victim of circumstance; he has no control over his mother’s death, which then hinders his life as he becomes a slave ‘This islands mine by Sycorax my mother, which thou tak’st from me.’ This presents how Caliban has lost power of owning the island due to the loss of his mother; being a victim of circumstance. Shakespeare uses tone in this quote to present Caliban’s frustration for being a victim of circumstance. The dialogue is very direct and blunt, this is done to indicate Caliban’s thirst for a change of lifestyle, highlighting how he’s treated unfairly. This presents the creation and Caliban as victims of circumstance as they don’t have a parent or guardian to guide and protect them through life.

In Frankenstein, another factor expressing the creation as being a victim of circumstance is appearance. This is a factor they cannot change but get judged for throughout the novel. ‘I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God!’ Here, Mary Shelly uses an exclamatory phrase and hyperbole to express how despite efforts, the creation didn’t turn out beautiful and as planned, in fact the opposite. This can be seen as Mary Shelly trying to present problems with modern day society. By including this in her novel, she could be trying to present how even now, you don’t have to be a monster to be a victim of circumstance. It is only when you are not like the rest, you are considered abnormal. Even though they can be the most civilised people, something they cannot control (in this case appearance) can hinder their acceptance. This is proven when Frankenstein’s creation tries to join the family in the woods. When he speaks to a blind man, they seem to get along well, things looking promising for the creations future. However, when the rest of the family return, he is beaten and treated like a monster without being able to have a say. This portrays just how important his appearance is into his acceptance. The fact he made friends with the blind man expresses just how crewel people can be without knowing it.

Similarly, Shakespeare uses alike techniques to present Caliban as a victim of circumstance due to his appearance. This is done by using perspectives in the play. At first, we are introduced to the character Caliban by him being cursed and described as disgusting by Prospero. He describes him as “Hag-born” and “not honoured with human shape”. The use of the word honoured describes Caliban as not having been given (by a God or creator) human shape, this triggers the question why, is he too evil and monstrous to be given human shape? These descriptions of Caliban lead us to initially believe he is ghastly and traitorous. Additionally, when Trinculo first meets Caliban, he describes him as a ‘freak’ and his first intention is to take him back home so he can sell him to a freak show. However, as the play goes on, we begin to see life from Caliban’s perspective and soon begin to pity him. This is done by Shakespeare to prove immediate judgements wrong. Like in Frankenstein, it teaches us how we should judge people from under the surface on their true selves, rather than on how they look, which they can’t control; a key example of being a victim of circumstance.

My next point is on how Frankenstein’s creation and Caliban are made to be victims of circumstance due to their absence from home or belonging. In Frankenstein, some may argue the creations whole journey is simply trying to find acceptance, and therefore a home. He is constantly seen trying to become part of a family; in the cottage in the woods or with his creator. At one point, he becomes so used to not having a place to stay or call ‘home’ he becomes satisfied with just having shelter to get away from the bad weather. “Here then I retreat, and lay down happy to have found shelter, however miserable, from the inclemency of the season, and still more from the barbarity of man.” This powerful quotation uses a juxtaposition, by the creation describing himself as ‘happy’ then ‘miserable’ straight after, to indicate the creations confusion, frustration yet helplessness to the situation of his absence from home, as he can’t describe how he’s feeling from all his emotion. Additionally, the creation describes his negative emotions as being fuelled by “the barbarity of man” due to his circumstance. This is done by Mary shelly to make us question who the true monster is, and the effect of not being accepted or belonging, despite the creation not being evil. A clear victim or circumstance as he’s rejected wherever he goes, so left to venture alone.

In comparison, Caliban is also a victim of circumstance due to his lack of belonging. This is because, when he lost his mother, Caliban lost all status and power over the island to Prospero. His mother’s death therefore lead him to becoming the slave he is now, which he couldn’t control. In fact, when Caliban first meets Trinculo and Stephano, he says; “ill show thee every fertile inch o’ th’ island; And I will kiss thy foot: I prithee, be my god.” Despite Trinculo and Stephano not being Gods, Caliban shows his desperation to be accepted by describing them as Gods, whilst also using direct and exaggerated language; offering to show them ‘every fertile inch o’ th’ island’, offering to ‘kiss thy foot’ and even asking them to ‘be thy God’. This portrays just how badly Caliban is treated, and what lengths he would go to in order to belong to something and to subsequently be able to call the island his home once again. This proves Caliban is a victim of circumstance, as if he had a home, he wouldn’t have to show himself to be a desperate slave he unfortunately is.

In conclusion, Frankenstein’s creation and Caliban both share similarities which make them victims of circumstance. These are their abandonment at birth, having unique appearances and sharing an absence from home or belonging. These factors are things nobody would be able to control or change with ease, which is why they are victims of circumstance. Because of this, the two characters are driven to sin. But this is not because they are naturally evil, but have no other choice, as everyone and everything else has rejected them without given them a chance, showing the true toll of being a victim of circumstance. I believe Shakespeare and Mary Shelly presented them as victims of circumstance to question modern day society, and to prove how constant judging and rejection will eventually lead to them being what you think of them, in this case, evil.

GCSE “I CAN TELL YOU NOW” TASK.


DRAMA SHOULD BE TAKEN MORE SERIOUSLY.

‘Shy people shouldn’t be forced into drama’. This statement is used to undermine Drama as a compulsory subject in schools all the time. So, from this, would it be possible if I could stop studying maths because it stresses me out? Or could I stop studying P.E because I’m unfit or overweight? Of course not. We are forced to undergo these subjects to educate and combat weaknesses. So why should Drama be an exception? 

Drama as a secondary school subject should be taken more seriously. Right now, most people who don't study drama as a GCSE see it as an 'easy' subject. Why? Because they don't know enough about it! Now, it's developed a stereotype of being a subject for the less academic students, simply because the learning style is different. Drama is taught in a very hands-on and literal way, not in the usual classroom environment. Therefore, I strongly believe it should be taken more seriously, and here's why:

Firstly, drama is a perfect way to improve confidence. Being able to present yourself on stage and participating in dramatical exercises will undoubtably increase confidence and self-esteem, and the benefits of having this are vast. They're not just great aspects to help get a good GCSE grade, but a vital life skill. 

Self-confidence will improve public speaking, being social when meeting new people, body posture, etiquette and being able to present yourself more efficiently in general. This is unimaginably important in such a competitive working environment, and something which other subjects won't be able to teach, a blatant reason drama should be taken more seriously. After all, can you name one successful person who made their accomplishments through being shy and lacking in self-esteem?

Secondly, studying drama can help kindle creativity. As stated before, drama is taught in a more hands-on way to an average lesson. Actually working practically can assist students to look into the symbolism and representations of performances often more efficiently, hence allowing them to come up with their own creative and meaningful ideas with ease. 

This tightly entwines with my next point, that drama highly compliments English (arguably the most important GCSE qualification). As said, it can spark creativity which would make reading and analysing other texts in English much more accessible. Additionally, it can help with reading out loud, reading and understanding play scripts and having a better understanding for characters. This is another key reason drama isn't a subject for the unintelligent or weak minded; it does require analytical and physical skill which many people don't understand.

Finally, students and schools should take drama more seriously because they don't know enough about it to judge. People would think that drama only consists of bring able to act well. This is not true. In fact, drama can flow in to a pool of various career paths which can first be studied at GCSE. For example, directing, lighting, editing, sound, costume and staging.

In conclusion, I believe drama should be taken a lot more seriously in schools, as currently it's highly underrated and not understood, leading to a false impression of it being a push-over subject. I think drama should be made compulsory if subjects like RE are made to be, as drama is beneficial not only for a respected GCSE, but extremely important life skills.