A Serpent to Sting You

This week, the class has started reading a new novel, the well-known classic that is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (appropriately chosen for the incoming Halloween season). The novel opens up with a series of letters from the adventurer Sir Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville, as he journeys to the North Pole. These letters serve as the introduction to the main story of Frankenstein itself, but also offers clues of what the story will be about.

Along the way, Walton and his crew discover an emaciated man on a sledge and decide to nurse him back to health. To the more sharp reader or analyst, one can skillfully predict that this is Doctor Frankenstein himself, bringing words of warning to the ambitious Walton. He tells him "You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been." Besides being an evident biblical reference, this particular quote gives a reader a glimpse into the apparent regret of the scientist in his role in the creation of the infamous Frankenstein's monster.

In this case, the serpent once again becomes a symbol for forbidden knowledge, something that both Doctor Frankenstein and Robert Walton are chasing after. The doctor's quest for the secret of life parallels to Walton's quest for the secrets of the North; both becoming paradigms of man tampering with forces way beyond their control. At least, not yet. The simple passage gives off Mary Shelley's, and other philosophers of her time, fear of the growing rate of the advancement of science and technology: the fear that what may be seen as an extraordinary benefit to mankind, may lead to their doom in the end.

-Lian C.

The Impact of Literature

According to mirriam-webster.com, the official definition of literature is “Writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” In my opinion, a piece should be described as ‘literature’ only if it has a broad impact on a large number of people by using one of many universal elements, for example timelessness, the ability to teach a life lesson, inspiration of change, and an effect on personal growth. These four elements allow literature to make an impact on our lives and contribute to both individuals and society as a whole.
Literature guides its readers to deeper understandings of life as a whole and “makes new things familiar and familiar things new.” (Johnson). Because of this, literature affects individuals who make alterations to society in response. True literature uses universal elements to influence people to change both their lives and the lives of others.  Through works of literature, people’s personal opinions are changed in many ways that affect life as a whole.

-Karissa C.