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Evaluating multimodal projects
Please contribute to our developing guidelines for assessing multimodal projects: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xs2fL_gg1rNHW9sCbP8m7FgYzXZmAPkCQL8QwYlZ1dc/edit?usp=sharing
Sympathy (Glossary)
Sympathy
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, Sympathy is defined as “feeling pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune”. Other definitions of the word sympathy include: “an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other”. Another definition of sympathy is “an inclination to feel or think alike”. The novel in which sympathy becomes very important is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Frankenstein is an interesting novel, one which shows the importance of sympathizing with and loving an individual. As we analyze the relationship between Victor and his creation, we notice that the Frankenstein yearns for love. At times, it seems that he wants this love in any way, shape, or form that it can come. However, the main thing that Frankenstein desires is to be accepted. Once he reached his lowest point, he proceeded to ask Victor to create a mate for him. Frankenstein makes this request because he feels that no one would understand and accept him better than a creature similar to himself. Victor begins to sympathize with Frankenstein, and considers creating a female creature to alleviate the feeling of loneliness that has plagued him for so long. During the creation process, Victor decides against his prior opinion and destroys the mate of Frankenstein. He does this because he realizes the potential effects that two monsters of this nature can have on society. After this action, it is established that Victor doesn’t have sympathy for Frankenstein.
Works Cited
“Sympathy.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, 2 May 2018, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sympathy.
“Sympathy | Definition of Sympathy in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sympathy.
Post-humanism & Antihumanism
Jharol F. Aguirre
May 8th, 2018
Glossary Entry
. 
Posthumanism in relation to “Frankenstein”
As defined by the Merriam dictionary and Wikipedia, posthumanism has many different definitions but the one that’s used the most associates posthumanism with anti-humanism. This joined definition is the opposition or rejection of the beliefs, principles, and assumptions of humanism. Posthumanism is evident in countless works of literature, but the one piece of literature that can be said to be based on posthumanism is Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. This horror story questions some of the key principles of humanism, principles that state that humans need to be born from another human and that humankind cannot act as god. The creature in “Frankenstein” was not born but assembled by a mad scientist, but we still witness how it’s able to develop human characteristics to an extreme level. The careless creation of a mad scientist pushes us to question what we as a society can and cannot consider human.
In our time, we have started to also question the very definition of what it means to be human because of our ever advancing technology. As the story of a living being created not by conventional reproductive means but by scientific endeavour, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” stands as one of the classic representations of the fears and hopes brought forward by humanity’s harnessing of technological power, and the notion of artificial intelligence, genetic modification, stem-cell research, prosthetic surgery and other interventions. All of these are connected to the modification of the definition of humanity and to the creature in some way, so much that the creature is now even considered a myth or a modern-day Prometheus. The creature has strong traces of posthumanist impulse that may have been inspired by Mary Shelley’s own upbringing. William Godwin was a political radical and free-thinker who took his daughter to many public demonstrations of scientific techniques such as Galvanism. Mary’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, wrote: “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” (1792), now regarded as a founding text of modern feminism. Shelley’s depiction of the creature as the outcast, abandoned by his creator, is designed to excite the reader’s sympathies and challenge the conventions which separate the ‘human’ from the inhuman, or the ‘natural’ from the ‘unnatural’.
The creature may not be a myth in the conventional sense, but it nevertheless addresses primal and fundamental themes about what it means to be human and pushes the idea of posthumanism forward. It may be more appropriate to think of the creature in “Frankenstein” itself as a modern myth in its capacity to generate a wealth of interpretative themes in relation to science, technology, and the posthuman condition.
Work Cited
“Posthumanism”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumanism
“Antihumanism” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antihumanism
“Core principles of Humanism”, Victor A. Gunasekara, http://www.vgweb.org/manussa/coreprin.htm
Gothic
Jharol F. Aguirre
May 8th, 2018
Glossary Entry
Gothic in relation to “Christabel”
As defined by the Merriam dictionary, the word gothic is a style of architecture that is prevalent in Western Europe. But it can also be defined as the state of Europe during the dark ages (19th century), the whole continent felt gloomy and looked horrifying. Today we often connect the word gothic to literature by referring to the gothic fiction genre that includes works of literature that possess gothic characteristics, a good example would be “Christabel” by Samuel T. Coleridge. But before we dive into the gothic analysis of the poem “Christabel” we need to understand what gothic literature is.
Gothic Literature uses specific settings, these settings commonly include dark and desolate areas such as haunted castles, unknown regions, and the innermost parts of the human mind. The settings are then accompanied by menacing and sinister sounds such as the screeching of animals, ticking noises (Clocks and Heartbeats), and whispers. The poem “Christabel” is a prime example of gothic literature because it contains the quintessential gothic characteristics that were mentioned before like dark scenery, hint of the supernatural, the sounds of howling dogs and ticking clocks. The Gothic nature of “Christabel” is evident throughout the poem, Gothic undertones are first noted as the poem begins with “Tis the middle of night by the castle clock” and “the owls have awakened the crowing cock” (part 1, 1-2), these lines prepare the reader for the negative things that are to come. The menacing tone of the poem continues while Coleridge writes of dark clouds, a full moon, and chilly air. The negative connotation of these descriptions makes the reader feel uneasy. The feeling of dread increases while Coleridge describes Christabel’s reaction to the noise she heard. He writes, “Hush, beating heart of Christabel! Jesu, Maria, shield her well!”(54-53). At this point, the reader expects the worst.
The events of “Christabel” are tragic and scary, but they are even more horrifying because Coleridge does not explain them. There is no way to determine if Geraldine is an evil being, or if she is only influenced by an evil being. As Coleridge never finished his poem, there is no way to be certain. Supernatural powers are certainly involved, but there is no way to know their full extent. It is this element of the unknown that makes “Christabel,” and Gothic literature in general, so horrifying.
Work Cited
“Gothic.” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gothic
“Gothic Fiction” Study.com, https://study.com/academy/lesson/gothic-fiction-definition-characteristics-authors.html
Darwinian
The Merriam Webster definition of Darwinian, is a noun describing a competitive environment or situation in which only the fittest persons or organizations prosper (1). An example of the word used in a sentence, “The competition of among manufacturers is very Darwinian” (1). This concept comes from the scientist Charles Darwin himself. His popular evolutionary discovery was that in order for species be deemed the most fit, they had to reproduce and survive over time. The term Darwinian is a form of literary criticism that studies literature in the context of evolution by means of natural selection (2).
Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake (3), her ideas about the fusion of new species, human extinction, and survival all are Darwinian concepts. Snowman is threatened by various genetic splices of animals thriving in this environment. The new fused species outlived humans. Nevertheless Jimmy learns to adapt, though his situation is still sorely uncomfortable. Crake acts the role of god and eliminates humanity to create a new species. Crake has created a self-sustaining population of what he believes to be superior versions of “humanity.” The ideal human is one focuses solely on survival, but does not even have the capacity to think about the “bigger” things of love, death, religion, etc. Crakers eventually survive due to genetic modification and become fit. Jimmy is one of the last humans.
Works Cited
1.)Darwinian | Definition of Darwinian by Merriam-Webster
Memoirs of a Clone
Never Let Me Go & Autobiographical Memoirs
Much of the novel is narrated from Kathy and the timeline is often non-linear. The novel is broken into three parts, and the three parts closely align with Kathy’s three stages of life. Kathy is quite good at being a carer, but her work is extremely difficult and lonely. The novels progression closely resembles the human development cycle. We see part one talk about Halisham the school, and how it’s a lot like primary school. Students interact with each other, and friendships are formed. Part two is the next phase of life, much like high school or college. You have an infusion of new people like the “veterans” that come in and mingle with Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth. As you get older, attraction and formal relationships begin to emerge. We even see a sense of jealousy between Kathy and Ruth over Tommy. This jealousy concept is analogous to teenage love and crushes. Finally, at Part Three, Kathy becomes a carer. This is very much like when a person finishes colleges and begins to join the workforce. During this transitional period for humans, you lose the chance to socialize with people you were once close to. People are usually so consumed with work, there is not enough time in the day to socialize, and they often become lonely. Kathy is experiencing this as a carer.
The pacing in part three seemed very quick. I correlate the pacing to the quote “life flashes before your eyes.” Kathy grew up with Tommy and Ruth for most of the book. Then suddenly in Part three, we learn Ruth already is a donor. It was also found out that Ruth had a bad first donation. Kathy eventually becomes Ruth’s carer. It seems like just recently the two friends were fighting, and now we see Ruth almost near completion (another term for deceased). In part three the characters spend a lot of time reminiscing the old days at Halisham. Kathy noted that when she and Tommy ganged up on Ruth in the car, Ruth would have snapped back at them in the old days. Kathy reminded Ruth of the magazine ad they saw near the cottages, and Tommy recalls their trip to Norfolk. All these memories correlate with being adults and reminiscing about the past. Ruth and Kathy had ongoing tensions in their friendship, due to Kathy’s unspoken feelings for Tommy. Ruth and Tommy shared a past as a couple, which separates them from Kathy. With life being so short, Ruth tries to make amends with Kathy with hope. Ruth hopes to change the future between Tommy and Kathy, by giving Madame’s’ address, which represents a chance at deferral. Halisham was closed down, and deferral was a chance at not becoming a donor. Ruth’s apology and her gift show that despite her flaws, she is still good inside. The friendship becomes more open and nostalgic. Instead of speaking about the future, Ruth and Kathy look back on their shared memories of the past. Ruth turns to memories of Hailsham in the face of her coming donation, while her only allusions to the future concern Kathy and Tommy. This is much like when we are faced with death, we try to make up to the people we care about if there were any misunderstandings.
Ruth completes after her third donation, and Kathy is now left to be Tommy’s carer. The romance begins to bud, and they become physically intimate. A long overdue loving relationship, is up against time. Tommy is nearing completion, so Kathy and Tommy travel to Madame’s house to seek deferral. Tommy and Kathy find the answers that they have been seeking since childhood, but it ends in disappointment when Miss Emily once and for all dismisses the possibility of a deferral. Hailsham thus lives up to its name, exposed as a “sham” maintained through elaborate acts of deception by Miss Emily and Madame. Although Miss Emily and Madame attempted to show the clones’ humanity to the outside world, they themselves struggled to believe what they preached. Tommy in his last days said to Kathy that although they have loved each other their whole lives, they cannot stay together forever. Tommy and Kathy share a goodbye kiss, and then Kathy drives away.
In “Speculative Memoirs” by Keith Macdonald, he presents information on how “Let Me Go” has many techniques and contains elements of an autobiographical memoir. Keith Macdonald states that we can see the autobiographical exchange is both pervasive and effective in this context. Never Let Me Go is a fictional novel that was able to replicate an autobiography. Although the novel has a horrific back story of harvesting clone’s organs for the sole purpose of science, as the story progresses, the main text focuses on the everyday nature of the friendships and love affairs that grow in Hailsham. The novel has particularly focused on the lives of the clones rather than a dogmatic take on the institutionalized cloning with scientific jargon. I tend to agree much what Macdonald is trying to promote here. We see the novel broken down into stages of life and memory. It correlates very closely with human development, yet Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were clones and not viewed by Madame and Miss Emily as actual humans. Yet the way this story was told was through narration by Kathy. We see all the human elements and believe Kathy is real. Macdonald supports this proposition “The novel draws attention to itself as a construction, strengthening the illusion that it is the narrator telling this story, and that the reader acknowledges the authenticity of the narrative, distancing Ishiguro from the writing process.”
Frankenstein is a tale like Let Me Go. Frankenstein can be viewed as a battle between two autobiographies vying for the reader’s attention in a contest for limited moral superiority. In Frankenstein we have Victor begging Walden, to make sure he recounts the tale of creature and how he was made. Victor was obsessed in making sure all the details were correct on the birth of Frankenstein and the potential danger he was capable of. We also get an autobiographical account with the creature himself. The readers understand how creature grew up and learned how cruel mankind could be. The readers sympathize with creature much like how they sympathize with the clones. The clones and creatures were not deemed human, but they display more elements of proper humanity. Victor and Miss Emily were human, but they were cruel overlords with absolutely no sympathy. Miss Emily denied deferral and giving Kathy and Tommy love, much like Victor denied creature a mate to live with happily in love.
1.) Looking back in time, do you have any life experiences you can relate with the characters Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy when you were growing up?
2.) Did Kathy and the clones seem more human than Madame and Miss Emily?
3.) Do you agree with Macdonald that an autobiographical memoir style was a good way to present the novel Let Me Go? What other genre/style would be effective?
The uncanny- Oryx & Crake
Sigmund Freud was published late 20th century.The uncanny” refers to something fearful and frightening, but has been neglected in the history of aesthetics. The uncanny is the subject of aesthetics and has to do with a certain kind of feeling or sensation involving emotional impulses. Freud’s example to this definition was a mannequin.
One example Freud used was the mannequin. When we first glance at a mannequin, we dont know if its real or fake. But if that mannequin started to move or shake our hand, we would feel discomfort or feel uncomfortable despite the fact that looks like a human. We would feel uncomfortable because of the simple fact that it is not human and is not suppose to move if it is plastic. Oryx and crake, include characters that are are not humans but have some characteristics that humans have. This character is known as the “Crakers” in this story. They are human like creations that can speak and reason, but they are not human, just like a mannequin is not human despite of how it looks and the features that it has.
The uncanny is revealed to be something that is not real, but has a lot of its qualities to be. Just like a mannequin appears to be real but it is not. Just like the crakers in Oryx and crake. They also feel and have emotional impulses, and appear to speak and reason, but they are not human.
http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/freud1.pdf
“Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. – PDF Drive.” Free PDF Drive to Download Ebooks.,
Imagery & oryx & crake
Imagery is visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. There are also visual symbolism, “Film’s religious imagery” 2. Visual images collectively. Imagery is associated with mental pictures, but is actually more complex than pictures. Even if we read the word “Shout,” and though that is a verbal act, we still imagine someone yelling and can predict what it would someone sound like.
Margaret Atwood makes good metaphors when she mentions describing snowman at the beginning of this book. Snowman was described to be ” a creature of darkness, of the dusk”(Atwood 6). This quote left it in our hands to predict the appearance of snowman, and image what he looked like. This quote then made me ask myself if the direct experience of living within an apocalypse made him to become this creature or if it was a past trait he had living within the shadows. Also a few small children gave us a description of snowman to unravel the mystery of his facial hair. This brings very powerful imagery. When confronted by the children that are literally lacking common knowledge they predict that “Snowman was once a bird but had forgotten how to fly and the rest of the feathers fell out…” (Atwood 8)
“Imagery | Definition of Imagery in US English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/imagery.
https://www.pdfdrive.net/margaret-atwoods-oryx-and-crake-e8408950.html
Allusion
Allusions are used to engage the reader and also provoke a message to run through the reader’s head to make the connection. Allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to a person place or event. Using allusions convey long statements into short ones.
1: an implied or indirect reference especially in literature
a poem that makes allusions to classical literature
; also : the use of such references
2: the act of making an indirect reference to something : the act of alluding to something
Example:
“We are not here to play, to drift”(Atwood, p156). This example from Oryx and Crake is when Snowman parents wanted him to be tough and nonchalant so he wouldn’t have to worry about anything. He heard this quote in his younger days when he was in school.
Common mistake with Allusion and Illusion:
Allusion and illusion may share some portion of their ancestry (both words come in part from the Latin word ludere, meaning “to play”), and sound quite similar, but they are distinct words with very different meanings. An allusion is an indirect reference, whereas an illusion is something that is unreal or incorrect
Allusion.Merriam-Webster.com2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusion. ( 21 April 2018)
Atwood, Margaret, 1939-. Oryx And Crake : a Novel. New York :Nan A. Talese, 2003. E-book.
Examples of Allusion.2018 http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-allusion.html. (21 April 2018)
5/1 notes
- narrative structure: jumps back and forth in time, similar to oryx and crake but less stream-of-consciousness
- secrecy
- creativity: why do human pigoons need to be creative
- what’s going on with Madame? are they afraid of her? why does she take their art?
- pp. 33-35: fear for its own sake, or fear triggered by guilt?
- is Madame a Dr. Frankenstein kind of figure?
- did Madame have something to do with the children’s creation as human pigoons?
- the children are so similar to her even though they’re not the same kind of person — recognition but difference — what makes them different is what makes characters afraid — similar to Jimmy’s reaction to genetically modified animals
- could it be pity rather than guilt? avoiding them because she doesn’t know how to act around them without making them feel bad
- fear of the unknown — a lot responsibility for something she doesn’t understand
- uncanny — fear of the familiar/unfamiliar
- tone: dystopian society but we don’t know a lot yet; society is very similar to ours; not set in the future, but in a parallel present
