Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Samuel Williams

              Tableau, by Countee Cullen is a poem that depicts a white and black boy walking across the street arm in arm, showing unity and friendship against the overwhelming tides of racism and segregation. This poem also insinuates that the two boys are in a sexual relationship with one another as he says, “The golden splendor of the day/ The sable pride of night”. The second line implies that they have a sexual relationship, because generally when one hints at activities in the night they are talking about sexual activities. So, the poem is talking about two homosexual males who are in an interracial relationship. These two groups were the two groups that were receiving the largest pushback from society in the early 1900s, which is when the poem was written. The poem is trying to exemplify how one should act in the face of such prejudice; by rising above and ignoring the stares and insults. This shows the best way for those who are being oppressed to resist and fight back; not through action but rather inaction.

              The poem Theology by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem that is a very short poem, just a quartet. Despite the length of the poem it manages to show the reader what Dunbar thinks about theology. At first, he appears to be devout, as seen in the first line as he describes how every day he feels heaven and aspires to get there by leading a true Christian life. In the last two lines, he then does a one hundred eighty degree turn and mocks religion. He does so by claiming he believes there is a hell because without it there would be nowhere for his neighbors to go. When combined, one can see that Dunbar denounces religion by making a very serious claim then twisting a Christian belief in a way that is absurd.

              Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is much different than I was expecting. I had known that the book was much different than all other renditions of the story, but I was not expecting this. The book so far appears to be very dark and dreary as Vincent seems insane. First, he is obsessed with alchemy which at the time was considered unrealistic. Then he proceeds to create a monster that only he has seen. Everyone else that has seen him has been in stories so there is no hard evidence that anyone has seen the monster. These two points can be connected to The Birthmark and The Yellow Wallpaper respectively. The fact that Vincent is obsessed with creating the perfect being and finding the secrets of alchemy is exactly like The Birthmark and both of these obsessions foreshadowed a horrible event, the death of the woman and the creation of a monster. At this point I do not believe that the monster is real as only Vincent has seen it to this point. This can be related to The Yellow Wallpaper because the main character sees a woman in the wall who no one else can see, which is a representation of her insanity. Similarly, I think that the monster is a representation of Vincent’s shortcomings and possible insanity.

              The fact that Vincent ignores his family and friends for his obsession shows his true personality, one that his self-centered, greedy and a bit arrogant. The monster on the other hand appears to be kind and confused despite his outward appearance. This contrast between personalities and appearance alludes to the ide that appearance is not important. If a monster can be a better person than a human despite appearances, then it should hold true for people as well.