Grotesque Research Paper In literature, the word “grotesque” is used to describe an individual that appears abnormal or bizarre to the other characters. A grotesque character induces disgust, caused by his villainous outlooks, as well as empathy, as his personality contrast his outside, in other words is very likeable and nice. Despite trying to fit in and feel normal, the society will not accept Grotesque characters, for they miss the society? s idea of what is normal to look like and act like. Furthermore, it is often just the society? judgemental reactions that make the Grotesque character act like a monster, being a part of a self-defense mechanism. Another characteristic typical for a Grotesque character is being a Christ figure. As a result of the mistakes and sins of others, a Grotesque character is the one who is blamed and sacrificed. For all these reasons, a viewer feels sympathy for the Grotesque character. In the films, Frankenstein and Edward Scissorhands, both main characters are considered Grotesque, having both a good nature and an uninviting visage, making a viewer feel compasion as well as repulsion.
The Essay on Understand The Character Society Heroes People
In the discussion which way is the best to get to understand the character of a society, many opinions have emerged. One of them is that to understand the characters of the he ores or heroines the society has choosen as the elites is the best method. In my opinion, to judge the true inner characters of a certain society, the comprehensive consideration of all aspects is required. That is, heroes ...
The term “grotesque” was first used to describe literary genre by Michel de Montaigne, a french writer of the French Rennaissance, for his Essays, published in the 16th century. The Grotesque is often related to satire and tragicomedy. A German writer, and 1929 Nobel Prize winner, Thomas Mann labeled it as a “genuine antibourgeois style” for it is an effective artistic way to convey grief and pain to the audience. However, grotesque happenings and monsters can be found even in some of the very first written texts.
Myths offer a number of monstrous creations: one-eyed Cyclops in Hesiod’s Theogony, Homer’s Polyphemus in the Odyssey, or the hybrid creations in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Satirical writings of the eighteenth century can provide another major source of the grotesque; to name a few, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, or the works of Alexander Pope provide many examples of the grotesque. Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the most famous grotesques in literature.
The Phantom of the Opera and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast can be also considered grotesque. Other examples of the grotesque in Romanticism can be found in Sturm und Drang literature and in the works of Edgar Allan Poe, E. T. A. Hoffmann, or Laurence Sterne. Romantic grotesque is different from medieval grotesque, which celebrated laughter and fertility, by being more horrific and sombre. Grotesque figures in a fantasy world of Alice in the Wonderland by Lewis Carroll gave the grotesque a new shape. In J. R. R.
Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the character of Gollum may be considered to fit into the grotesque template. Southern Gothic is a genre frequently identified with grotesques, from which authors such as William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, or Raymond Kennedy are often associated with the grotesque. In the 1931 film, Frankenstein, the creature, being the main character, was created by Dr. Frankenstein, who was boosted by his vanity and desire to give life to a set of dead body parts to break the natural cycle of life and death and to become equal to God. The creature? repulsive looks made the superficial citizens treat him as if he was a criminal without giving him a chance to express himself and show he actually wants to be a good person. The townspeople automatically assumed the monster was evil, judged him, and treated him accordingly. The moster responded by using violence, the only way he knew to defend himself as his brain was undeveloped, which only confirmed others? judgment on him and led to even more violence. The only exception in mostly deprecatory reactions of the citizens was a little girl who did not feel any barriers to play with the monster and to be nice to him.
The Term Paper on How Does Mary Shelley Persuade the Reader to Pity Frankenstein’s Creature?
At the time, the Industrial Revolution was occurring and science was being developed. Scientists carried out experiments with electricity, trying to bring frogs back to life. Shelley visited an alchemist’s castle in the Rock of Franks where she was inspired by the alchemy. Two of Shelley’s daughters had died which influenced her to make the novel about life and death. She would relate to ...
In this case, the monster was surprised, as no one had acted like that to him before, but tried to be nice because of his yearning to have a human connection and this was his first opportunity to do so. The misfortunate of throwing the girl into the water, thinking she would work as a nice boat as flowers did, only proves how unandvanced the creature? s brain was. Watching the film, a viewer can easily notice the sacrificing theme; while the creature acts according to his impulses, Dr.
Frankenstein, who is the one that caused the evil and madness in real, is never even considered to be punished for creating a monster, furthermore, he is awarded for his acomplishment. Frankenstein? s creature has a number of Grotesque qualities; watching the film, despite the monster? s physical features making viewers feel disgusted, one would naturally feel symphatetic towards the creature, since his actions came from his unintentional infant-like nature. In the Gothic film, Edward Scissorhands, the main character has features of being Grotesque as well as that in Frankenstein, although they differ in some matters.
Edward? s creator? s intentions were not as horrific as Dr. Frankenstein? s. Unlike Frankenstein? s monster, Edward was immediately accepted into society due to the vain reasons of the townspeople. They took advantage of Edward? s scissors that made him different, but otherwise the society tried to fix him, civilize him, and make him fit in. And so he got a nice set of clothes, make-up on his face, traditional family meals, and invitations to social gatherings. All those values are used to represent the attempt to make Edward be part of society? s idea of proper citizens.
And he lets everyone do to him whatever they want as after spending many years alone, he looks for a human connection; his love for Kim is the best example. Other than that, to answer the question “What is the best part about your new life? ” Edward says “The friends I? ve made. ” Even when the society turns its back to him, cutting the dog? s hair out of his eyes so that he can see better is a sign of searching for a companionship. One can observe the ways Edward is trying to become part of society despite missing hands and having scissors instead.
The Essay on Edward Scissorhands Film
Edward Scissorhand, is a comedy, romance, sci-fi, which revolves around a love story between Kim, a messed up teenager, and Edward, a freakish mixture of childlike humanity and shear destructiveness, doomed never to grow up or share a home with other creatures. The film is an odd mixture, and at some points may become confusing. It is partly a gothic fairytale with the castle on the hill, but ...
The scissors are there to represent separation and destruction and that is what they are used for when Edwards gets upset. He starts to destroy his clothes, a family car, organized faith, which all make up symbols of society. Another way to look at these actions is that Edward uses what makes him abnormal to demolish what tried to fix him and make him identical, in other words he goes back to himself. The society likes Edward as long as he reinforces his own value system, but never really accepted him enough not to judge and turn on him immediately after one mistake.
Suddenly he was not a human anymore as he got called “a demon”. For a viewer, it is very easy to feel sympathy towards Edward, as he is very shy, caring, and loveable, and all his actions come either from his good innocent nature or as a semi-violent respond to the society? s manners. In the film, sacrificing theme appears again, whether it is Edward almost getting arrested for breaking into a house or his self-sacrifice by accepting not to see Kim ever again. All of the causes described above show why Edward is considered a Grotesque character. Both of the characters fall in the category of Grotesque figures.
Other, “normal” people would look at them and automatically not accept them for their physical appearance is not what is considered to be natural. Frankenstein? s creature is a better representation of Grotesque character due to the way the society reacts. In this case, society automatically assumes he is evil for his horrific physical features. Viewers feel emotional towards the character, as being part of the society, one would look at him as a hideous creature but feel sorry for him at the same time. It is easy to pity the monster for being automatically regarded as evil and needed to be killed for being uncommon or abnormal.
The Essay on Character Makes The Man
Character Makes the Man One of the questions Thomas Hardy poses in his masterwork novel, The Mayor of Caster bridge, is the relationship between character and chance in destiny. Destiny in this novel most closely relates to the idea of destiny put forth in Robert Frost s poem The Road Not Taken, where chance defines the paths for a person to take, but it is the person s character itself, which ...
The citizens of the town would immediately scream in terror only by the creature? s approach toward them. They immediately saw him as a villain that could cause nothing but destruction without ever giving him a chance to express himself and to prove those were not his intentions. The society referred to him as a creation of hell, not thinking about the fact that it was an actual human being that built the monster. The actuality that the monster was the sacrificial lamb rather than his creator being punished only adds to the reasons Frankenstein? creature works perfectly as an example of a Grotesque figure. In conclusion, both main characters in the films, Frankenstein and Edward Scissorhands, are considered to be grotesque. Both are judged for their repulsive looks that makes them hideous while having good nature in real. Also, both Frankenstein? s monster and Edward are treated accordingly to the way they look, not what they are inside. Aside from using the films to learn about the Grotesque, one can also apply the ideas from the films to the society in today? s world.
Society today, as well as those in the films, judges people based on their looks rather than what one observes while getting to know them. Judging, whether a grotesque character as extreme as in the films or an ordinary person who just does not fit in the society? s idea of ideal beauty, causes people to assume the individual is somewhat worse than everyone else and makes them not open to accept the one as they would if he looked the way that society thinks of is the right one. People view anything abnormal or unnatural as something they need to avoid.
Those individuals that differ might be forced to act in a different way than they normally would, due to society? s behaviour toward them, as shown in the films. Finally, one might want to consider the notion that the individuals end up left alone, outside of society. Citations Burton, T. (Director) (1990).
Edward scissorhands [DVD]. Whale, J. (Director) (1931).
Frankenstein [DVD]. Eavan, Malone. “Grotesque Lecture. ” Escambia High School. Florida, Pensacola. 2012. Lecture. Author unknown. “Grotesque in Literature. ” Wikipedia. N. p. , 10 2012. Web. 10 Dec 2012. <http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Grotesque>
