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/lit/ - Literature

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1499763 No.1499763 [Reply] [Original]

I'm in my senior year at high school and my class is just finishing up Frankenstein. I was assigned the topic of the three narrators. I'm supposed to come up with an idea about how this topic is used by Shelley to develop a theme or contribute meaning to the novel. My teacher says it has to do with super-ego, ego, and id, but I feel that this isn't true because the creature (which she believes represents id due to him being the center narrator) doesn't lack self-control in killing people. He merely does it to punish Frankenstein. What are your thoughts on Shelley's use of three narrators? My only idea so far is that it's to give multiple perspectives and show that the creature isn't quite a monster, and Frankensteing isn't without flaw. I have nothing on Walton except that he learns to keep his ambition in check.

>> No.1499768

>/lit/ is not a homework board

SOMEONE didn't read the sticky....

>> No.1499797

go get homework help somewhere else.

>> No.1499811

"/lit/ is NOT a homework board. Any posters posting homework help threads will be dealt with. However discussing homework you have been given is allowed as long as it generates healthy discussion. But just asking for answers will result in a ban."

>> No.1499846
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1499846

>Mary Shelly writing about ego/super-ego/ID in 1818
>but psychoanalysis wasn't invented until at least 1911
>mfw

>> No.1499862

If I was just trying to do my homework, I would go with the BS Freud stuff my teacher said and get an A for agreeing with her. Instead, I'm attempting to come up with some ideas of my own, and seeking discussion with the only literary community I know of.

I've been thinking, another point of having three narrators (who all seek recognition: Walton through fame, Frankenstein through science, and the creature through a mate) could be to show that the characters are similar, but treated differently basically for their outward appearances. Maybe something to do with feminism. Thoughts?

>> No.1499990

>>1499846
Id and Ego goes back to Aristotle and Plato, Brotato.

>> No.1500003
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1500003

>>1499846

SURE THIS GUY IS SEMIRETARDED AND IGNORANT.

>> No.1500010

>>1499862
>I would go with the BS Freud stuff my teacher said and get an A for agreeing with her
I thought the key to easymodo-ing Engrish was to disagree and argue against the common perception, so as to make your paper stand out. I was also under the impression this worked pretty well into your 3rd year.
>Instead, I'm attempting to come up with some ideas of my own,
Then post what you've got so far. Give to get.

>Glascock rlyset
Glascock. I like it.

>> No.1500111

Well it seems that your teacher is encouraging you to take a psychoanalytic approach to the text. You could talk about the the Freudian notion that all rebellion is directed to the patriarchy, i.e. the Father figure. The obvious candidates for such analysis would be Frankenstein and the monster. Frankenstein rebels against his father who scoffs at his son's readings of alchemists and other former quacks back in the day. The monster's path of revenge is of course fueled by his master/father's rejection.

Consider the stature of the monster: he's huge, in every aspect, including in sexual organs. Why is this so? Apparently Frankenstein was aiming for beauty when he created the monster. Thus, in his mind, bigger=better. Note also the monster's desire for a mate. Sure, the big lug is lonely. But perhaps the monster is so violent because his id --the center for pleasure --is unchecked and unsatisfied.

Also, the fact that the story is told through three male narrators probably says something about the author himself. Plus, all the women within the book get ruined. Remember the era Shelley writes in. There ain't a whole lot of gender equality in the 1800s, only inklings of it. Maybe Shelley unconsciously suppressed her own female identity within the text. Or maybe she was making a point about the consequences of male bravado and gender roles.