Through New Eyes (Theme)

“These wonderful narrations inspired me with strange feelings. Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle and at another as all that can be conceived of noble and godlike…For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing.”

-p 114

Mary Shelley seems to prefer to reveal a great portion of her thoughts on human life through the thoughts and struggles of the monster. Frankenstein’s creation seems to be used to express Shelley’s themes particularly well due to his relative innocence. He was just born about one year ago; he has only one year’s worth of experience and one year’s worth of understanding of human nature. It would do Shelley little good to convey her message simply through another human; inevitably, that human would contradict their own reflections on humanity because he is, first and foremost, human. Yet by imposing such themes on the monster, Shelley is able to ponder human nature through fresh eyes. Frankenstein’s monster dwells on mankind’s duality of conscience for the first time and in a way that most humans, who are used to this conflict, would not be able to think. Frankenstein’s creation provides Shelley with the only way she could properly convey her themes concerning the paradox of man.

Raisins Are My Favorite

I must admit that thus far, Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is definitely my favorite work of literature that we have read in class this year. This piece carries the most emotional charge of all the pieces we have read thus far. These raw emotions derive largely from a theme focusing on man's desire to pursue a better life, much like the theme of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Unlike Williams' play, however, Hansberry's play openly expresses the characters' search for a better life. When they discuss the insurance check, each member of the family divulges the dream for a better life which they hope to achieve with a portion of the insurance check. The Glass Menagerie never actually openly discussed its characters' dreams, which weakened its strength in comparison to A Raisin in the Sun.

Also present in A Raisin in the Sun are strong racial overtones which accurately reflect the troubles faced by the play's contemporary audience. Hansberry's play carried so much power primarily because of its groundbreaking nature; not only was the play the first written by a black woman, but it also was one of the first to openly discuss discrimination through the perspective of black people. Because of these reasons, there simply seems to be something about A Raisin in the Sun that sets it emotionally apart from the rest of the literature which we have read in class this year.

Today Feels Like a Black-Flag Day (p. 1119, Question 2)

Shakespeare's Othello is most definitely a tragedy. Othello's tragic flaw is his gullibility and excessive trust in Iago. This unfortunate misplacement of trust and confidence ultimately leads to his death. As with all Shakespearean tragedies, Othello dies as a result of his own doing.

This classification of Othello as a tragedy immediately tips off the audience concerning the play's darker tone, often more complex style of storytelling, and basic set of themes involving mankind's vices and their consequences. The audience knows from the beginning what to look for while viewing the action: the flaws of the main character, their gradual succumbing to those flaws, and the characters whom cause these flaws to grow within the hero. In Shakespeare's time at the Globe Theatre, a flag of a certain color was hung each day to indicate whether the play being performed that day would be a tragedy (black flag), a comedy (white), or a history (red). Because of this, the audience would always know what to look for. This allowed them to become more involved with the play's plot, as they are able to discern more easily the vital facets of the story.

Stereotypical Green-Eyed Monster (p. 1119, Question 5)

Thus far, the main themes of Othello have been those of the effects of both jealousy and prejudgment. Iago is almost entirely consumed with jealousy of Cassio's promotion to the rankof lieutenant that Iago knows he is "worth no worse a place" (I.i.11). In addition, we learn that Iago is jealous of Othello, of whom he claims "that 'twixt my sheets/He's done my office" (I.iii.368-369)--that is, has slept with Iago's wife. This theme of jealous drives the majority of the play's action, as it is because of jealousy that Iago lays his plan for revenge.

At the same time, prejudgment is highly prevalent in the play. This theme in the form of racism is highly present in Iago's reference to Othello as a "horse" (I.i.111) and in Brabantio's assumption that Othello must have tricked Desdemona into marrying him (I.i.169-172). This idea of the effect of prejudgment is also displayed when Iago falsely tells Montano that Cassio is an alcoholic who would "watch the horologe a double set,/If drink rock not his cradle" (II.iii.111-112). This prejudgment of Cassio as a drunkard by Montano begins to set public opinion against Cassio; this notion is further supported by Cassio's drunken antics moments later. This theme, like the theme of jealousy, effectively encapsulates oft-present human vices and subtly hints at the serious consequences of such vices. These themes are what mold the story.

For Real, Man! (p. 1119 Question 1)

While analyzing Shakespeare's Othello, the authenticity of the play's plot struck me. The play's actions and insights are all employed by realistic conventions. There are no bizarre symbols or abstract ideas, no fantastical creatures are ingenious inventions. There is simply the story. It is this normalcy which causes the audience to feel so connected to Othello's and Iago's struggles. Tragedies just seem to be more effective in realistic settings. Shakespeare's tragedies in particular are so effective due to their realistic natures. Julius Caesar was particularly tragic because Brutus' ambition was so identifiable. The eponymous stars of Romeo and Juliet portray such powerful yet real love that the audience is greatly moved by their suicides. Even in Macbeth, which admittedly involves the unrealistic inclusion of witches, the power of the play lies in Macbeth's descent into madness. Shakespeare does not bother with fantastical trifles that would detract from his dark themes; instead, he restricts his plots to bare realism, providing a harsh and powerful reflection on man's vices.

Bicentennial Man--Now I Remember Why I Liked Science Fiction

Plot

In a few significant ways, the plot structure of Isaac Asimov's "Bicentennial Man" reflects that of a play. The story is broken up into 23 chapters--effectively, separate scenes from Andrew Martin's life. Through this separation, Asimov clearly establishes that the story covers Andrew's entire life, from "when he had first been--manufactured" (p 247) to his eventual death (p 290). Although the action in some chapters occur directly after the preceding chapter (e.g., Chapters 9 and 10), the separation of all action into scenes give the action a more spread out feeling, aiding Asimov in reflecting the length of Andrew's life. It is interesting to note, however, that the storyline is not entirely continuous in one straight line. The story opens in medias res, hinting at "patently a damaging operation" (p 247) which Andrew has decided to undergo. However, this operation is in fact Andrew's final operation to cause "the death of [his] body" (p 289). While this initially may confuse the reader as they attempt to place this scene within the plot line, it serves Asimov's main intent: to immediately establish Andrew's status as a robot who appears to be human. This surprise sets the stage for Andrew's struggle to be recognized as a human.

Point of View

"Bicentennial Man" is written in a rather odd subjective third person point of view. The point of view is limited in that it focuses only the thoughts and feelings of Andrew, the story's protagonist. The audience is treated with insights into Andrew's feelings, such as when Andrew bargains with Dr. Magdescu from U.S. Robots and the narrator includes that Andrew "thought with satisfaction that Paul himself could not have done it better" (p 279). Yet in describing Andrew's emotions, the narrator often uses rather passive, awkward, and impersonal modifiers. He mentions that "Andrew was fond of" Miss and Little Miss, yet immediately qualifies this claim by explaining rather stiffly that "at least, the effect they had upon his actions were those which in a human being would have been called the result of fondness" (p 248). Because Andrew is, at least at first, a full-fledged robot, his emotions are not authentically human, and so Asimov reflects this awkwardness of emotion in his writing. However, as the story progresses, the qualifiers become more and more sparse, as is evident in the passage concerning Andrew's encounter with Dr. Magdescu mentioned earlier. As Andrew becomes more human, the point of view likewise become more subjective.

Characterization

Asimov utilizes indirect characterization in his depictions of the characters of "Bicentennial Man." The characters' attitudes are never expressed forthright but instead are displayed through their dialogue and actions, as well as the dialogue of others, such as when Little Miss explains to Andrew that Sir "may not have seemed friendly to you toward the end, Andrew, but he was old, you know, and it hurt him that you should want to be free" (p 257). Instead of directly stating that Sir felt a tad betrayed by Andrew's natural desire to be officially free, Asimov explains Sir's emotions through Little Miss' direct address to Andrew. The only observations which the narrator directly makes are observations concerning characters' outward appearances, such as the superficial description of Chee Li-Hsing: "the chairman of the Science and Technology Committee was of the East Asian region and she was a woman" (p 282). I think the reason behind this solely superficial characterization lies in the fact that as a robot, superficial observations are the only ones that Andrew is able to make. He is unable to deduce humans' emotions and thoughts; therefore, the narrator does not directly state them, but instead allows the reader to make deductions that Andrew is unable to make.

Setting

Although Asimov never clearly states the time frame of "Bicentennial Man," it is clear that the story occurs sometime in the future, in a time period "when robots in households, or on the planet altogether, had been a rarity" (p 247). It is also likely that the story takes place largely in the United States, as the company which creates robots is called, not surprisingly, U.S. Robots. However, as it is mentioned, "U.S. Robots...has a worldwide monopoly" (p 273) on the robotics industry, so it is not a definite fact that the setting is the United States. However, it is not the location of the story which truly matters, but the time frame. Often, science fiction is able to reflect on deeper aspects of humanity than other fictional genres because of the highly speculative nature of the genre. Science fiction writers are able to create fictional societies that often exaggerate flaws within modern society. Because Asimov sets his story in a futuristic society, he is able to reflect on much deeper themes without creating excessive controversy. This point leads nicely into the final topic of...

Theme

At first, it seems that the primary theme of "Bicentennial Man" focuses on man's right to be free. This theme is expressly summed up in the judge's ruling in support of Andrew's freedom, stating that "there is no right to deny freedom to any object with a mind advanced enough to grasp the concept and desire of the state" (p 256). Asimov could have easily applied this theme to current global situations, such as the many dictatorial governments in the world, yet doing so would have caused readers to brush his message aside. Instead, he applies this theme to a future society, subtly influencing his readers' thoughts instead of shoving philosophy down their throats. Later in the story, however, Asimov delves into the philosophical question concerning what, in facts, defines us as human. Andrew fights a two-hundred-year-long struggle to be recognized as a human, constantly failing as members of the government and society are "unwilling to set the precedent" of dubbing an artificially-created being as "human." Andrew overhauls his physical body, taking on that of a human body, leaving only his positronic brain intact. He already experiences emotions and feelings. Yet still he is not accepted as human. It is only when he essentially chooses to die that he is finally accepted as a human. It is this realization that summarizes Asimov's thoughts on mankind's conception of humanity: "they cannot tolerate an immortal human being, since their own mortality is endurable only so long as it is universal. And for that reason they won't make me a human being" (p 288). To be human is to die. Andrew is so desperate to be accepted as a human that he chooses to let himself die as a recognized human than to live forever as a robot. This desperation to be accepted, combined with Asimov's grim definition of humanity, creates a powerfully melancholy and moving short story.