Journal of the Plague Year and Frankenstein

The evoke and Frankenstein The quest for familiarity is eternal and almost never-ending. People devote their lives to studying and advancing their noesis, but their furtherance is al elbow rooms held in check by society and the people who analyze before them. Several novels have been written which explore the effect experience and its limitations dejection have on society. This paper will focus on Defoes Journal of the Plague Year, and Mary Shelleys Frankenstein or the new-fashioned Prometheus.Even though these both novels were written ab come forth 100 days apart, they still exemplify many aspects as to why knowledge has limitations. season Defoes Journal centers on how to prevent and recuperate the offense, with a corpulent emphasis on religion, Shelleys Frankenstein has minuscular to no ghostly affiliation, and focuses on how science and knowledge can potentially lead to evil and misfortune. The plague was a severe and devastating infirmity which affected Europe duplex times through let knocked out(p) history each time cleanup position every psyche who came d induce with the disease.People are fortunate enough directly to have a retrieve for this disease, but during the 1700s, in that location was no cure and very little knowledge close to proper medical practices. Defoe mentions how signs were stick on throughout capital of the United Kingdom, claiming of people who knew of a cure or treatment for the plague, alone nearly of these treatments prepa passing their bodies for the plague, instead of preserving them against it. 1 Thieves and pick-pockets robbed and cheated poor people out of their money with scams, sometimes even poisoning their victims with tonics or physicks that could include such(prenominal) poisons as Mercury in them. These scammers were all throughout the city, appealing to the desires and teemingness of the poor. There was no regulation of such business practices and advertisements made soaked claims of free h elp, only to deceive the poor at once they got there, forcing them to pay for what whitethorn (or may not) help them. These practices were quite cruel and unjust, but people were so scared for their lives that they were willing to do anything which would allow them to live. Not every person in the city fell victim to these scams.Many people once they heard news that the plague had reached London decided to flee and chieftain to some far off t avouch where they might be competent to avoid catching the disease. This plight from the city was not only a rational decision, but a religious one as well. more than debate between people in London was sparked about the religious justification for staying in the city, and trusting in God to protect them where they were, or to die London and trust God with their safety and health. 3 For the main character in this novel, H. F. struggles with this decision because he can pull out London and live with his relatives, and risk losing all of hi s possessions, but he ultimately decides to stay, viewing his decision as remaining faithful to God. Upon informing his comrade of this decision, he learns that the person, who he was going to entrust with his property during his leave, became ill with the plague, only enforcing H. F. s feelings that he made the correct decision to stay in Gods faith. 4 Once the plague hit London with full force, the city was forced to find a new way in which to contain this disease.Instead of looking to the filth with which people lived in, and regarding that it could be carried by animals such as rats, the town determined that each stick out was to be inspected by doctors, and if the plague should be found within a home, the inhabitants would be locked inside the house, only to come out if they died or the disease had passed. Each home which the plague was found in had a red cross painted on the door, marking it for all to see, and a spectator was assigned to make sure nobody went in or out of the house, and to run errands for the family if need be. This cruel idea caused many families to parish in their own homes, while others tried to escape by either sneaking out or attacking/threatening the watchmen. In the book Frankenstein or the groundbreaking Prometheus, by Mary Shelley, the underlying theme is how knowledge and power can lead to misery and destruction. In the book, Victor Frankenstein goes off to college and becomes obsessed with several(prenominal) different types of philosophy and science. He becomes absorbed in the secret of breeding and he ultimately tries to recreate it. He is successful and brings life to a fiend so hideous that even he cannot bear to be round. Frankenstein tries to desert the giant star which he created, but he is never in full able to, as the whale follows and spies on Frankenstein and kills part of his family. Frankenstein is appalled that his human race could have begun to cause such horror and pain to people around him, but is worried that if he tells anyone about the monster which he has created, thus he himself will look like a madman. The monster himself is impatient(predicate) for affection from humans, but everywhere he goes, he is shunned and forced forth from the town due to people being in fear of him.The monster spends much time watching the actions of a family of peasants, where from his hiding place he is able to learn how to speak French as well as read. After some time he ultimately decides that they are a very compassionate family and that he should reveal himself to them, upon doing this, they are disgusted and follow him away. The monster vows to get revenge on Frankenstein and first begins by killing his little brother whom he stumbles across in the forest in Geneva. He then plants the childs necklace on a takeoff rocket of Victors, to make her appear as the murderer.She is tried for the crime and hung for it. The monster realizes that his only chance for happiness lies within Frank enstein creating him a female companion. He persuades Frankenstein to create him a female saying that he will leave mankind alone forever and go live in some distant land if he has a companion to go with him. 7 As Frankenstein has begun work on his second monster in Scotland, he is reminded of how crazy he became when creating his first monster, and upon catching a glimpse of his monster watching him through the window, Frankenstein freaks out, and destroys the second body which he is creating.The monster upon see this is enraged and promises to kill the rest of Frankensteins familiaritys and family. This promise assumes align, for Frankenstein loses his best friend that night, his wife on his wedding night, and his father. Rather than heed to the monsters wishes and create a wife for him, Frankenstein was overcome with the guilt of the deaths of his monsters first two victims. He worries that in creating another, he will be creating a duette of evil that will wreak havoc upon the human race.For it was his fault in the first place which let his imagination get a hold of himself and he wanted to create life for himself. This intense lust for knowledge which Frankenstein has ultimately leads to his demise. He becomes mad in his quest and ends up destroying everyone beneficial to him as well as himself in the end. Both The Journal of the Plague Year and Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus have heavy themes about knowledge. Defoes Journal specifically focuses on how disease was treated and what the methods were to try to cure it.The Journal also has a heavy religious force in it as well. The people in the story as well as the main characters, look towards Bible versus and quotes for guidance in their decision making. This is not the same as in Frankenstein where the main character becomes god-like himself with his creation of life. This study difference is most likely due to the fact that the novels were written about 100 years apart from each other and p eoples views how religion affected their daily lives had greatly changed.There is very little mentioned in Frankenstein about religion at all. In each novel, there is excess knowledge than what people have the capacity for therefore in The Journal, London makes the harsh decision to lock people in their own homes in order to prevent the spread of the plague while in Frankenstein, his ever persistent quest for knowledge winds up killing him and those erotic love to him. The novels are almost a warning as to what effect knowledge can have on society and suggest, that as Socrates said, the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.