• man vs society – external
• man vs self – internal
• man vs nature – external
• man vs man – external
• man vs technology – external
• man vs society – external
• Internal is a conflict that occurs within  the mind of a single character or being
• An external force is a conflict that occurs between 2 or more characters/beings

Man vs self, Internal conflict – Frankenstein

“often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation whilst still urged on by an eagerness which perpetually increased, I brought my work to a conclusion.” – Victor Frankenstein

“I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the water might close over me and my calamities for ever. But I was restrained when I thought of the heroic and suffering Elizabeth whom I tenderly loved and whose existence was bound up in mine.” – Victor Frankenstein struggling with reasons to live and die. Hate vs Love

Man vs Man, external conflict – Frankenstein and the Monster

“I do not know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other ” – the monster – This quote is the monster threatening Frankenstein to create him another being like him so he is not lonely, he blames Frankenstein for the misery and loneliness he has

 

 

In Frankenstein, the antagonist is the monster

Control

• controls victor through his weakness for his family. Until victor thinks about the greater good

Passion and Drive

• Wants a companion / to be accepted by someone. Blackmails and murders people to get there
• needs to learn how to speak/ interact with humans

Supernatural powers

• superhuman speed and strength
• able to withstand extreme conditions
• massive physical appearance

Dualism

• Begins as an essentially good character
• shown with his intentions with the family
• after being turned away, attacked and feared he becomes vengeful.He develops a hatred for the human race

“But why do you say I have lost control of my mind, why do you say that I am mad?Can you not see that I have full control of my mind?” The short story the Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe in 1843 shows us the element of the gothic protagonist in a gothic fiction piece.The short story is about a murder that the narrator has committed, he constantly is assuring us of his actions meanwhile Poe is trying to convince us of the narrator’s madness throughout the story.

Poe uses foreshadowing as a technique through the narrator.Early on in the book we can tell something negative is going to happen when the narrator says “I heard sounds from heaven; I heard sounds from hell”This tells us there is a dark side to him and that the narrator may end up doing something with the repercussions of hell.When I think of hell I think of someone committing a sin so that when they die they end up in hell, in the story this gave me the idea he was listening to the sounds from hell and was going to act on them.Poe uses this technique as one way to identify the narrator as the gothic protagonist.The narrator also says”there was no reason for what I did”This straight away foreshadows to the reader that he takes action on those voices from hell that he listens to.It also foreshadows to us that he does something inhumane because generally when you do something you can justify as to why you did, however, the narrator could not and then once again tried to convince us he wasn’t a madman.As the reader when the narrator committed the murder I was not surprised at all because of the use of foreshadowing I could tell that something bad was going to happen and when the old man was murdered I related it back to the references Poe foreshadowed earlier in the story.

Allan Poe also uses contrasting qualities to portray the narrator as a gothic protagonist by saying “thoughtless and mindful” when someone is thoughtless they do not process or think of repercussions of their actions, in the story, the character referred to himself as a madman which can explain why he doesn’t think he just does another example of his thoughtlessness is.However, he is also described as mind full contradicting the fact that he is thoughtless until the moment in the story where he kills the man because he sees the eye but afterwards he hides his traces so well.As a reader, we can relate to doing thoughtless things and straight after regretting our actions and thinking of a way to cover up. The narrator also says in the book” he loved the old man” yet he still commits this murder and completely mutilates his body to cover it up.The definition of love is to feel a deep affection towards someone or something, As a reader when someone says they love someone we generally would not associate it with a brutal murder which very much contradicts to love.

Another way Poe paints the narrator as the gothic protagonist is through the air of mystery surrounding him, we have no idea who this narrator is, where he comes from or how he knows this old man.They also continue to plea the case that they are not a madman causing us to wonder why we would think of the narrator as a madman.From the term madman, I automatically assumed the narrator would be a male.The use of the personal pronoun also comes up a lot through the story which does not help us identify the narrator as a male or female, even though I had already made the assumption that the narrator was a male I am still left unsure due to the lack of history I know.The narrator looked after the old man and back in the time period that Poe wrote this storey woman looked after the men.It is believed by readers that this story is a related to slavery in the south as it was coming to the end around 1843  and Poe lived in the south.I think the story the Tell Tale heart uses the air of mystery to let the reader make their own assumptions about the narrator because of the lack of information we are given, throughout the entire story my mind was chopping and changing about what gender I thought the narrator was and why I thought they committed the murder because I didn’t believe that an eye was a justifiable reason for murder I believed there was a backstory to this.

Poe uses the narrator of The Tell Tale Heart as a gothic protagonist in the story by using foreshadowing, contrasting qualities and by creating an air of mystery around them.A gothic protagonist can have many qualities but in this story I feel like Poe is using the qualities he has chosen to give us a base story with a few hints of the narrators feelings so that we can fill in the blanks as a reader and interperit the narrator as we like and chose whether we believe he is a madman or not.Personally i did not overly enjoy the short story, i felt confused a lot and struggled to connect all my feelings and the information together.However it hepled me to understand the use of a gothic protaginist in gothic fiction more.

 

 

Timeline 

Robert Walton captained the ship – “a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years.”

Sailed into the Arctic – “I am going to unexplored regions to ‘the land of mist and snow.”

Stuck on ice + saw gigantic figure on sled – “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature.”

Pick up ill old man – “you may conceive my astonishment on hearing such a question addressed to me from a man on the brink of destruction…”

Walton + Frankenstein develop friendship – “My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree.”

ACTUAL STORY

Dr Frankenstein is a child, Geneva is his home – “I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic”

We are told about his family – “… my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation.” “Two years after this event Caroline  became his wife.”                                                                                       ” I, their eldest child, was born at Naples, and as an infant accompanied them in their rambles. I remained for several years their only child.”

Travels to Ingolstadt university – When I had attained the age of seventeen my parents resolved that I should become a student at the University of Ingolstadt.

Elizabeth (sister) gets ill, mother gets ill. Mother dies – “Elizabeth was saved, but the consequences of this imprudence were fatal to her preserver.”

Initially disappointed by university – “Have you,’ he said, ‘really spent your time in studying such nonsense?”

Chemistry teacher inspires Frankenstein, showing him that science isn’t all nonsense – “They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers.”                                                                                                                                                “I am happy,’ said M. Waldman, ‘to have gained a disciple; and if your application equals your ability, I have no doubt of your success.”

Tells us he has a secret – “I see by your eagerness and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted.”

 

New language

Indefatigable                                                                                                                                                                       Me: I  think it means his effort                                                                                                                                     Google:(of a person or their efforts) persisting tirelessly.

syndics                                                                                                                                                                               Me: someone in charge of a syndicate.                                                                                                                   Google: a government official in various countries. (in the UK) a business agent of certain universities and corporations, especially a member of a Senate committee at Cambridge University.

wretchedness                                                                                                                                                                    Me: something bad or very disliked by an individual                                                                                                  Google:(of a person) in a very unhappy or unfortunate state.Of poor quality; very bad.Used to express anger or annoyance.

Tone and Mood 

Tone – The narrator uses words like “forced” we relate the word forced to a bad situation and something needs to be done and  pressure is applied for something to be done, in this text it is as if Dr Frankenstein has pressure being put on him to carry out his research and carry it out in such an inhumane way.He also uses the word ‘horrors” a horror is something we connotate to be being scary and unnatural or an intense feeling of shock or fear which gives us a sense of how dr Frankenstein feels well carrying out his research.

Mood – The mood portrayed in this passage by the narrator was slight guilt.He wanted to become a god and wanted to save the humans from death.He saw the nothing as more than bodies with nothing inside he says “every object” when discussing the limbs and body parts this is him distancing himself from the fact he is cutting up actual people.By calling them objects it would’ve been him making himself feel better by calling them something irrelevant.

Foreshadowing- Foreshadowing is a warning or indication of a future event.

The age of enlightenment

Religion – In the

foreshadowing is a warning or indication of future events that are going to occur.The author uses word choice to foreshadow to us that something bad is going to happen by using words like ruin, relinquish, disregard and evil, all these words connotate negatively and to the fact, something bad will occur later in the book.

the narrator uses short sentences to show that he is nervous and panicking

2- foreshadowed by something negative

the narrator foreshadowed something negative by saying early in the text “I heard sounds from heaven; I heard sounds from hell” this tells us that there is a dark side to him and that he may end up doing something bad as hell foreshadows the idea of sins and negative stuff.The narrator also says “there was no reason for what i did” this foreshadows to us that he does something and that it is inhumane because people generally have a reason behind their actions an the fact that

 

The novel the Tell Tale heart by Allan Poe uses a narrator as a gothic protaginist by having contrasting qualities to their character, foreshadowing negative events and is secretive and has an air of mystery.Allan Poe uses contrasting qualities to portray the narrator as a gothic protagonist by saying “thoughtless and mindful” when someone is thoughtless they do not process or think of repercussions of their actions, in the story, the character referred to himself as a madman which can explain why he doesn’t think he just does.However, he is also described as mind full contradicting the fact that he is thoughtless until the moment in the story where he kills the man because he sees the eye but afterwards he hides his traces so well. The narrator foreshadowed something negative by saying early in the text “I heard sounds from heaven; I heard sounds from hell” this tells us that there is a dark side to him and that he may end up doing something bad as hell foreshadows the idea of sins and also the idea of death because heaven and hell are both places people supposedly go after death.The narrator also says “there was no reason for what I did” this foreshadows to us that he does something and that it is inhumane because people generally have a reason behind their actions and the fact that they didn’t implies they have done something bad and not thought it through.aswell as the first two methods the narrator also creates an air of mystery around the character, we do not know the gender or any of its background.

 

 

 

“People have a habit of inventing fictions they will believe wholeheartedly in order to avoid the truth they cannot accept”  This is an aspect of the art of illusion, some people create a fake identity to create themselves the perfect illusion so that they can fit into societies perception of what is “good”.Four texts that portray this are The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, Gossip Girl directed and created by Stephanie Savage and John Schwartz, New Girl by Paige Harbison and The Lost Decade by F Scott Fitzgerald.These texts show us living behind an illusion through their main characters who have all created illusions for themselves.

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F.Scott Fitzgerald.In the Great Gatsby, the main character that we focus on through the text is Jay Gatsby.Gatsby portrays the illusion of a rich man who comes from family wealth when in reality he is a man who has built his rich image through illegal trades.He made this fake persona specifically so he could be apart of the upper class and more specifically so he could be at an appropriate status so he could win over Daisy and he could rekindle his relationship with her. Nick discusses Gatsby’s persona when he says “So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” From the quote we can see that Nick believes Gatsby’s persona is immature and not representing his age as he gets older. Typically seventeen-year-olds are all parties, friends, and girls which is where Gatsby’s illusion began, He created someone who a young girl would want and hadn’t evolved his persona as he grew up.He never gave up on Daisy and was completely faithful to it to the personality he had made to win her over to the moment he died as he was waiting for Daisy’s call.Before we learn about Gatsby’s illusion it is hinted to us early in the novel at his party when Nick comments on how great the party is Gatsby responds by saying “i keep it always full of interesting people” When Gatsby says this he is revealing that he doesn’t know any of these people but is surrounding himself by them to make him make his illusion believable and people see him as the Jay Gatsby he has created and not the young boy he had worked so hard to make disappear.

Gossip Girl is a television series directed and created by Josh Swartz and Stephanie Savage, students are always being posted about by “gossip girl” who no one knows the true identity of.After high school, they think gossip girl is done with them but she follows them through their life constantly posting about them until the last episode where gossip girl is revealed as Dan Humphry. .Everyone saw the illusion that Dan wanted them to see, he wanted them to see him as the outsider who knew nothing and was totally irrelevant in their world, but really Dan was the ultimate insider who knew everything and could absolutely flip their world. When Dan uncovers himself as gossip girl he reveals why“Have you ever wanted something so badly where you just know you’re not going to get … well, that was my whole life.the moment I met you I knew I couldn’t pull you out of your world into mine, but I couldn’t give up” Dan was so enchanted by Serena and the lifestyle that he would somehow make his way into it.He had always felt like an outsider due to his status because everyone at that school were rich snobs who wore designer clothes, well he was wearing hand me downs from his family.Therefore he created the illusion of Gossip Girl so he felt apart of it the upper east side community. He, later on, says that “A membership into this community was so elite you couldn’t even buy your way in, it was a birthright. A birthright I didn’t have and my greatest achievements would never earn me. But I had an idea if I wasn’t born into this world maybe I could write myself into it… every writer has his muse.” This is referring to the fact that the upper east side isn’t somewhere you can simply have a lot of money to be apart of it is a community where you, your parents and your friends have been apart of and linked to for years.The advantages that came with it were never having to earn anything due to your name which is why Dan says his achievements would never earn him it, which is why he wrote himself in and then mentions that Serena is his muse and the reason as well. He created the illusion of Gossip Girl to feel apart of the upper east side and to win over Serena just like Gatsby made his fake persona to be apart of the east egg community and upper class so he could win over Daisy.However, Dan wanted people to still see him as the outsider so no one could suspect he was gossip girl this making the illusion of gossip girl seamless unlike Gatsby Dan didn’t physically insert him into the upper class instead he made up the persona to be his cover up or “illusion” but Gatsby makes himself the illusion which is not as seamless as Dans because people figure out his illusion whereas Dan reveals that the illusion of gossip girl was him

New Girl by Paige Harbison is about a girl who moves to a new school, she was the outsider at her old school and took the opportunity of being at a new school to reinvent herself and her personality.She came across a carefree girl who let nothing get to her.We later learn in the book that this lifestyle is taking a toll on her, making her do things she wouldn’t be comfortable doing before and she felt weak under the pressure of the illusion everyone saw of her. early in the book she mentions how it makes her feel seeing people in the position she used to be in “It was so incredibly nostalgic for a life I’d never, ever have again” This shows us that she wanted to keep her illusion strong and never wanted to be put in the place of feeling like a loser again. She also says how the pressure of her new personality was affecting her.“I felt determined and strong, but weak and alone all at once” She says she is feeling weak, the control is out of her hands now she built this illusion but is now trapped in it.However it made her feel strong because she wasn’t an outcast anymore, she had power over boys and girls at her school and was determined to keep it that way.Everyone sees Becca as a strong person with no insecurity or flaws.Like Dan, Becca had always felt like an outsider and similar to Dan she found a way to be on the inside.She created someone who was confident and popular who knew everything just as Dan did with gossip girl however, Dan did it anonymously making sure no one knows who is behind the illusion of gossip girl and had all the power in the upper east side.Becca, on the other hand, made herself the illusion so she could have the power of knowledge within the school but made sure people knew it so they didn’t question why she had this authority as the most popular girl in school.

The song cool kids by Eco Smith outlines the illusion that teenagers create during school so they can fit in amongst the so-called “cool kids”.The persona they create is something so similar to everyone else in the crowd so they don’t stick out in the crowd.This quote in the song “Yeah, they’re living the good life.Cant see what he is going through” These lyrics from the song show us that these people are living the illusion of being like the cool kids.The supposed cool kids cannot see through his illusion, but he feels the pressure and pain of being someone who he is not to fit in.Another part of the song that shows us the illusion these people create of themselves to fit into society is in the chorus the words “I wish that I could be like the cool kids ‘Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in” These kids in school wish they can be like these cool kids so their lives run smoothly and they have nothing to stress about when it comes to society’s perception of who they are, they just come across as someone who is following a trend or being apart of the “social norm.”Their wish to be like the cool kids and fir in pushes them to create this illusion of themselves so they can achieve these goals.The song Cool Kids and the novel New Girl both outline the illusion people present in order to be a Cool Kid within a school setting.They show the struggles that people go through in the background of their illusions they have created because that is supposedly who they are now.Unlike New Girl in the lyrics of Cool Kids, we see a lot more of the problems in the background of the facade and in New Girl, we only see this when Becca is at breaking point reflecting on her choices.

The texts The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Gossip Girl directed and created by John Swartz and Stefanie Savage, New Girl by Paige Harbison and the song Cool Kids by Eco Smith all present to us the illusion people create of themselves to fit into the society they want to be a part of.A status is a relative social platform or position, All these stories show us that these people created their illusion for a status.Some create their status for love some created their status for a craving to be apart of the top tier of society.People feel the need so deeply to be perceived as someone with a great solid lifestyle and aim for a high status, We want it so bad we create illusions of ourselves.Better versions to show because we are disappointed with the reality.The four texts show characters who create their illusions to escape their realities but in the end, reality catches up.

 

 

 

Fitzgerald has a very poetic way of presenting language. He uses the same devices consistently throughout his writing.

1. Select three passages from the book (about a paragraph or two in length) that we have NOT annotated as a class. Annotate these passages and identify the language features that Fitzgerald uses. Explain the effect of these features and why he may have chosen to use them.

2. Fitzgerald uses many allusions throughout the novel. Select one of these allusions and explain the connection between it and the book. Bonus: how can you link it to our theme of “illusion”.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year receded before us.It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—– to -morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. … And one fine morning- So we beat on , boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

1. the orgastic future 

“This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens ;where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally with transcendent effort, of ash grey men , who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”

 

Allusion

David Belasco was an American theatrical producer he was well known for how realistic his sets were, Fitzgerald uses allusion when he brings upBelascoo in this quote l “See!” he cried triumphantly. “It’s a bona-fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too—didn’t cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?” The quote references David Belasco when it says this fella’s a regular Belasco during the first party that Nick attended.They use this reference because Gatsby is like David Belasco, he has set up a scene for his life that is all fake and he is acting in, but everyone believes his set and story.

 

 

“I think the American dream for most people is just to survive.”The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald is a novel is based in the 1920s through the eyes of the narrator Nick Carraway.It’s a story told over one summer in new york city, Nick Carraway is a middle-aged man who has moved to New York to pursue a career in the bonds business and be a successor of the American dream.He moves in next door to the mysterious millionaire Gatsby and across the bay from his cousin Daisy.This draws him into their exciting world getting him caught up in their lifestyles.

 

Through the setting of West Egg, we see the idea of corruption in the American dream.

The valley of ashes represents the failure of the American dream through the novel.The valley of ashes is located between long island and new york city, it is an industrial area where the lower class live and work in the pursuit of the American dream.The people living there are struggling, Wilson who wants a better life for himself and Myrtle works hard every day in the belief of the dream and never realise that it is just that a dream, it is as if they cannot see it because of the ash. In chapter 2 we are introduced to the valley of ashes when Nick and Tom are on their way to the city, he describes it as “This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens” The valley of ashes is a “grotesque garden”  The ashes are symbolising death, piles of ash represent the failed American dream through the generations. Grotesque means ugly, repulsive or distorted.Fitzgerald is using the word grotesque to paint the picture of somewhere that is repulsive and a place people want to escape.The fantastic farm is referring to the people always working hard but always giving their work towards others and the ashes from long island and new york that get dumped at the valley of ashes are building up as quick as wheat is growing blocking them from the life outside of their soot and ash covered lives.Later in the book George Wilson is mentioned who is a character that lives in the valley of ashes, he goes there to kill Gatsby because he thought Gatsby had killed his wife.Nick references the ash heaps when he says “Wilson’s glazed eyes turned out to the ash heaps, where small grey clouds took on fantastic shape and scurried here and there in the faint dawn wind.” The reference ash heaps indicate to us that this is the end and also indicating to the reader that Wilson is looking at the failure of his hard work and reality has settled in and he can now see through the grey ashy pollution that has surrounded where he has lived for so long.Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to shows the failure of the American dream of the American Dream.The fact that the people who live there will never escape the cycle of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.It represents the social decay and the fact that there is no equality, it is about where you come from or who you know to pave your way to the top.The opportunities in the valley of ashes are low and we see the failure through the fact that the characters that live there work hard and are determined to pursue their dreams, however they will never live the dream because of social class and segregation.The American dream can also relate to the segregation that occurred to black people based on their skin colour and how it provided fewer opportunities for them and they had to live life a certain way due to the rich white people and the corruption.

West egg represents the corruption of the American dream.The people that live in West Egg have ‘new money’.Meaning they have worked their way up, but in most cases have earned their fortune illegally.Gatsby and Nick are two key characters that live in West Egg.They will never be equal, accepted or respected by those who are the upper class or born into it because they cheated the American dream.When Nick is describing west egg he says that “I lived at West Egg, the -well, the less fashionable of the two, through this is the most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them.”Even though the people who live west egg have mansions and throw the best parties they are still excluded from the upper class.It’s described as the less fashionable place of the two because these people aren’t respected how they should be considering the amount of money they have, even though these people are just as wealthy as the people who live in East Egg. The word superficial is alluding to the corruption of how the Gatsby or the people who live in West Egg have made their fortune.Superficial means something is appearing to be true or real until it is examined more closely.Gatsby appears to be a big mystery at the start of the novel, know one knows who he is or how he has earnt his fortune to throw these extravagent parties but as the novel progresses we learn that he has actually earnt his money through illegal business.Later in the story when Gatsby throws another party and Daisy and Tom attend Tom calls everyone ‘bootleggers’, he is referring to Gatsby and the people attending the party.” a lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers”