How Shelley and Fowles Present the Socially Excluded Essay

How Shelley and Fowles Present the Socially Excluded Men are numbered among beasts who renounce society, whereby they are destitute of laws and the ordination of civility. Hence this ensures that men, in creation are best, but when averse to justice and the law, are the worst of all creatures. (p.36 intro The Tempest by William Shakespeare, edited by Frank Kermode 1961) For the purpose of this essay, I shall focus my comparison on Victor and Clegg and analyse the language they use. I will also explore the form and structure used and give a personal response which will include some commentary about the novels in terms of their social/historical and literary contexts. Peoples behaviour in social roles makes possible the†¦show more content†¦Similarly, Clegg has excluded himself from within society, but at the same time, he is part of society. We know he stalks then kidnaps Miranda and eventually she dies, but Cleggs existence, unlike Victors, is cyclical and the whole process starts again when he returns to Woolworths. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Fowles cleverly alludes to Shakespeares The Tempest and uses Clegg as a Caliban-type figure. An isolated figure who metaphorically is as gross as Victors monster, a monster who is malicious because he is miserable p.141 Hes miserable not just because he is a product of modern society but because he is unable or incapable of properly integrating in society or with Miranda and therefore excludes himself, but like Victor, he does operate within society. However, both novels are linked to the same gothic genre in the sense that both texts focus on the suffering of an individual (p.78 Abrams, Literary Terms) that is, Miranda suffers because of Cleggs actions and the monster suffers (due to his ugliness) as a creation of Victor. Shelleys novel is sensationalised by the fact that Victor can build a man, and from a supernatural point of view, he actually raises the dead by using a flash of lightning p.73 although this is achieved by Victor applying his extended knowledge of science something unheard of in the early 19th century. So the principal aim of such gothic texts is to evoke a chilling terror in the reader by