Using Gothic Characteristics to Portray the Theme of Knowledge Essay

Using Gothic Characteristics to Portray the Theme of Knowledge in Ameri washstand Gargoyles, insurgent Mnemonic, Frankenstein, Good Country People, and Cyberpunk Gothic books has been interpreted, and even criticized by many people as yet beingness scary stories. They feel the beginnings only purpose for using gloomy settings and wild characters is to horrify the reader. This however is rarely true of Gothic literature, instead an author will use these characteristics to portray a deeper purpose rather than to conscionable scare the reader. This is true of all genres of black letter literature including classical, southern, and cyber literature. One radical that has been prevalent throughout gothic history is that of knowledge. Several authors have apply gothic tendencies to convey the idea that too much knowledge can be dangerous. They use these characteristics to warn the reader that knowledge is not forever and a day good. Classical gothic literature, developed in the l ate eighteenth century, was almost likely first concepted by Horace Walpoles The Castle of Otranto. Dark, dreary settings and frightening monsters a great deal characterize the style of this category of literature. Mary Shelley, a classical gothic writer, has used these characteristics in her novel Frankenstein. In her novel Victor Frankenstein composes a creature that has all the potentialities of a child because it knows nothing. But this creature is distant from looking anything like a child. The monster, created from different body parts, is grotesque, he has yellow-bellied skin that barely covers his muscles, long black hair and is very large. However, just as a child, he begins to learn, through experiences and especially by adaptation several books. This new knowledge he has learned has a catastrophic ... ... situations to warn or horrify the reader about a deeper theme. The little alarm felt by the reader as he/she reads the story mimics the terror another character is feeling in dealing with this hidden theme. Authors oftentimes use these tendencies to portray their ideas on current social conditions in nightspot to warn the reader. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Flannery OConnor. parvenu York Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Di Renzo, Anthony. American Gargoyles. Carbondale Southern Illinois University Press, 1993. Gibson, William. Johnny Mnemonic. 5 April 2000 . Levine, George. The Endurance of Frankenstein. Los Angeles University of California Press, 1979. OConnor, Flannery. Good Country People. 5 Apr. 2000 . Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein. New York Dover Publications, Inc, 1994. The Cyberpunk Project. Christian Kirtchev. 3 Apr. 2000. 10 Apr. 2000 .