Imprisonment in the Novel Frankenstein and Heart of Darkness - Essay Example

Imprisonment in Frankenstein and Heart of Darkness The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley paints the societal afflictions and the effects that the afflictions bring to the characters. In her novel, she writes about human treatment in the society. The novel uses its characters to paint disparity that exist in the society due to education and the use of technology. The novel paints characters that are imprisoned in the society and their struggle. The victims in the novel feel the brunt of alienation and imprisonment, yet they are innocent. Sometimes issues in the society became intricate leading to a change of lifestyle. The imprisonment of characters in the novel does not only occur in the way the characters think, but in the way, the characters behave. Deprivation of the common needs and wants in the society leads to imprisonment. The life of a character ceases to be free when life is founded on debts. Debt enslaves because it deny a person the freedom of will. It is difficult for a person to make a comprehensive life plan when debts control the choices that he has to make. The novel portrays the limitation of human capacity and the effects of these limitations to the society. Science and technology in the novel have some limits in their provision for human needs. The outsiders in the novel lead a life that is quite different from the lives of the natives. The feeling of superiority by the natives against the outsiders promotes imprisonment of characters. Victor, the main character in the novel imprisons women in his views and ideology. He argues that women are weak and have to depend on men to live. The aim of this paper is to analyze the theme of imprisonment in the novel. Characters in the novel live in a society that believes in hierarchy. The practice confines the characters and imprisons the will. The characters in the novel find it difficult to lead a life of imprisonment. Victor argues that he has to put his will a side to endure the difficulties associated with the studies in the laboratory. He has imprisoned his life in the laboratory. He has to stay for long hours in the laboratory leading a life of solitude. The studies exhort the brain and at some point, a person would feel like aborting the whole process, but the will is confined to pursue the interest in the books (Shelly 32). Victor complains about the hostility of the life he led. He did not find anything pleasurable in life. He says that solitude is his consolation. This portrays how he has been imprisoned in the society. His choice of solitude lifestyle is appalling and it leads to several questions about the meaning of life. Victor’s father encouraged him not to give up. The father observes the pain that comes because of his imprisonment and reminds him that he too is leading a similar life, full of pain and misery, yet he has never given up. The torture of the mind imprisons the character. Victors could only answer his father through his look of despair and by hiding himself from his views, which were good anyway. Victor is against the opinion that he should imprison his will under the guise that it was the provision in the society. From his argument, he felt that he had a duty to perform in order to come out of this imprisonment. Victor is literally imprisoned when the authorities held him accountable for the death of his best friend Henry Clerval. The prison cell deprived him the freedom of movement and association. He had to stay in confined rooms against the will of the mind. The essentiality of freedom to human beings could be found in his statement to his father. He bitterly detests the life that he had to lead. Victor says that communication through media does not satisfy his enthusiasm. He points out that it would be fair if he engaged in literal exchange of words with a friend. He could only achieve his quest for freedom if he had a chance to come out prison. The long journeys in the novel portray the imprisonment of the mind and life of solitude. During the long journey, Walton is metaphorically in prison because the life in the sea does not give him a chance to move freely and associate with people. The sea life is lonely and the billows of the sea portray the gloom in his life. He remarks that the long journeys were difficult because of the loneliness in them. He admits that the blinding journey in the sea threatened his life. His ambitions imprisoned him because of the tough choices that he had to make in life. The search for glory and fortune in life may imprison the mind and the body. He had to endure the perilous time in the sea, yet it turned out to be unfruitful journey. Victor spent his time to develop a monster that threatened to ruin his life. His attempt to come out life imprisonment proves difficult because he could not resist the inevitable move by the monster. Victor had spent his time creating the monster, which later devoured his relatives. He wonders how the creature that he created would metaphorically imprison his life. He did not have the ability to protect his relatives from the monster. He regrets the death of the intended bride, Elizabeth (Shelly 117). He states that he thought he would enjoy life with his bride on the bridal bed. His regret comes as an after thought to the dreadful event. The guilt that sweeps the life of Victor adds more gloom to his imprisoned life. He does not want the society to know the creator of the monster that has claimed the lives of so many people. The fear of social ostracism made Victor hunt the monster in order to destroy it. He knew that by killing the monster he would find the freedom of the mind. The society would not judge victor kindly if it discovered that victor was the brainchild of the devouring monster. His conscience convicts him of the crime that the monster has done to the society. In one way or the other victor is responsible for the death. His actions haunted him necessitating the action he took in order to be free from the guilt. The family tie influences the theme of imprisonment in the novel. Victor stated that he had to look for the destroyer of his family. When victor knelt at the graveyard of his family, the only strength he had came from the urge to pursue the destroyer. He knew that he had no freedom as long as the monster was a life. He remarks by saying that he will preserve his life in order to avenge the life of his family. Victor’s death relieves him from his imprisonment. The imprisonment in the Heart of Darkness is portrayed through an environment that is desolate. The civilization of Kurtz is metaphorical prison since he yearns to lead a life that is free from the ideals in the society. Kurtz feels that the ideals in his society imprison the mind and the actions. He has to live according to the ideals of face the consequences of his actions. He decides to isolate himself from his society by moving to Congo. Societal ideals and norms influence the lives of characters in the heart of darkness. The main character in the novel, Kurtz leaves his home because of the strict cultural values to look for freedom. He feels that the law of the land would imprison him because of acting otherwise. He knew that the consequences of acting against the law lead to literal imprisonment of the character. His journey into the interior part of Africa is characterized by loneliness of the soul. He claims that he is motivated to look for freedom, but he has to endure a metaphorical prison because he does not have his people. Kurtz had been a follower of a ruling party while living in England. A follower of a party is imprisoned by the principles of the party. The follower is under the culture of the party and the fear of consequences that would result from violation of party rules imprisons the soul and mind. a person has to act according to the norms of the party. When Kurtz moved to Congo, he finds freedom, which he had been yearning while in England. The natives of Congo gave him power and authority to live among them. He uses the power he got from his freedom to expand his grip in Congo. Freedom can sometimes change the attitude of character. Kurtz decided to develop a rule in Congo hampering the freedom of the natives. He imprisoned the natives metaphorically by initiated a rule that influenced the actions of the natives. On the other hand, he imprisoned the natives literally by providing a harsh treatment to traitors who went against his rules (Conrad 277). Greed for power could imprison the soul to act in manner that the society does not expect. The actions of Kurtz indicated the extent to which greed for power would influence human actions. The quest for power has imprisoned his soul. Disparity of the characters in the novel promotes the theme of imprisonment in the novel. When Kurtz set his rule in Congo, he introduces class in his rule. Some classes of people in the society seem to have freedom than others. Classism imprisons the society metaphorically since it impairs the freedom of interaction freely. Largely, the society in the novel believed in the cultural values. These values would dictate the choices that the characters made. Since the societal norms dictate the action of the people, the people are under the obligation of the society. When Marlow comes for Kurtz in Congo, Kurtz is not ready to go back to England under face the same rules that he had escaped. He knew that by going back to England he would be subjected to the same rules that imprison the mind and the soul. In conclusion, the novel Frankenstein and Heart of Darkness portray the theme of imprisonment of characters through the rules in the society that dictated the actions of the character. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses the major character Victor to point out the theme of imprisonment. On the other hand, Heart of Darkness uses Kurtz to point out how quest for power and freedom can imprison the victims. In both novels, people would to risk their lives in order to look for freedom. Work cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. SAT Words from literature. Delaware: Prestwick House Inc. 265-300. Print. Shelley, Mary, Frankenstein. Amazon: ReadHowYouWant.com. 2009. 300-328. Print. ---. Frankenstein: Reader. Berlin: Cornelsen Verlag GmbH. 2008. 2-40, 100-200. Print. Read More