There always seems to be this loneliness when ever science is involved. Have we seen this in any of the other novels? Why does loneliness seem to be so apparent when science if involved? Just some things to think about.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Loneliness
It seems like after reading a large portion of the novel, loneliness appears to play a major role in the novel. The first time we see loneliness in the novel are the letters in the beginning. Walton's letters express is loneliness as his adventure get less appealing. Victor is separated from his family by his work. He spent most of his years in isolation away from everyone while he was in his lab. Then his friends and family begin to die, which does not help his situation. The last character that experiences loneliness is the monster. We have seen that he feels like his creator, Frankenstein, has left him alone in the world. He felt as if he was neglected and should have been raised like a child rather than thrown into the world.
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I like this topic, Matt. I'm surprised you came up with it!
ReplyDeleteHah, so I think that loneliness is extremely apparent in the other novels--especially in The Lost World. At first you experience loneliness when Malone is rejected from Gladys. He feels very alone, and the loneliness eventually pushes him to go on the journey with Challenger. Next, you see loneliness in Challenger. Not necessarily in his marital life, but as you mentioned, more in his scientific life. Science means so much more to him than any person in his life, and thus puts it first in front of everything else. Because of this, he finds himself alone in the belief that there is an entire world separate from ours, that contains creatures and prehistoric organisms. No one believes him--leaving him ALONE with his theories and discoveries.
I think it's sad that we see loneliness so much whenever science is concerned, but I think after the loneliness comes realization. The person who experiences the loneliness is always the person who first has the epiphany, or first has the scientific discovery. Later comes praise and realization from the society and people who were not there initially.
Loneliness is a sacrifice you need to take in order to move on to the next scientific level. I think it takes a true scientist--or really just a truly genuine person--to allow themself to be the individual to experience the criticism of everyone else. Everyone is a critic, but who is going to be the hero in the end?
I agree that loneliness seems to be present in the novel, however I dont know if it is necessarily linked to science. While Frankenstein does seem to shut himself off from the rest of society in order to pursue scientific endeavors, I dont think this is normally the effect science has. While loneliness can enhance the scientific process, like Cara-Joy mentioned, I think science is enhanced even more when people are brought together. Though great minds of science are often alone in their power, I think science itself brings people together who are interested in achieving the same goal. Some scientific discoveries have actually come from the combined work of multiple people, such as Watson and Crick who discovered the structure of DNA. We tend to put the great minds of science on a pedestal, seeing them as alone in their greatness. Because of this we also tend to leave out the "little people" who make scientific discoveries possible.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting points guys. I agree with everyone in a way. Let me explain...
ReplyDeleteIn The Calcutta Chromosome, there are many story lines. I will talk about two. The first involves Antar and his computer Eva. In this plot, Antar works continuously and is always by himself in a dark room. He cancels his plans to socialize with others in an attempt to finish his work. In this story line, it seems as if Antar has nothing but loneliness in his life: dark, scientific loneliness. So for this storyline, I must agree with Matt and Cara-Joy. One can assume that loneliness is the only way Antar can make money and move his life forward.
The second storyline involves Murugan, Sonali, Urmila, and Romen. Now this plot is very different from the previous, and I will agree with Conor for this one. Recall that Murugan spends months searching for any information on Ross and Cunningham before coming across Sonali. As soon as he teams up with her, he gains valuable information regarding Cunningham. From the information she gives him, Murugan's theories about Cunningham's whereabouts are soon confirmed. Also, Murugan gives valuable information to Sonali about Lutchman and Romen. Not long after the two meet, their scientific adventure comes to an end. Thus, because both Murugan and Sonali combined their knowledge, they were able to complete their scientific journeys without being lonely. This also goes along with what Conor said about the "little people" that make discoveries possible.
So all in all, loneliness can sometimes come from science and scientists, but that does not always have to be the case.
• Great Minds of Science viewed as lonely
ReplyDelete• Solitude stunts scientific innovation
• Science brings people together
• "Little people" of science
~Science developing its own culture
ReplyDelete~~language
~~sets of skills
~~Social interactions (or lack there of)
~Science itself causes disconnect with the rest of the society, isolating the scientists.
http://www.semisober.com/bars/oddgood.gif
Title: Not so lonely (or whatever, I cant think of a good title haha)
ReplyDeleteDQ: Does solitude enhance or hinder scientific innovation?
Pic: http://pippastephens.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/watson-and-crick-the-founders-of-dna.jpg