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Kantonsschule Enge Rahel Rüegg, W4i

The Composition of Short Stories Based

on the Legacy of Influential Writers

by

Rahel Rüegg – W4i

Matura Paper – Kantonsschule Enge

December, 2018

Advisor: Michael Aeschbach


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Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... II

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ III

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. IV

OSCAR WILDE: DIVERSE WRITINGS ............................................................ 1

THE ANATOMY OF A SELF-ESTABLISHED PHILANTHROPIST ............................................................... 2

AN EXAMINATION OF A BRITISH DANDY (TEXT) .............................................................................. 10

JACK KEROUAC: ON THE ROAD ................................................................. 35

PICK YOUR POISON ............................................................................................................................ 36

A BEAT PERCEPTION OF JACK KEROUAC (TEXT) .............................................................................. 40

MARY SHELLEY: FRANKENSTEIN ............................................................. 55

THE PRECIPICE OF LIFE ...................................................................................................................... 56

SALVAGING THE CORPSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (TEXT) ........................................................................ 62

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 81

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ 83

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 84


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Abstract

The goal of this Matura paper is to convey the value of influential authors to future generations.

Their significance is emphasized by creating a connection between the theoretical literary

knowledge acquired by reading classic literature and its practical implementation into short

stories; classics have been read and short literary texts have been written based on them. This

connection was made by considering the autobiographical influence, writing style and promi-

nent literary themes of authors within their work and consequently implementing this infor-

mation into personal literary texts.

The information on the three authors chosen (Oscar Wilde, Jack Kerouac, Mary Shelley) sug-

gests that they all took part in counterculture movements and presented revolutionary beliefs in

their work as a result of the suppression of thought by societal pressure. These influential move-

ments fought against strict and conservative social conventions, conformity and the threatening

suppression of thought in their respective period. This phenomenon of rigid social conformity

and pressure is enforced on people in an endless cycle and therefore each revolutionary move-

ment continues to be succeeded by another to counteract this cycle.

By making a connection between the theoretical and the practical, this paper emphasizes the

significance and necessity of influential authors of the past and the significant qualities of their

works in our day and age. Timeless qualities, which society and the individual will always be

able to profit from. Not only does one improve one’s writing by reading classic literary works

but one also learns lifelong lessons which aid the development of character, empathy, and in-

tellect in any time period. Future generations can still implement these vital lessons into their

own lives and writing as these significant classic literary works and the literary movements they

belonged to will always find a place in modern society and culture.


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Introduction

For my Matura paper, I first read and dealt with the works of influential writers whose ways

of writing I then went on to imitate and adapt into three short stories of my own making.

These are then followed by an analysis in which I explain my approach and justify the short

story’s likeness to the author’s style which I intended to mimic.

The influential writers I chose are Oscar Wilde, Jack Kerouac and Mary Shelley who have

earned their place as acclaimed classic writers and who were part of revolutionary literary

movements which changed how we behold and compose literature today. They and their work

have indeed become classic literary giants.

Classic literature is considered timeless and therefore does not age as it continues not only to

arouse our attention on important matters, which will always be of significance, and to pre-

serve mindsets of past generations but to also influence future authors and the modern percep-

tion of literature. Therefore classics have proved their significance over and over throughout

the time of man and will always have a place in society.

Regarding Oscar Wilde, a famously coined Dandy and representative of Aestheticism, I read

several of his works; critical essays, short stories, novels, and societal plays. These works are

“The Picture of Dorian Gray”, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, “Lady Windermere’s Fan”

and “The Truth of Masks”. I integrated my subsequent reading experience into my short story

“The Self-Established Philanthropist”.

The short story “Pick your Poison” is based on Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” which has been

critically acclaimed as one of the central representatives of the Beat Generation.

I concluded with Mary Shelley, one of the founders of Romanticism, as I wrote “The Preci-

pice of Life” based on her first novel “Frankenstein”.

Having read and examined these works, I did research on the chosen authors and their period-

ical context. This provided me with the necessary insight to understand the themes targeted by

each author, to broaden my knowledge of the authors and to indulge in their interesting lives.


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This resulted in the writing of my own short stories, in which I mimicked the authors’ writing

styles and literary themes within their books.

Further on, I wrote an accompanying text, an analysis, describing my approach to each story

and my insights into the respective authors and their work. All accompanying texts can be

read separately and serve the goal of elaborating on and visualizing my practical approach to

reading and working with classic literature and of conveying to the reader the importance of

each respective author to society and the individual. This emphasis ought to inspire the un-

willing to read more and learn from the things they have read. Perhaps they will understand

that there is so much more behind a book and its letters than just mere literal words. Natu-

rally, I hope that my own stories will also provide the reader with the joy reading a good text

can offer.

The goal of this project in its entirety is to revive, strengthen and most importantly maintain

the importance of classic literature in modern society as adolescents have begun to read less. I

pursued this goal by creating a connection between the acquisition of theoretical knowledge

through the examination of classic literature and its practical use through the composition of

short stories. This approach should demonstrate that theoretical knowledge can indeed still be

put to use and reading can be rewarding.

This whole endeavor did not only serve to demonstrate the significance of reading to the

younger generations, but also served as a path of self-education. By making use of the

knowledge myself, I prove my claim that one can indeed still learn from classic literary

works.


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2018

Oscar Wilde: Diverse Writings AN EXAMINATION OF A BRITISH DANDY


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The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philanthropist

What One Ought to Agree With

It was a refreshing day in spring. Everything was in full bloom as it should be. Nature’s potential

was awakening anew and it would soon fade to give way to a more tedious season whose sole

purpose was to rally hordes drenched in their own sweat, not for the purpose of rejoicing over

their surroundings and debating forms of art but to spend their days wallowing in the sun, com-

plaining about its heat and cursing the universe and all they know for laying such misery upon

them.

But for now, everything was well. The general public was nowhere to be seen, spring was not

for all. Presently one could in lieu behold a few individuals who considered themselves the

most tragic of sorts among the whole of mankind. In their mind, they were considered to be the

true victims of their circumstance. These self-proclaimed tragic heroes, merely in spring, spent

their time lying in the grass of a peaceful park which would be enclosed by a tall fence for

evermore. Tall it might be but its true height would remain unknown. Certainly sizeable enough

that the park's inhabitants could not see what lay beyond it.

The safe haven was guarded by a sizeable gate at the entrance of the paradise accompanied by

a miniscule gate cabin, which was a blemish to the beautiful and pristine it was set out to guard.

A man sat in the crammed blotch and was drowning in his own sweat as he slowly began to

develop back pains which would haunt him and cause hardships for years to come. His dog, his

true companion amidst the good and the bad, vigilantly remained next to him. A mirror image

of his owner, who was good spirited, enjoyed laughing heartily and possessed a good sense of

humor if one would have only bothered to talk to him.

This private heaven was hidden and apart from the world. It surely was a sight for the inspired

aesthete who enjoyed the simple beauty of the young and optimistic lounging in the blooming

meadow, as the over looming gates stood strong and steadily surrounding them.

Amongst this heavenly apparition, beneath the beautiful white blossoms of a cherry tree as birds

sang their song, a young boy lay, his face pristine and untouched by any sense of sorrow or

concern. There he lay and continued to as his blond hair curled around his head and fell into

place on his forehead just as they ought to. He had been given the guise of an angel. A boy who

was blessed by God to have the fair and amiable countenance he had been given at birth.


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Seemingly at peace, his demeanor did not give any indication of the utmost inner turmoil which

was taking place within him. He had just gathered it around the corner a few hours before, it

had left him restless.

The young gentleman had been on his daily afternoon stroll when he suddenly perceived a voice

lecturing and teaching, the precise words he had sought to find. It enticed him and now Oh what

sudden agony it caused him to feel, as he lay there in remembrance of the agony and jolt he had

felt in the moment of his enlightenment which would become the juncture of his life. What had

not been felt before was felt now. He was shaken to the core and could not think of anything

but the words which seemed to have been intended for solely him. They had pierced into the

deepest parts of his soul.

His thoughts came to a halt as they were disturbed by a thump against the stem of the tree which

he sat under. A number of white blooms and their petals scattered on the dirt.

The words he had heard spoke of the unfortunate who longed for a savior, aid and the healing

they were so desperately in need of. They lectured the listeners about the righteousness, validity

and inherent goodness of the words spoken by them and the remaining parts of the speech

appeared to the young boy of negligible importance.

Thump, another disturbance, as some creature plummeted onto the ground surrounded by the

fragile and white cherry blossoms, which were now embellished with red specks.

How could he ever return to being the person he once was when he knew others were in suffer-

ing? Could one not simply give relief to the ones in need? His emotions were in turmoil. He

contemplated his delicate hands. They were trembling.

"How curious," he thought to himself "how incredibly interesting, how delightful."

A bird had stumbled and fallen from the heavens. Its plumage once white and without fault was

now speckled by the poor creature’s blood as it lay in a field of sullied petals.

It was writhing, attempting to get up, shrieking appallingly for help and relief from its agony,

its face a picture of despair as it barely held onto life.

He was lying there, in deep contemplation, intrigued. His eyes had wandered to the dying crea-

ture next to him. His attention was now divided.

“Is this perhaps suffering? Does misfortune resemble this?” His thoughts swirled inside his

mind and were proclaimed urgently as they always were. “It demands to be felt. And so, I will

take this burden upon myself and embrace it with all my being.” he concluded clutching his

aching breast.

Two times the birds flailing could be heard echoing across the park. Its wings convulsively

hitting the ground, its feet caught up in spasmed movements.


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As it may be, the young gentleman would perchance get up and help the poor creature.

Perhaps next time he thought to himself since his feet were sore from a day spent standing up

speaking to his fellow comrades and taking walks around the park. Life revealed itself to be

quite tiring at times. One must not over exhaust oneself.

More wriggling and cracking of twigs could be heard. The petals swirled around in the air, dust

was lifted up into the air by the erratic motions of the desperate creature. Time and eventually

eerie quiet followed. The bird had seized to move.

Would he dare to stand up and take yet another stroll? His limbs were animated by excitement

and begged him to take action. Perhaps later, he would wait and see in what mood he found

himself to be. One should not act if one was not in the mood or if taking action would reveal

itself to be inconvenient.

“What a pity!” he exclaimed mournfully, "The bird was truly a sight! I fear my soul shall be

lost forever.”

He let out a sigh. What a display it had been. A shame that good things never did last long.

His thoughts wandered to his personal suffering once again. It consumed all of his attention as

it already had before the inconvenient disturbance. He contemplated shedding a tear to highlight

his melancholy but decided against it. Perhaps another time. Tears are to be shed sparingly. The

economizing of a young gentleman's assets was of the highest importance.

The white cherry blossoms continued to fall as the dust settled. The fences were high, the gate

was well-guarded. The boys were lying under the trees wallowing in their emotion.

All went on as it had before.

µ Another rather distressed young boy was lying on a bench within the park and seemed to have

gotten little sleep to none. His thoughts had left him restless, all night to be precise, and the

fiddling around with his personal memorabilia which he carried around with did give him peace.

He had his shirt carelessly tucked into his trousers. It was seemingly worn with open patches

he had cut out himself. A carefully placed cigarette found itself behind his ear, which served to

give him a tough look, a signature style which he thought to belong only to himself.

The distressed rebel had taken due care to make all his peers notice that he did not want to be

approached by taking up the whole bench with his long and lanky legs stretched out on its

surface and his purposefully shabby bag.

The sun was about to set as the young gentleman entered the scene. Hair ruffled, clothes in

disorder but coordinated in a superficially beautiful manner which could only have been


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intended to surround himself with an air of unintended charm. The general opinion enjoyed

effortless beauty, encouraged it and it was implied that it was expected. Thus it was a sin to be

vain and not artificially humble, it was looked down upon by all who were of any importance.

Unintentional had become the new intentional.

Breathless, arms slumping at his side, the young gentleman placed himself in front of the rebel

who was leisurely sitting on a bench and extended his limbs even more at the appearance of his

acquaintance. The rebel shifted slightly in his wake, indifferently hinting at a nod of recognition.

He made no change to his expression, keeping it blank in front of the present company.

Taking a deep breath and recognizing the nod as an invitation to voice his thoughts, the young

gentleman began to speak to the rebel with pure joy and excitement, shifting his weight from

one leg to the other, restless.

“Oh, my dear friend you cannot imagine what a breakthrough I have come about. I came to the

conclusion that I will help the unfortunate in need and relieve them from their burdens.”

These words he spat out so swiftly he had to take a breath as he waited for the occupant of the

bench to acknowledge his words before he would proceed. Another nod. The young gentleman

continued, his voice exceedingly more excited.

“As you surely care to know, I came to the revolutionary conclusion as I wandered into a lecture

of another. I perceived a voice which persuaded me to heed it. Truly exquisite! Oh, how full of

confidence and wonder it was, my dear friend. It was preaching of the suffering of our own

kind in poverty, our fellow brethren in such frivolous positions. Can you believe it? But I di-

gress. What exactly the voice said I cannot recall but it made my suffering as clear as day to

me. How I could not have seen! It is absurd to me. My fortune will not turn and I will not rest

until there is no evil anymore in this world. Down with the rich and up with the poor, can there

be anything as true as this? Do you not agree? Silly of me to ask, of course you do. It is common

logic but at the same time, it appears to me as if I am the only one enlightened by it. What a

curse to carry such wisdom and knowledge, to have to bear the duty to impose it on others,

peacefully and if necessary forcefully!”

As his voice carried him, he seemed to ramble with no direction or goal, with a conviction only

one convinced of an idea which is not truly their own would be.

The fatigued rebel’s hand shook and he intuitively reached for the cigarette which he had placed

behind his ear, clutching it in his hand.

“My dearest friend, tell me you agree, you must. Tell me what you feel and I will tell you how

you ought to.” The young gentleman ceased his monologue to gasp for air. His dearest friend

raised his eyes to face the other. Contemplating his manner intensely, his undivided attention


6

was directed at the ecstatic amiable young man in front of him. He scoffed and started, derision

dripping from his speech.

“Settle down and refrain from calling me a friend when I am merely an acquaintance. Restrain

yourself to propriety. Supposedly you want to help the poor. What do you suggest? What can

be done to remedy a fact of life that some will always be subjected to? In the light of this, how

can one even try to act on anything at all? Enjoy what you always have and always will, follow

your own voice and intentions. Do not pretend to be a mere shadow of a quotation, it is senseless.

As Kant said…"

The rebel paused, confounded for a moment searching for the right words to say. His memory

had failed him. He grabbed for his bag, rummaging through his collection of items that were of

no importance to him. He pulled out a notebook, opening the exact page he sought out all while

signaling his acquaintance to hold his breath. Finger pointed at a quotation in his little black

booklet which he had filled with the knowledge of another, the rebel began to proclaim still

holding his cigarette which had shifted into his left hand.

“As Kant said...” A few coughs were spared to gain his amiable acquaintance’s attention who

had ceased to listen to him, his cherub head far away in the clouds.

“There are two sorts of people in this world. The ones who pretend to know everything and

cannot see past their own reflection and the others who behold all and say and do not pretend

to know a thing." Clear and firm the rebel spoke the words with all the conviction he possessed.

No attention was paid to him, but having uttered the citation he was pleased with himself and

tucked away his book. He took his time to take out a gold lighter, engraved on it was his father’s

birthday congratulations, to light his cigarette. A deep drag was taken and the rebel continued,

his satisfaction lingering, his nerves calmed.

“As I have demonstrated precisely with the wise words once uttered by Kant in one way or

another, you are wrong. Your actions are of no use and of no matter. The poor stay poor. That

is the way of life. You suggest nothing to remedy it, therefore your speech means nothing.”

“But my dear friend, a simple solution can be found, as they can always be for simple problems

such as poverty. Make it illegal to be poor! How dreadful it is to see them be so melancholic

the whole time. Make it forbidden and one should never see such a thing again. To remedy it

once can consider redistributing the wealth. The rich will have their share and the poor theirs!

Now I know, my dear friend! All shall bathe in champagne and admire nature thereafter. That

is all the action that has to be taken. And so it will be. It is as simple as that.”

The young rebel’s voice was becoming agitated the more nonsense his acquaintance uttered.


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“But it is not that simple. At the same time as it is as easy as that, it is as difficult as that. Your

head is high up in the clouds that you do not notice that by helping all you are dooming all of

us. Propose a solution and I will deem to listen to it. Under the condition that it is practical,

agreeable, convenient and first and foremost holds my interests and opinions in the highest

regard."

The handsome face of the young gentleman snapped back into consciousness at the closure of

his friend’s speech. He grabbed him by the shoulder with the familiarity of a friend and ex-

claimed. "Oh, my friend. How glad I am that you agree with me!"

An insult was uttered, a head disappointedly shaken and the young gentleman stormed off again

leaving the rebel to his solitary contemplations.

µ A beautiful night, the sun had just begun to set as a group of gentlemen who held themselves

in high importance entered a pub to mingle with commoners.

The building was run down, the façade, which consisted of oak wood, was chipped and worn

out in many places due to its fierce resistance against the weather and its natural decay. It pos-

sessed character, if one cared enough to listen, its walls would tell one about the events that had

taken place inside. The horrors, the victories it had observed in time as it had stood in the place

it had always stood in. Surrounding it were the trees which remained strong and steady just as

the pub itself. Young gentlemen come and go but they took a stand against the stream of time.

Death may devour the living but some resist the inevitable decay. And that was a truth.

On this night the pub saw the group of young’uns enter, the bright-faced young gentleman

among them. They beheld its crumbling walls and floors which creaked at every step they took

before they took a seat. A shudder went through them as they sat there, what an unfamiliar

atmosphere.

All of the people sat in silence but the young gentleman who spoke up. Intently they all listened

to him, one looking like the other, all dressed in blue dress jackets, yellow vests and high cut

boots; an ensemble which represented the latest fashion. Being able to know one from another

was a feat. Occasionally one of them would utter an "Oh, how delightful.” and would continue

to listen to every single word he said. Their faces filled with emotion ranging from love to

happy melancholy as the speaker went on. They nodded to show their comprehension. A few

of them bore tears of joy which were wiped away with haste.


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The speaker’s polished face was bright, excited as words flew from his mouth before he could

comprehend the weight they carried. Full of passion the young gentleman grabbed another copy

of a philosopher’s work and started quoting and praising him. No other uttered a word, they

were now completely transfixed by the angel’s voice. Overwhelmed by his self-incited passion

for the scholar and the lecture he had heard that afternoon he raised himself onto the table and

commanded his friends. “My fellow gentlemen, rise and listen.”

As he went on talking, his face turned red from excitement and his countenance lit up with

pleasure. He noted adoring looks from his fellow mates that surrounded him which only en-

couraged him more in his position as an illuminating force. Soon people from the streets

streamed in, a company formed around him. All were clothed in the blue dress jackets and

yellow vests so that within the hour he was surrounded by a circle of blue mixed with yellow.

An ocean of blue, his blonde head and beautiful face rising up at its center. An ocean of adora-

tion.

A wave of pride and happiness overcame him over and over again as he indulged in the crowd's

attention. But all of this was overshadowed by a black speck in the corner of the humble abode

they all found themselves in. The publican, his face aged and sunken, a glint of hidden intelli-

gence in his eyes, averted his gaze from the crowds and kept himself busy cleaning the beer

glasses the cascade of blue had left for him to take care of. The words of the young gentleman

left him unaffected.

Who could this man be that he was not enticed and overcome with joy when faced with the

words the young gentleman had constructed out of nothing? He ceased to speak to address the

elder. Silence followed. The crowd’s gaze followed the young gentleman's to the publican. The

attention had not shifted one bit from the angelic countenance.

“What troubles you, old man? The truth I preach ought to reach into your heart and enlighten

you as it does my friends.” He inquired as gestured to the ocean of faces around him. The old

man's lips curled into a small smile as he continued his work mute. If one has seen as many

crowds as he has, one learns to use words sparsely when faced with a crowd which does not

share one’s opinion. One which cannot be dissuaded by anybody as their mind is set on only

believing their own words as they intoxicated themselves with them. The elder did not deem

them worthy of a reply. Convinced that the old man must be turning senile, just as the facade of the building was crum-

bling, the publican’s brain ought to follow, the young gentleman led the crowd out onto the


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streets as they kept yodeling and screaming his name. They left nothing but destruction to the

house that had seen many enter and leave. Duties had to be taken care of. The young gentleman had the responsibility of enlightening and

educating his fellow men. The movement had to be taken to the streets. As crowds come and go, the ancient and wise stand strong and steady in the passing stream of

time. And so the crowd went after the young gentleman into the stone paved streets. From the

street, voices echoed and the crowd rejoiced in the young man's words which could only re-

semble the words of an angel sent from the heaven above. “What an amiable young gentleman! His countenance is so agreeable and the manner in which

he speaks. Oh, it is simply wonderful!”

µ It was a refreshing day in spring. Everything in full bloom as it should be. One could observe

the adolescents blessed with an amiable and agreeable appearance and voice which moves the

masses lie underneath the white and pristine cherry blossom trees. They were stretched out in

peace, plagued by an underlying sense of injustice which caused them minimal discomfort but

nevertheless left them restless and in contemplation. One could hear sudden bursts of emotion

at times when they would get up and say “How horrendous this world is. I must act.” And then

they would take up their seat once again underneath the blue skies.

And so there they remained for as long as they felt right and after the season of spring passed

them by one could find them in their upstate homes yet again due to the horrendous heat in

summer. Sweat must be shed sparingly and it just made one so disagreeable.

The park’s walls still stood tall, casting a shadow on the select few who did not dare to move a

limb. Not any whims of nature could move them from their designated place.

The old tavern still remained, strong and firm. It withstood all. It saw students and young gen-

tlemen enter and leave as it always has and will. The façade was chipped and worn. The old

publican stood behind his familiar bar and environment, nodding and smiling at the crowds as

he always did. He knew that words could not change somebody’s mind who did not want to be

changed so he kept nodding and smiling as he did.

Nothing would topple the establishment, marked by time, unless progress decided to break it

down. Its charm increased by the year as the tree's roots deepened themselves in the ground.

Years passed. All went on as it had. All remained the same.


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An Examination of a British Dandy (Text)

Oscar Wilde's works are considered classics to this day and he has earned his place as an ac-

claimed writer in the field of literature. This is due to his distinctive way of writing which sets

him apart and having written pieces which we still laugh and relate to today.

He is known for societal plays such as “The Importance of Being Earnest”, the one and only

novel he wrote, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, many essays and poems and even ventured to

write fairy tales for his children. He was a many-faceted man who wrote in all of these forms

of text with his signature writing style and a proficiency of the English language, which still to

this day awes many. His work is his legacy and he has plenty to show.

And even though his literary work is widely acclaimed today and he was well known in the

Victorian era, his reputation as a dandy, his glamorous life in the London upper-class and his

subsequent downfall have come to be what he is mainly remembered for.

Having read parts of Oscar Wilde’s work, I introduced his writing style and my acquired

knowledge of his work in my own short story called “The Anatomy of a Self-Established

Philanthropist” to profit from Wilde’s legacy myself. The short story is my way of implement-

ing my theoretical knowledge of Wilde’s writing into the practical. I have attempted to channel

the inspiration he has given me into a wit and ingenuity of my own, both attributes Wilde highly

valued.

Approach to Writing:

The first step was to read Oscar Wilde's works to familiarize myself with his writing style,

vocabulary and literary themes which I was to adopt into my own short story.

The texts I read were very different from one another: one essay, then a novel, and two plays.

Those works being “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (novel), “The Importance of Being Earnest”

(play), “Lady Windermere's Fan” (play) and “The Truth of Masks” (essay).

They all showcase his writing style over a wide range of texts. This way I was able to experience

his writing style in many forms and therefore received a good overview on Wilde’s style of

writing which I could then mimic.

An author’s work can carry strong autobiographical influences. This is why it is vital to under-

stand and be informed about an author’s life and historical context. Thus through acquiring


11

information about Wilde’s life I hoped to understand his work better and gain a broader under-

standing of the context of his work so that I could then imitate his style of writing more accu-

rately.

His childhood spent in Dublin, his education in Oxford and his later life in London among the

British elite, would come to influence his work and the common themes within it profoundly.

Next, I outlined the different scenes which made up my short story. I outlined the scenes in

their basic plot and purpose to plan and figure out how they would further my goal. The goal

was to create my own characters which conveyed the intentions of my story and make them the

focal point of the piece. These scenes would be relatively low on plot so the reader could solely

focus on the characters. This approach of focusing solely on the characters and thus delving

into their personality and nature had also been taken by Wilde in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”,

which I intended to imitate.

Additionally, their personalities should be exaggerated and stand out just like Wilde’s satirized

characters do. I approached the task by creating characters with distinctive personalities and

then positioning them in scenes which served to highlight and add to the characters’ depth and

personalities. The scenes were to demonstrate different aspects of the protagonists so they

would become three dimensional being and thus more tangible and relatable to the reader.

I returned to these outlined scenes repeatedly to work on them individually. I fleshed out the

characters and the story gradually took form without the typical plot of a story.

The finishing touch is an analysis accompanying the short story in which I present the results

of my critical reading of Wilde’s work, the conclusions following from it and finally the justi-

fication of the likeness of my short story “The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philanthropist”

to the author I intended to mimic.

Wilde's Writing Style:

Oscar Wilde uses a multitude of tools in his literary pieces. These tools have come to charac-

terize his signature writing style which is to this day commonly known as Wildean. The tools I

will elaborate on are the ones most commonly found and distinctive in his work.


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Descriptive Writing and Imagery:

Wilde's texts all contain an abundance of imagery which was not only a means for him to

demonstrate his proficiency in the English language, but also to subtly support the messages he

intended to convey to the reader.

He would pointedly choose words out of his extensive vocabulary to make the descriptive writ-

ing purposeful. The words he picked were poignant and evocative of certain emotions such as

horror, awe or humor, to name a few, with the purpose to emphasize certain themes in his texts

and dialogues.

The amount of care put into his descriptions is also represented in all Wilde wrote and did, from

his literary works to the way he presented himself in public. He would describe the beauty of

nature, the interior, and exterior of his sceneries and his characters with intricate details.

The display of his skill is shown in all its grandeur in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, which

contains an abundance of illustrious descriptions and imagery. The scenes elaborating on its

characters were described in a careful and precise manner so that they would emit an effect

intended by Wilde on the reader. They purposefully evoke certain emotions in the reader and

create a specific atmosphere within the scenes. The carefully constructed scenes with the help

of skillfully created imagery were used to support the common themes of Wilde's work and

make it in his eyes perfect.

His work contains intricate details which not everybody perceives but which create an overall

effect every social class can find enjoyment in, as he hoped it to be accessible and enjoyable

for all walks of life. We know this because Wilde declares his opinion on art, on the manner of

writing and creating in his essay “The Truth of Masks”, as seen here:

"And though the description of the crest is not couched in accurate language, still the crest

itself was accurately right. It may, of course, be said that the public do not notice these things;

upon the other hand, it should be remembered that Art has no other aim but her own perfection,

and proceeds simply by her own laws, (…)

And though they may not be familiar with the authorities and archaeological data for what is

shown to them, still they, enjoy whatever loveliness they look at. And this is the important thing.

Better to take pleasure in a rose than to put its root under a microscope." (Wilde, The Truth of

Masks, 1991, p. 121)


13

What follows is an example of Wilde’s imagery in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” to give one

an idea of his descriptions. Wilde opens the novel with a garden scene where his characters are

first introduced as they lounge in luxury and beauty.

"The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred

amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac,

or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.

From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was

his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-

sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly

able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs." (Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray,

1991, p. 131)

The elevated social standing of the characters is immediately evident through the rich descrip-

tions of the surroundings they find themselves in. The reader is therefore not only informed

about the characters’ backgrounds, but can also indulge in the Wilde’s beautiful language.

Oscar Wilde applies his knowledge of nature, interior furnishing, etc. – in short, the pictur-

esque to create the beautiful atmosphere which contributes to a richer illusion of reality.

Wilde, an admirer of the picturesque, not only enjoyed writing about luxurious parlors, but also

took a liking in writing about the morbid and the grotesque.

In “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, he applied a variation of imagery which was not just pretty

and picturesque but was also morbid at times as Wilde describes Basil’s Death in gruesome

detail. (Brummett, 2018) A mental image which evokes horror and discomfort in the reader and

decidedly intends to do so:

"He rushed at him and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind the ear, crushing the

man's head down on the table, and stabbing again and again.

There was a stifled groan, and the horrible sound of someone choking with blood. Three times

the outstretched arms shot up convulsively, waving grotesque stiff-fingered hands in the air. He

stabbed him twice more, but the man did not move. Something began to trickle on the floor.

He waited for a moment, still pressing the head down. Then he threw the knife on the table, and

listened. He could hear nothing but the drip, drip on the threadbare carpet." (Wilde, The

Picture of Dorian Gray, 1991, p. 265)


14

The blood-curdling atmosphere created by Wilde in this scene uses a mere combination of

words to create a ghastly atmosphere and make the reader feel as if the events were unfolding

in front of them.

Wilde also uses descriptive writing as a means to create a contrast between two different en-

tities. He would compare the hideous corners of London which house criminals and prostitutes

to the carefully, luxuriously furnished rooms of the British upper class. This would emphasize

the difference between the two and make it more drastic to the reader. The filth of a dark corner

contrasted to the rooms of the upper classes made the corners seem even dirtier and more dis-

tasteful in comparison.

"It was tea-time, and the mellow light of the huge lace-covered lamp that stood on the table lit

up the delicate china and hammered silver of the service at which the Duchess was presiding.

Her white hands were moving daintily among the cups, and her full red lips were smiling at

something that Dorian had whispered to her." (Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1991, p.

294)

"A cold rain began to fall, and the blurred street-lamps looked ghastly in the dripping mist.

(…) From some of the bars came the sound of horrible laughter. In others, drunkards brawled

and screamed. (…) Most of the windows were dark but now and then fantastic shadows were

silhouetted against some lamp-lit blind. (…) They moved like monstrous marionettes, and made

gestures like live things.

(…)As he drew the curtain aside a hideous laugh broke from the painted lips of the woman who

had taken his money. "There goes the devil's bargain!" she hiccoughed, in a hoarse voice."

(Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1991, p. 287-291)

These scenes are found in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, where Wilde combines his many de-

scriptively written scenes into one novel in which they serve to contrast one another. The con-

trast consists of emphasizing the indecency next to the supposed decency of the Victorian pe-

riod.

Through the imagery, the characters’ personalities and background are also elaborated on.

The additional information we receive about them makes them better-rounded individuals one


15

can speculate, form an opinion on and relate to. By conveying information through imagery

and proficient description, the characters grab the reader’s attention and imagination on the spot.

Every piece of their clothing and change in the characters’ expressions are described impecca-

bly in Wilde’s work.

The descriptions and details poured into Wilde's characters make them dynamic. They become

characters whose personalities have no boundaries - and thus are the centerpieces of many of

his stories.

Through all of these details, Wilde not only provides us with a historically accurate depiction

of the Victorian Society but also supplies us with a timeless depiction of human behavior we

are still able to place and picture in our day and age.

Extensive conversations and dialogues:

Wilde is widely known for his dialogues and monologues. His dialogues are quick and witty to

keep the reader engaged and make the participants more dynamic in the way they behave and

keep themselves. He masterfully places his characters within conversations in which they can

show off their skill in rhetoric and the extent of their personality to the reader.

These conversations are typical of Wilde's societal plays and make up big parts of the “Im-

portance of Being Earnest” and “Lady Windermere's Fan”. They are also a common occurrence

in his other works.

The reason why Wilde decided to embellish his works with talk is that he wants to make the

reader aware of the character’s personality through these lively conversations. The personalities

are explored in these dialogues without being tedious to the audience. The characters profess

themselves to us in comical and dramatic, yet revealing ways.

As seen in “The Importance of Being Earnest” in the form of Algernon's witty and self-serving

statements, they serve to portray the ignorance of the Victorian society in an exaggerated man-

ner and allow Wilde to elaborate on his characters humorously. This keeps the audience’s at-

tention and calms the temper and anger of his upper-class spectators.

"Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They

seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility." (Wilde, The Importance

of Being Earnest, 1991, p. 484)


16

"The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the

fact." (Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1991, p. 485)

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either,

and modern literature a complete impossibility!" (Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest,

1991, p. 488)

The same can be seen in Mrs. Erlynne's confession in “Lady Windermere’s Fan” which reveals

her inner turmoil. The outburst of emotion provides the spectator with more insight into her

character and grabs our attention by its emotional intensity.

"You don't know what it is to fall into the pit, to be despised, mocked, abandoned, sneered at to

be an outcast! To find the door shut against one, to have to creep in by hideous byways, afraid

every moment lest the mask should be stripped from one's face, and all the while to hear the

laughter, the horrible laughter of the world, a thing more tragic than all the tears the world

has ever shed. You don't know what it is. One pays for one's sin, and then one pays again, and

all one's life one pays." (Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, 1991, p. 459)

At times, the dialogues can appear strongly opinionated, nonetheless one finds oneself en-

thralled by the dynamic of the conversations Wilde constructed.

Use of Satire:

Wilde's characters are often caricatures of the British upper classes which he aims to criticize

within his work. He tries to convey his disdain and therefore decided to point out their defects

with the help of satire.

He employs satire in his dialogues and monologues by making his characters’ speech exagger-

ated and letting them utter hysterical professions. Often his characters talk about themselves,

are self-centered, tend to hold long-suffering monologues and more often than not call out ex-

clamations such as "Oh! How horrid and tedious!" spontaneously.

All these mannerisms are executed in a humorous way so that the spectator cannot help but

spare a laugh. Wilde mocks the characters he modeled after his contemporaries in a seemingly

light-hearted way and uses humor as a means to not offend or even be prosecuted for his mock-

ery. This called forth a reaction from the Victorian society which ranged from vehement


17

disapproval to humorous delight which was evoked by the clever delivery of stabs at Victorian

social conventions.

A Play on Words:

Wilde enjoys wordplay as he incorporates it subtly and often in his work to show off his profi-

ciency in English and to make use of all the words which are at his disposal. This is Wilde's

way of exercising his verbal freedom and exploring the endless possibilities the English lan-

guage offers.

He juggles and toys with words and finds enjoyment in presenting them on a silver platter. His

play on words can often be seen within the titles of his plays such as in “The Importance of

Being Earnest” and “Lady Windermere's Fan” and their respective subtitles.

“The Importance of Being Earnest” refers to the property of being earnest (adjective) oneself,

such as serious in nature and solemn, and the name Earnest.

“Lady Windermere's Fan” refers to her actual fan (object) which was gifted to her by her hus-

band and her fan (person) which represents Mrs. Erlynne, an admirer of hers.

Paradoxes:

To test the extent of the English language Wilde would often include paradoxes in his characters’

statements. A seemingly contradictory statement reveals itself to be, at second glance, surpris-

ingly true and clever. To come up with these statements required skill and backward thinking

which Wilde possessed much of. He would baffle his audience with seemingly nonsensical

discoveries, criticize society and turn all conventional belief upside down, all at the once.

See here a few examples of these contradictory statements Wilde sprinkled into his work.

“I can resist everything except temptation.” (Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, 1991, p. 429)

“Because I think that life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.” (Wilde,

Lady Windermere's Fan, 1991, p. 431)

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” (Wilde, The Picture

of Dorian Gray, 1991, p. 169)


18

Common Themes in Wilde's Work:

The boundary separating fiction and autobiography blurs in Wilde's work – on many occasions

he creates parallels between his work and his actual life. His opinion and his own inner work-

ings are revealed due to him incorporating the matters which conflicted him the most into his

work. They make up the reappearing common themes in his stories. The most poignant common

themes I will elaborate on in the following pages.

Biographical Aspects:

Oscar Wilde’s work is heavily influenced by his life. Through informing oneself about his bi-

ography it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of his work and the common themes within

them.

In essence, Wilde’s work was a reflection of himself. The criticism he exercised and the witty

and clever dialogues in his work were his own and he took due care to show them off wherever

he went, in his literature and in his actual life.

Especially in social settings, he would shine with his engaging conversations and lavish opin-

ions which were contrary to conventional belief but fascinating to listen to for all who encoun-

tered him. With his proficiency in rhetoric and his impeccable sense of style, Wilde navigated

through the British society with ease and bathed in the attention he received. And despite his

mockery and criticism of the upper class he was a socialite just like his protagonists until his

eventual trial and following downfall.

Due to this tendency to incorporate his personality into his work, he tended to model the pro-

tagonists partly after himself in their proficiency in the art of rhetoric and of the English lan-

guage. Wilde even went as far as to immortalize the three aspects of his personality in “The

Picture of Dorian Gray” in the form of Basil Hallward, Dorian Gray, and Lord Henry Wotton.

Another autobiographical aspect of Wilde which heavily influenced his work was his partici-

pation in the 19th century Aesthetic movement. Oscar Wilde, being one of the main supporters

of Aestheticism, made it his goal to realize its ideals and thus he strove to create art which

represents pure beauty and should not serve any other purpose but to be beautiful.

Up to that point, art had been given the role of an educating force which was to teach truth and

morality. This, Wilde and the Aesthetics rejected as they believed that there should be no obli-

gation for art to be anything but beautiful, only for the sake of itself. Art should not be judged


19

by society’s criteria of moral and immoral and should be simply seen for what it is, it is either

well or badly done. Thus the movement’s slogan "Art for Art's sake" was born. (Jeffrey Easby,

2018)

“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is

a fault.

Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.

They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty.

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.

Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”

(Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1991, p. 129)

As shown above in the Preface of “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, Wilde’s aim was to create

absolute beauty which carries no trace of himself in it, thus no influence or narrative which

could sully his work. It was not supposed to contain any autobiographical aspects. The work

was to speak for itself and mirror only the spectator. And as such the piece of art will be an

absolute piece as there will be a diversity of opinion about it and this will prove that it is new,

complex, and vital to future generations. All of these attributes lead to the fulfillment of art’s

purpose. His intentions are summarized in the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray as a dec-

laration and defense of his novel’s intentions.

"The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim."

(Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1991, p. 129)

As there are many autobiographical elements in Wilde’s literary themes, his work becomes

more interesting as one dives into his past, his infamous social life and eventual downfall and

it becomes evident that Wilde did not succeed in “concealing himself” in his work. Therefore

he failed to separate his work from his own narrative and subsequently failed to fulfill the Aes-

thetic ideal. His eventual downfall was caused by the revelation of his hopes and fears in his

writing, which he invested a lot of blood and sweat into. Unconsciously he incorporated and

revealed more than he intended to about his intentions and personality. This sensitive infor-

mation within his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was eventually used against him in the

infamous trial which brought social and eventually physical ruin upon him.


20

In conclusion, as Oscar Wilde revealed art he was not able to conceal himself and thus made

himself vulnerable to the world’s judgment. His art became a revelation of himself and this is

why one can make an evident connection between his common themes and his actual life.

Duality of Character:

In Wilde's work, any character can appear to be one thing but also another, just as Wilde’s own

personality was highly contradictory and he failed to separate the private and professional as-

pects of his life. The boundaries of morality blur faced with Wilde’s work’s contradictory na-

ture, and thus the reader’s own perception of what is black or white, right or wrong has to be

reevaluated. Wilde constructs paradoxes in the form of witty declarations of contradictory truths,

but also in form of conflicted personalities within his characters; the protagonists hold within

them a duality of character, as they struggle to find a balance between not just one nature but

several within themselves.

The exploration of the nature of morality and character in Wilde’s work was a reaction to the

Victorian society's perception that art solely serves to educate one on conventional truth and

morals. Society separated the good from the bad and there was a clear distinction between the

two. In truth, all matters are not that simple.

Wilde challenged this societal perception of truth by creating characters which to society were

morally sound but were in fact hypocrites, liars and even sinners behind closed curtains.

So even though Dorian in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” may seem to be a gentleman to the

British upper class, he also poses a temptation and corruption to many young men and in secret

possesses the capability to commit atrocities despite having a high standing in society.

Dorian’s identity is split in two; the admired member of society and the heartless murderer.

Wilde additionally attempts to make us understand that the ones who are morally corrupt in

society's eyes can carry admirable properties one did not expect. We experience this surprise

when we discover Mrs. Erlynne in “Lady Windermere's Fan” does carry maternal love within

her which eventually drives her to self-sacrifice despite being labeled a dishonest woman by

society.

The existence of Bunburrying in “The Importance of Being Earnest”, an act to create a distinc-

tion between one's actual identity and one which is created for society's sake, embodies the


21

recurring theme of a duality in Wilde’s characters and work. The act of contradiction and ap-

pointing oneself an identity which is not one's own was a common act committed by members

of the Victorian upper class and was thus satirized in the form of Bunburrying.

Therefore any proper and respected gentlemen could assume a different identity in the country

and another in the city. One in the darker corners of London and another in the presence of the

proper Victorian Society restricted by rigid societal rules. They were able to take up the role of

a caring brother and simultaneously be a socialite and bachelor, just as Jack in “The Importance

of Being Earnest”.

This common theme can also be found in the works of other authors of the 19th century as in

Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”.

The theme of the duality of character often occurred in Wilde’s work due to his own conflict

within himself which he incorporated. The duality in Wilde’s characters also reflects and en-

lightens us about the state of Wilde’s split and conflicted identity. This conflict within himself

takes place due to his aversion to societal conventions and his contradictory secret wish for

acceptance by this very society. Additionally, he is torn between his two conflicting ethnical

affiliations – his Irish origins and his brethren’s oppression by the English, clashing with his

British associations and lifestyle. Furthermore, he is conflicted between his passion and dili-

gence for his work, which he took care to hide from society, and the indifference towards his

work which he presented to the public.

Therefore Wilde embodied the exact contradictory and conflicted nature he wrote about.

Wilde the Social Critic:

Wilde practices societal analysis by criticizing the state of society in the 19th century mercilessly

within his work with the help of satire which serves to point out the flaws of society and its

shortcomings in a humorous and clever manner. He exercises his criticism in all of his literary

pieces because Wilde is first and foremost society’s harshest critic.

The Victorian society possessed rules which all were obliged to uphold. Its rules were strict and

if one disagreed one became part of the minority and was made an outcast. These outcasts and

minorities were then looked down upon and oppressed to uphold the order created by the upper

classes. This societal order empowered the rich and enabled them to lead a comfortable life,

behave snobbishly and enjoy a wastefully luxurious lifestyle. The rich remained rich, ensured

that the order was upheld while the middle and lower classes were looked down upon for being


22

less fortunate. Furthermore the price for all their riches was paid by the poor who toiled away

in factories as their health gradually deteriorated amongst the inhumane working conditions.

Wilde criticized this state of society and beheld the behavior of the upper classes and their ways

of upholding the designated societal order as faults.

Wilde identified the superficiality, hypocrisy, and selfishness of the Victorian upper classes and

the limited mobility in Britain’s class system and included these concerns in his literary activity.

He does this wherever he can using caricatures which are modeled after the rich. He employs

satire to exaggerate their quirky habits, snobby ways, and ridiculous customs. They are mocked

shamelessly but in a witty and clever manner, typical to Wilde's style, so as to not enrage society

too much, for his well-planned critique and attack could also lead to his downfall.

Adaptation of the Theoretical into the Practical

The aim of my paper was to adapt all the aforementioned theoretical knowledge acquired from

Oscar Wilde’s texts into a literary piece of my own: “The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philan-

thropist”. Hence in the following text, I will attempt to elaborate on my process of implementing

his way of writing into my short story and justify the story’s likeness to the Wilde’s texts.

“The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philanthropist” follows two men at the peak of their youth

as they simply lead their life the way they always have. Lounging around, and holding mono-

logues is their daily bread as they navigate through society. Their characters and their intentions

in life are unfolded to the reader in everyday settings and resemble echoes of other people’s

lives.

The short story summarized above does not resemble the classic composition of a story as it

contains little to no plot and mainly focuses on the protagonists and their behavior. The reader

is given little context on the characters so the reader can focus on their behavior and actions

rather than their past and personal identity.

The common themes and the writing style of the story I attempted to imitate, align with those

of Oscar Wilde but the criticism I exercise is based on my own dismay concerning the defects

I see in society. Even though Wilde’s texts raised my awareness of certain issues, I attempted

to make the story my own while still heeding the lessons he taught me.


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Social Criticism à la Wilde:

To exercise criticism in my own literary work I had to take up a critical standpoint towards my

characters and the contents of my story. I had opinions on certain matters which I chose to

criticize and I stood my ground presenting them to the reader in a 3rd person narrative. This takes

form in my characters which I not only use as a means to emphasize my opinion, but to also

prove and justify it. Much like Oscar Wilde’s opinions, my opinion is not an absolute truth but

is certainly presented as such until the very end of my story.

Separation from The Poor:

The main protagonists are both rich, which creates a divide between them and the poor. Their

financial situation sets them apart from the poor, both mentally and physically. This separation

between the rich and the poor is an inevitability as some are always doomed to be relatively

poor compared to others even if the absolute wealth of a whole society increases.

This split manifests itself in a physical segregation as much as in a mental segregation of the

two social groups. Physical as in the less fortunate live in separate areas from the rich and

experience different barriers to entry in society than the well-endowed. And mental as in the

inability of either group to understand the struggles of the other and the shortcomings of their

own group. Neither are capable of grasping the reality of the other and a clear and critical per-

ception of their own.

I embody the physical barriers in my story with literal walls whose purpose is to keep the young

gentleman and the rebel who embody the rich separated and safe in the beautiful garden se-

cluded from the foreign and dark reality which finds itself outside of the wall’s confines. The

visitors of the garden are shrouded from this reality they have never had to come in contact with

before. This reality does not only consist of the pretty and agreeable but also contains the not

so pleasant facts of life such as poverty and crime.

This separation from the ones different than him makes it harder for the young gentleman to

understand what others feel and experience. This leads to a lack of empathy on his side and

isolates his perception of events from the truth of the actual events. He fails to understand the

implications of certain problems and what others experience as he cannot comprehend anything

which is beyond his scope of understanding.


24

In our day and age members of higher social classes often seek to aid and sympathize with the

less fortunate by paying out checks, collecting donations, preaching about the suffering and

presenting the cause of the poor with much pathos to help the ones in need, but in reality they

cannot ever fathom the suffering of the poor. This results in them talking, claiming to under-

stand and represent the poor, but refraining from actively acting and helping the ones who are

oppressed in their eyes.

This act of hypocrisy committed by human beings consists of their failure to follow up and act

on their spoken and evocated convictions. This happens due to them being ignorant of the im-

portance their words can carry and about what people actually experience as well as them pre-

ferring to maintain their own comfort over helping the less fortunate or another.

The young gentleman, as charismatic as he might be and how fervently and incessantly he

attempts to save the unfortunate, does not ever act. As he preaches the need to relieve the poor

of their pains, he fails to come to the realization what suffering truly is and the weight it carries.

His ignorance and naivete concerning the severity of suffering are displayed as he observes a

dying bird. He contemplates its state, but does not truly comprehend what is unfolding in front

of him which leads to him remaining impassive and hence retaining his comfort.

He fails to overcome this gulf between him and the common folk due to him not having ever

interacted with them. Society and the walls of the park have succeeded in keeping him safe and

isolated from the ones with a lesser social standing. He instead sees the poor as something to

be pitied and to be rescued. This is also demonstrated when he looks down upon the owner of

the pub he visited with his followers.

Reluctance to Act:

The reluctance to act comes from people’s unwillingness to endanger their own comfort for the

improvement of another’s situation.

A self-centered mentality and a lack of solidarity have become the constant state of society.

One ventures to talk and argue about what is thought to be right and what has to be done, but

this concludes in nothing. To overcome the unwillingness to act caused by the resulting sacri-

fice of time and effort, it is necessary to possess the required mental strength, strong intrinsic

motivation and conviction to change things for the better. This most people never aim to achieve.


25

The hypocrites are the few who talk of others’ suffering, claim it as their own cause and call

for action, but fail to understand the suffering itself and thus fail to act.

The young gentleman belongs to these select few hypocrites who feel entitled to take possession

of the poor’s cause without understanding its severity with the goal to fuel their need for atten-

tion, recognition, and self-gratification, without even moving a finger.

Just as the supposed rebel, the young gentleman does not want to be worse off for the sake of

others as he is too lazy to do so but compared to the rebel he thinks himself to be on a moral

high ground because he preaches a shallow support for the poor’s cause.

The state of society remains static as long as many are reluctant to act. It finds itself in an

endless damning cycle just as the backdrops of the short story remain unchanged. These places

are revisited in the end and have remained the same with the exception of the protagonists

having moved on and left. The seasons in the story might have changed, time might have passed,

people pass on and find themselves new ground to discover, but in the end, nothing has changed

and everything remains as it has always been until the endless damning cycle is broken by one

person taking action.

Superficial Nature of Society:

In our day and age impersonality towards others has developed. Many people lack the capability

to feel empathy for others which leads them to be unable to form deep and lasting personal

connections. A relationship is discarded as quickly as it leads to problems or inconveniences.

But not to be confused, these personal connections are made out to be very deep in pretense.

Friends are called friends when in reality they are mere acquaintances and the whole world is

considered a confidante and close until they are not anymore.

To show this, the young gentleman makes use of many personal titles for mere acquaintances.

He calls a stranger comrade and finds a friend in everybody he meets. These words which are

personal and meaningful become impersonal and pretentious in his mouth as he uses them ar-

bitrarily. And his group of “friends” consists of a mere group of followers who agree with him

on every matter instead of having a personal relationship with the young gentleman.

One has come to like others mainly on the grounds of their appearances, their origins and what

they can offer to oneself instead of forming an opinion about them on the grounds of their skills


26

and achievements they are judged by their appearance, the manner in which they seemingly

hold and present themselves in public. One’s personality has become a useless accessory.

The young gentleman possesses good looks, good manners and is of good birth, by default he

is liked by all. It requires nothing more to be liked. This shows a lack of authenticity and the

property of being genuine has come to play a minor role in modern society.

Lack of Individualism:

Our society has taken a stance which preaches individuality and diversity above all other qual-

ities. Society puts an emphasis on young people becoming individuals. This knowledge of one

being and having to be a “special” is encouraged by our surroundings and the social system we

live in. This can lead to two main inherent problems in future generations. First, it could nurture

a sense of entitlement in the young and malleable. Second, they could find themselves feeling

pressured to behave in a certain way and attain a character which is “unique” to them.

The young think themselves to be entrepreneurs, artists, revolutionaries and have come to this

exact conclusion due to them being told that they are individuals. Having come to this conclu-

sion that they are indeed something special, a fact which is encouraged by all, they also feel

entitled to being treated as such. They begin to think that they are, as one has told them, special,

better than others which entitles them to many things and actions such as knowing best what is

wrong or right and what others think and feel.

Because they find themselves, in their mind, on a higher ground than others, they keep lying to

themselves about their actual capabilities and personality which creates a false self-image and

a faulty self-perception of themselves. This dishonesty leads to many problems in their future

life.

The young gentleman perceives himself to be the savior of the poor and one of the select few

who is enlightened enough to realize that a state such as poverty exists. He sees himself on high

moral ground and feels entitled to feel and make assumptions about the experiences of others

and the suffering of the poor.

The emphasis on individualism and the freedom to act on one’s individuality in society can lead

to a possible pressure being exerted on the next generation to be unique. It is said that there is


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nothing more important than that in life. These young ones seek direction and leadership and

hope and strive to develop their own identity.

In reality, not everybody is special and no one person can be completely unique in every single

way. No single person can save the world. And the truth is many people do not even act and

think for themselves as they are pressured to behave in a different manner. They become mere

imitations of other people’s truths as they desperately attempt to develop an identity of their

own through the mimicry of others.

Both protagonists are not one of a kind. Their ideals and moral fundaments remind one of the

quotations and shadows of greater people they seek to become. The young gentleman is influ-

enced and inspired by the voice of a stranger which fills his whole being with the purpose of

another. The rebel carries around a booklet with quotations of philosophers he strives to imitate

and he dresses like the individual he feels he has to become.

But the young gentleman’s disciples completely fail to develop or imitate a personality. They

are completely voiceless entities who follow him around blindly as they do not have the brains

nor want to think for themselves. The crowds in the story are completely mindless and faceless

as they follow the voice of an angel wherever it may lead them.

As time passes the protagonists cannot be found in the settings they were found in before, they

have moved on and new young men have come to replace them. These young men resemble

them identically, lie in the places they have lain and carry on the cycle of not acting. It is not

possible to distinguish the new men who have arrived in the end from the ones the story intro-

duced at the beginning, as the names of the protagonists, as well as their backstories, are sup-

pressed throughout the short story. This abstention of their names virtually leaves them without

a character to call their own and therefore emphasizes the lack of their personal identity.

The protagonists are not supposed to have personal identities as they are mere placeholders

whose assigned identities consist of stereotypes and generalizations. Their place and their iden-

tity can be appointed to any other young man who comes to fill their place. They virtually do

not matter in the bigger scheme of things.


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Censorship and its Relationship to the Public Opinion:

In Wilde’s time, the only opinion which was valid and mattered was the verdict of society. If

one did not agree, one belonged to the minority who disagreed with the whole. This has not

changed over the years and is still true to this day.

Individualism and diversity of opinion might be encouraged by society but reality proves to be

different. Minority opinions are oppressed and if an opinion happens to differ from the major-

ity’s idea of what is right or wrong one has an incorrect or abnormal view of one’s surroundings.

Opposing opinions are not respected like everybody says they would be, and to find a compro-

mise between two differing opinions is virtually impossible. One always believes to be more

correct than the other because of one’s entitlement, as mentioned before.

The young gentleman is unwilling to accept any opinion which is not his own. Any deviation

from his opinion is immediately ignored or confounds him. His opinions become the universal

truth and anybody else having another opinion is his adversary. The deviating opinions of the

barman are considered wrong and misguided and the rebels are not even listened to.

The rebel is no better – he looks down upon the young gentleman and his mimicry of enthusi-

asm, thinks him naïve and dismisses the other’s opinion.

Both of the protagonists only care to talk about themselves and seize to listen when the other

voices their opinion. Compromise seems impossible as both are unwilling to listen to one an-

other and therefore unwilling to consider the other’s point of view. Even though they have

discussions and proclaim that a compromise is to be found they do not truly mean it and the

rebel attempts to convince the other of his opinion by calling him names and the young gentle-

man seizes to pay attention to the rebel.

The protagonists’ unwillingness to be accepting of another’s opinion and their stubborn insist-

ence on their own opinion is the cause of why they will be forgotten one day. This is because

if a compromise cannot be found and one is unwilling to agree and understand another this

leads to no change and thus a complete standstill and static state of society. One remains a child

forever and becomes none the wiser if one does not listen to others. The barkeeper and the pub

persist exactly because of their willingness to embrace changes and their tolerance of the opin-

ions of others.


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Employ Self-Criticism:

Oscar Wilde is very conscious of his own shortcomings in his work while also enlightening us

about society’s defects. He realizes that he is a part of the society whose problems he points out

and that he is also guilty of many of the quirks he chose to mock.

I chose to follow his example and employ self-criticism myself. Who would I be if criticized

others for their faults but failed to recognize my own?

I incorporated the criticism of myself mainly in the supposed rebel and partially in the young

gentleman who both mirror elements of my shortcomings.

The rebel is often bitter and upset when another disagrees with him. He is guilty of not being

able to bear another’s opinion and reflect on his own. Both, the young gentleman and the rebel

think themselves to be special and they fail to employ humility when they ought to, I see this

in myself at times.

The belief that nothing can be done by a single person to change the course of events leads to

a fatalistic view which is the embodiment of my opinion in the supposed rebel. He remains

passive as he does not want to endanger his own comfort and does not even dare to speak out.

It can be argued that feeling powerless and remaining passive is worse than hypocritically trying

to help others and then ending up not to act at all.

Duality of Character:

Oscar Wilde had a strong interest in the duality of character, which he incorporated into his

literary works, due to his own contradictory personality. This duality of character I aim to mimic

with my two protagonists who present “two sides of the same coin”. Therefore in my short story,

I mainly focus on the two protagonists; their behavior and intentions towards their surroundings

and one another. I explore the nature of their contradictory characters separately and compared

to one another. One hopes to receive recognition and attention from society and the other seeks

to isolate himself from society and be “special”. Furthermore, the story possesses an unconven-

tial plot which serves to emphasize the importance and the attention put on the two characters’

personalities and how they might appear different but are in truth quite similar.

These two protagonists, at first glance, appear completely different from one another. One is

arrogant, rebellious, isolates himself from society and feels the world is doomed, while the other

is found agreeable, loved by all and strives to spread his “own” beliefs and ideals of saving the

less fortunate. But one notices soon after that the two are more similar than they care to admit.


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They might disagree and oppose one another, but in essence, they present two sides of the same

coin.

They both possess a mental and physical separation from reality and concretely the poor due to

them having a higher financial standing. As a result of this detachment and separation, they

both fail to act and incite change in the world.

Despite the young gentleman’s fight and representation of the cause of the poor, he fails to truly

understand the significance and implications of their suffering but claims to know better which

surrounds him with an air of entitlement. He refrains from acting and instead decides to simply

preach the cause.

On the other hand, the rebel decides to cut himself off completely from all the responsibility to

society and subsequently from the responsibility of the upper classes to the suffering of the less

fortunate.

Ultimately, neither is willing to give up the comfort of their social standing and financial situ-

ation to help one less fortunate, especially the rebel who fails to do so despite having a more

realistic view of the wrongdoing occurring in this world. But the young gentleman who actively

heeds the idea of helping others is also reluctant to get up and aid a dying creature as he does

not comprehend suffering.

As the two might seem similar, they are different in character; the rebel is passive, brooding in

nature and thinks himself to be clever while the other blabbers nonsense, carries a light about

him which attracts others and illuminates his appearance and surroundings.

As it seems, both are faulty and guilty of a variety of defects. But they should each be criticized

for their defects and praised for their merits. The two protagonists contrast one another and so

the young gentleman and the rebel’s positive properties are emphasized next to the negative

properties of the other. Next to the rebels’ passivity the young gentleman’s naivete and enthu-

siasm are striking and next to the blabber of the young gentleman the rebel’s arguments appear

rational and grounded in reality.

Wilde’s Writing Style in Action

Oscar Wilde’s writing style is most commonly known for the elements I mentioned before;

descriptive writing, beautiful imagery and an abundance of dialogues. These elements I at-

tempted to incorporate in my story as I kept in mind that I could never acquire the sum of his


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luscious and extensive vocabulary or skill. In essence, his texts are known to be laced with

beautiful, vivid and carefully incorporated detail and an extensive and poignant vocabulary

which is hard to mimic as Wilde was a proficient writer and had developed his skill through-

out his life.

Descriptive Writing and Imagery:

Wilde created with his way of writing poignant atmospheres within the pages of his books

which can be felt by the reader due to his proficiency in crafting vivid scenes.

I attempted the creation of an expressive scene to match Wilde in my self-tailored atmosphere

in the 1st scene of my story, keeping the mood of ennui in mind.

Ennui, in short, describes a languid mood of boredom, a common occurrence for the rich, as

one lounges around and indulges aimlessly in the beauty and luxury of one’s surroundings

which is caused by a lack of purpose or occupation.

I induced the atmosphere by the means of descriptive writing; focusing on the young gentle-

man’s tranquil surroundings such as the pristine park and his actions such as his aimless con-

templation beneath the white blossom trees. Both incidences are caused by his ever-present

boredom which he seeks to fill with purpose.

The short story, following the example of Wilde’s life’s aim, ought to be beautiful as a whole

and thus include many miniscule details of the characters’ quirks and appearances. They might

not be perceived by everybody but they serve to enhance the overall immersion of the reader

into the piece. I took care to add a few subtle details which were present yet did not overshadow

the main purpose of my story which is first and foremost the exploration and criticism of the

personalities and natures of my two protagonists. If one only cares to behold and look out for

these details, one can delve into the characters’ nature.

Clothing and Mannerisms:

The protagonists’ detailed clothing pieces and appearances served, just as they did in Wilde’s

work, as a means to express and elaborate on their personalities. I incorporated subtle body

language and clothing pieces; in short, their overall appearance in detail to accentuate the

story’s intentions and the characters’ personalities.

These “quirks” and subtle hints in their appearance are present in the form of the characters

experiencing sudden twitches, fiddling with little items or just being dressed a certain way.


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“Hair ruffled, clothes in disorder but coordinated in a superficially beautiful manner which

could only have been intended to surround himself with an air of unintended charm.” (Rüegg,

The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philanthropist , 2018, p. 3)

The young gentleman purposefully takes care to arrange his clothes and hair in a careless fash-

ion. The terms “coordinated” and “superficially” make the reader further aware of his character

and indicates that he is attentive of his appearance and thus his impression on others despite

wanting to seem effortlessly presentable. After all, the general consensus enjoys effortless and

natural beauty the most, even if one has to fabricate it. Additionally, the young gentleman pos-

sesses the appearance of an angel which unquestionably elevates his standing and reputation in

the eyes of others. He was born beautiful and thus all have a friendly disposition towards him

and conceive him as an agreeable young man despite what morals he might possess.

“He had his shirt carelessly tucked into his trousers. It was seemingly worn with open patches

he had cut out himself. A carefully placed cigarette found itself behind his ear, which served to

give him a tough look, a signature style which he thought to belong only to himself.” (Rüegg,

The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philanthropist , 2018, p. 3)

The rebel purposefully wears pants which are slashed and torn to convey to his surroundings

that he does not care for social conventions, the opinion of others and to be approached. He

strives to be different and therefore crafts an image of his own making; one of a non-compliant

rebel. He wishes to ensure his persona so vehemently that he resorts to purposefully making it

known to everybody that he is indeed different.

He establishes his rebel image through his clothing and appearance which ought to emit his

indifference, rebellion, and isolation. This aversion towards societal norms is not an intrinsic

quality of his but rather a tool to assure society that his personality deviates from the mindless

crowds of “followers”.

As he sits within the park nobody but the young gentleman dares to approach the young rebel

who actively demonstrates his aversion towards society through occupying the whole park

bench with his outstretched limbs.

Both have taken due care to present an artificial image to their surroundings, one to please

society and the other to isolate and disassociate himself from it. Ultimately both are equally

dependent on society’s opinion of them, whether they admit it or not.


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The young gentlemen’s crowd of followers happen to be all dressed in the latest fashion, an

ensemble called the “Werther Tracht”, which consists of a blue dress jacket and a yellow vest

beneath it. An outfit which rose to prominence after the publication of “The Sorrows of Young

Werther” by Goethe in 1774. The novel inspired a whole wave of young followers to dress and

behave like the protagonist, Werther, and as a result, they resulted to carrying the novel on them

wherever they went. I criticized the glorification of such an emotional and hypocritical protag-

onist, similar to the young gentleman, who represented the embodiment of the literary move-

ment of “Sturm und Drang” by letting the mindless crowds within my story wear the “Werther

Tracht”.

The Goethe reference aside, the assortment of trend clothing was generally a means to embody

the common fashion trend in society which is altered every three months and is followed me-

ticulously without a second thought by the crowds.

Every figure within the overwhelming ocean of blue dress jackets wears just the same as the

others next to him. Thus it has become virtually impossible to distinguish one follower from

another and in conclusion, the reader can observe the lack of any distinctive personality within

the followers compared to the distinct protagonists.

Furthermore, I took care to not assign the clothing pieces within my story to any time frame

which makes them appear timeless and more relatable to the reader. The story has neither time

nor setting and therefore the clothes should not either.

Extensive Conversations and Dialogues

Oscar Wilde is widely known for the artificial “beauty” of his work and especially his life as

he was branded by the Victorian society as a dandy. Despite possessing a reputation, one should

not be misled about Wilde’s talents. Wilde did not only engage in “leather and prunella” he also

strove to make his dialogues the main focal point of his stories which have, in hindsight, gar-

nered the reputation to be the peak of wit and clever composition within his writing. His dia-

logues make up most of his work in form of plays, his novel and even critical essays which aim

to pass judgment and criticize issues with an abundance of wit, clever reasoning and humor. By

incorporating and vocalizing these elements in his work, he conveys his characters’ vitality and

makes them therefore more dynamic to the reader.


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My short story contains one dialogue between the two protagonists in which they argue what

ought to be done for the poor. The whole affair appears comical as they hold monologues in-

stead of conversing with one another and fail to provide concrete proof and solutions for their

opinionated claims. Their one and only goal is to enforce their dogma on the other and therefore

they both fail to understand or reason with one another and do not come to a conclusion in their

heated argument. This leaves one unsatisfied and vexed, the other blissfully engaged in the

glory of his plans and both of them remain ignorant.

In all dialogues, the protagonists and the crowds of followers employ overly empathetic lan-

guage to underline their cause and intentions which are presented as comically exaggerated

exclamations. As in Wilde’s pieces, the exclamations and dialogues are satirized to be humor-

ous to mock the portrayed characters and their shortcomings and to engage the reader without

being tedious to the audience.

The exaggerated expressions take form in “OH! What horror!” at the slightest inconvenience

and in every “Oh, how delightful.” at the simplest of enjoyments. Especially the young gentle-

man, more often than not, employs expressions of agony and laments his own sorrows and fate

out loud to all who will hear him, similar to the “Sturm und Drang” character Werther he is

modeled after.


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Jack Kerouac: On the Road A BEAT PERCEPTION OF JACK KEROUAC

2018


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Pick Your Poison


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A Beat Perception of Jack Kerouac (Text)

Jack Kerouac is most famously known for his book “On the Road” which experienced imme-

diate commercial success at its publication. It is known for embodying the ideals of a literary

movement widely known as the Beat Generation and their point of view towards social con-

vention as it was back in the American 1950s. To this day it is highly acclaimed and the bible

of many of the movement’s followers who continuously seek for meaning in life just as the

main protagonist of “On the Road” does.

I chose to read this book due to its status as an American classic which defined a whole gener-

ation and did the way it captured the lives of these “beaten down” people justice. Having read

“On the Road” I sought to recreate its classic inherent style in my own short story called “Pick

Your Poison”. The story was written on a typewriter, following Kerouac’s example, and the

approach aimed to mimic the mentality of the time and Kerouac’s creative process. Both his

way of writing and his work became renowned for their unorthodoxy which remains until this

day, one of a kind and revolutionary for his time.

I profited from Kerouac’s way of writing and his work’s autobiographical content by reading

his novel. Through his experience and expertise in writing which he displayed in “On the Road”

I was able to mimic his style in my work and eventually adopt it into my literary learning pro-

cess which was enhanced by me recording my findings and my short story’s intentions in the

justification of my work, this analysis text.

Stream of Consciousness

The way one experiences “On the Road” is best described as a haze. The story commences with

a short and abrupt introduction of the protagonist, Sal Paradise, and takes us along on his fanat-

ical journey and search for something. Something he needs and longs for. This something, Sal

himself cannot pinpoint. The journey happens so quickly and disrupts his life on several occa-

sions just as it influences ours. By the time one has barely grasped the events and the workings

of a scene, one is already dragged right back into his fervent odyssey.

And this fast-paced tale is the one Jack Kerouac tells us in front of a flickering bonfire. He

marvels at an epic voyage he invites us to embark on with him at our side; profound and over

in just a blink of an eye.


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The literary device “On the Road” makes use of, is coined by all as “Stream of Consciousness”.

This tool represents a way of writing where the author continuously jots down sentences, one

after another, in a continuous flow of thoughts comparable to a water stream. It attempts to

mimic the conscious thought process of a human mind. The way of thinking functions as an

inexhaustible resource as one keeps contemplating and adding one pensive thought after an-

other. Many of those deliberations are disjointed and are abrupt jumps in attention from one

idea to the other.

As an example, see here the common conception of the use of “Stream of Consciousness” in

literature.

“In literature, stream of consciousness is a method of narration that describes happenings in

the flow of thoughts in the minds of the characters. (…)

The stream of consciousness style of writing is marked by the sudden rise of thoughts and lack

of punctuation.” (Literary Devices, 2018)

Kerouac’s writing resembles the typical stream of consciousness style with the additional beat

spirit written all over it.

The sudden rise of thoughts and deep philosophical contemplation Kerouac describes in “On

the Road”, especially the emotional and vehement desire for the extraordinary, is a constant

companion of Sal’s. While the protagonist’s thoughts are most of the time elaborated on and

clearly expressed to the reader, there are specific times when the style turns abstract to the

untrained eye.

This can be seen when Sal finds himself in the common state of drunkenness on life, sadness,

and confusion or as Dean spirals more and more into madness and self-ruin.

“I walked on a few feet. It suddenly occurred to me this was my mother of about two hundred

years ago in England, and that I was her footpad son, returning from goal to haunt her honest

labors in the hashery. (…) I had a whole host of memories leading back to 1750 in England

and that I was in San Francisco now only in another life and in another body. ‘No,’ that woman

seemed to say with that terrified glance, ‘don’t come back and plague your honest, hard-work-

ing mother. You are no longer like a son to me – and like your father, my first husband. ‘Ere

this kindly Greek took pity on me.’ (...) And for just a moment I had reached the point of ecstasy

that I always wanted to reach, (…) I realized it was only because of the stability of the intrinsic


42

Mind that these ripples of birth and death took place, like the action of a wind on a sheet of

pure, serene, mirror-like water. I felt swinging bliss, like a big shot of heroin in the mainline

vein; like a gulp of wine late in the afternoon and it makes you shudder; my feet tingled. I

thought I was going to die the very next moment.” (Kerouac, 2011, p. 156)

“He had not shaved, his hair was wild and bushy, his eyes bloodshot, and that tremendous

bandaged thumb stood supported in midair at heart-level (he had to hold it up that way), and

on his face was the goofiest grin I ever saw. He stumbled around in a circle and looked every-

where.

‘What do my eyeballs see? Ah – the blue sky. Long-fellow!’ He swayed and blinked. He rubbed

his eyes. ‘Together with windows – have you ever dug windows? Now let’s talk about windows.

I have seen some really crazy windows that made faces at me, and some of them had shades

drawn and so they winked.’” (Kerouac, 2011, p. 171)

As Dean slowly loses his sanity throughout the book and Sal takes up the harrowing journey in

front of him into the night and into the unknown, the novel’s sentences start to resemble blurs

as they jump from one conclusion to another, or spiral and ramble on into infinity. Sal’s stories

consist of visions of the insane he experiences in moments of despair – and they’re anything

but orderly.

The plot of “On the Road” flies by at lightning speed and one can hardly grasp the book’s events,

the places and time the protagonists pass, and the introduction of many of its characters. The

one thing one cares to notice is the atmosphere and the resulting emotions Kerouac has managed

to build up in his hurried “Stream of Consciousness” style. This assortment of short and at times

paragraph-long sentences rushes along Sal’s journey and slows it down when it is necessary to

consider his contemplations.

Stream of Consciousness furthermore compliments Kerouac’s and the Beat Generation’s idea

of dissatisfaction with their state of being and the resulting restlessness. They find themselves

in constant movement which results from being unsatisfied with the world and oneself. They in

short, long for answers to their questioning and a nook which has been promised to them. And

so they ramble on as their thoughts cannot be contained in simple words. Thus they burst out

in the form of a stream of emotions and their darkest secrets.


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Writing Process:

In Kerouac’s attempt to fuel his literary ambition and career, he began writing about his own

experiences and trips to create “On the Road”. His experimentation throughout his creative

process led to a spontaneous approach of writing, called “Stream of Consciousness”, which he

modelled after the writing style of his friend, Neal Cassady, and his letters and his unique way

of living. (Asher, Litkicks, 2018)

Just as his character Sal Paradise, an up and coming author, Kerouac discovered that his writing

was at its best when he rushed into its creation and did not think its process over. It was an

unconventional method in the post WW2 era and a completely new and revolutionary approach

to the young writer.

“(…) he leaned over my shoulder as I typed rapidly away and said, ‘Come on man, those girls

won’t wait, make it fast.’

I said, ‘Hold on just a minute, I’ll be right with you soon as I finish this chapter,’ and it was

one of the best chapters in the book.” (Kerouac, 2011, p. 6)

So “On the Road” became Kerouac’s guinea pig for his newly discovered way of spontaneous

writing, officially coined “Stream of Consciousness”. He would take notes on his cross-country

trips, as they happened and eventually recorded all of his experiences onto a single scroll on a

typewriter onto which he wrote his story in a period of three weeks in April, 1951, without a

halt but thanks to a healthy portion of coffee. This continuously written story would become

the first draft of “On the Road”.

This “spontaneous” outline of “On the Road” went on to become the subject of seven years of

editing and hard work before it was eventually published. (Menand, 2018)

Spirit of the Beat Generation

In 1944 within the confines of Columbia University, a new literary movement was born. Titled

the new “Lost Generation”, a mere group of close friends went on to incite a post WW2 era of

nonconformity and an attitude opposing social convention in America. Kerouac was one of the

core members of this movement and eventually went on to become the spokesperson of its

members, “The Beats” and his novel “On the Road” its poster child.


44

All founders eventually rose to popularity in the 1950s, all in their own right and gaining recog-

nition with differing styles of literature. While being different they all followed the common

belief of the movement. All were inspired to write out of protest against conformism and their

literary accomplishments grew out of their desperate search for meaning and purpose. (Beatdom,

2018)

Spreading its beliefs, the movement began to dominate America’s literary scene and cultural

landscape through their work which had become a symbol of protest.

This rise of the Beats to prominence and relevancy made it possible for many future artists post

WW2 to publish their work which might otherwise have deviated from social norms too far and

would have been considered too explicit and crude. The Beats opened new doors for a frustrated

and restless generation which was ready for a social revolution.

After the publication of “On The Road” in 1957, Jack Kerouac, one of the movement’s founders,

received an unexpected boost of his literary career and tremendous fame due to his novel em-

bodying the spirit of the “Beat Generation”. This surprising success led to him becoming the

spokesperson for the whole literary movement. (Asher, Litkicks, 2018)

The Meaning of “Beat”

The meaning of the word “beat” is most commonly known as an expression of being emptied

out, exhausted and at the same time wide open; perceptive and receptive to a vision. (Ginsberg,

2018) This commonly recognized meaning originates from the word’s common use in slang

and popular language at the time. In truth, there are many interpretations of the term “beat” and

depending on whom you ask you will receive slightly differing answers.

Often people look to Jack Kerouac, as the representative of the generation, to explain what the

spirit of the word “Beat” was. His book “On the Road” was considered the embodiment of the

“Beat” soul and the generation as a whole. He refers to it in “On the Road” as the condition of

being beaten down, poor, exhausted, at the bottom of the world. A whole generation felt dis-

carded and walked over after the events of WW2 and Kerouac seemed to give them an under-

standing in his novel that nothing else could. He called it a “beat” generation let down by the

system. (Menand, 2018)


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The term “Beat” went on to carry a connotation of being wild and different. The Beats had

preached a vision of inclusiveness and social freedom and this resulted in the image of the

generation consisting of rebels, cons, and criminal artists. All of them being extraordinary char-

acters and living non-confirmative, revolutionary lives which played into the spirit of being

“beat”.

Biographical Influence

As Jack Kerouac adapted his “Stream of Consciousness” style he committed himself to note

down his experiences spontaneously which resulted in his stories being heavily based on his

life, except for the use of pseudonyms and simplification in parts.

Kerouac’s memory-rich stories describe his own trips across landscapes and beyond borders of

his life in rushed detail. He projects his insecurities, his fears, and hopes of what he strives to

find at the end of his journeys onto his protagonists.

“On the Road” specifically follows and mirrors Kerouac’s multiple road trips across America

which he undertakes with Neal Cassady – better known by his pseudonym Dean Moriarty.

Inspired by Kerouac’s companion and muse, his sudden artistic inspiration for “On the Road”

was incited in which he adapted the spontaneous and casual attitude of Neal Cassady.

Sal Paradise, the protagonist of “On the Road” is the one through whose eyes we experience

the tale. Through him, we can understand Kerouac’s personality, ambitions, and sorrows.

Kerouac, being shy and timid, mirrored this onto Sal and makes Sal constantly seek out the

company of others.

Kerouac having failed to create a meaningful connection with any woman but his mother, pro-

jects his loneliness onto Sal, making him long for company and understanding from women.

Kerouac having big questions about the nature of the universe and life, translated this into Sal

philosophizing and asking others about the meaning of all which exists.

Sal Paradise has come to represent all of Kerouac’s most intimate emotions and his inner tur-

moil, openly inviting us to join Kerouac’s quest for meaning.

Furthermore, many of the characters in “On the Road” are adapted from Kerouac’s life and are

based on his friends and immediate company. They are not only introduced in Sal’s cross-

country trips and but also in other reflections of Kerouac’s real life experiences. Many


46

prominent figures of the “Beat Generation” who had made up Kerouac’s core friend group now

suddenly became Sal’s group of misfits.

Kerouac’s Group of Misfits:

Throughout his four consecutive cross-country adventures, which are the subject of “On the

Road”, Jack Kerouac meets several of his “Beat Generation” comrades in due time throughout

his travels. He takes these encounters and translates them onto the pages of his novel in progress.

This translation from real events to fiction called for Kerouac to name all of Sal Paradise’s

comrades with pseudonyms and to model them otherwise identically to their real counterparts.

The whole Beat literature movement originated from Kerouac’s aforementioned tightly knit

friend group. This group of friends finds an honorary place in Kerouac’s work and many of the

group’s members make an appearance in it.

The founders and most prominent friends of Kerouac were William S. Burroughs and Allen

Ginsberg who found each other, through lucky circumstance, at Columbia University. Both and

many others of Kerouac’s friends managed to “make the cut” in “On the Road”; Allen Ginsberg

as the philosophizing and depressed Carlo Marx, and William S. Burroughs as the collected

and wise junkie, Old Bull Lee.

The representation of Kerouac’s comrades in his novel “On the Road” created a mainstream

notion among the public that all Beats, including Kerouac’s friends, were the embodiment of a

rebellious spirit without a cause which manifested itself in criminals, rebels, and cons; essen-

tially Dean Moriarty. This in truth was not correct. The “Beats” and its founders were not “re-

bels”; they, all in their own right, were rather misfits which all had their fair share of tragedy

throughout their lives and were rejected and beaten down by the world.

Every single one of Kerouac’s friends carried within them their own spirit and character but all

followed one common ideology – the ideology of the “Beat Generation”. They stood for non-

conformity, represented change and acceptance of the unconventional and preached openness

to experience. All of the movement’s founders and members opposed the classical way of writ-

ing and expressed their thoughts freely, in any manner they felt appropriate. What was looked

down upon by society and what was unknown to most would become their works’ focal point.


47

This shared belief would unite them in friendship and create the movement which went on to

shape the cultural and social landscape of America.

The Themes of “On the Road”

In “On the Road” many themes are implemented which showcase to us Kerouac’s personal

issues and problems. These themes simultaneously coincide with the ideology of the “Beat

Generation”. Thus the novel is widely known for carrying within it the spirit of being “beat”

and the values which were held dear by a whole generation.

Restlessness:

In “On the Road” Sal finds himself constantly hurrying from one place to the other. He under-

takes road trips with the assistance of cars which transport him and his peculiar acquaintances

across America. The moment Sal reaches his desired destination he decides to move on to an-

other place at a minute’s notice. This pattern of behavior – his restlessness persists for the du-

ration of the book and only ceases at its conclusion as Sal settles down in his place of origin,

New York.

Sal’s trips are fast-paced. He rushes from Denver to San Francisco and then speeds from New

York to Denver. Speed is essential to the story in the sense that Sal and Dean cannot stand being

in one place for too long. Sal longs to be on the road as he feels a constant nagging restlessness

at the back of his head. He feels a creeping need to move. This dissatisfaction with his current

state urges him to act. Therefore he ends up leaving one city for another, one woman for the

next, constantly in pursuit of something. A hunch conveys to Sal that there is some place greater,

something better waiting for him, which is just out of his grasp if he only dares to reach for it.

The immense speed with which Sal and Dean cross the great and diversified landscape of Amer-

ica engenders a feeling which resembles sitting in a fast train seeing the countryside and one’s

surroundings whisk by. This effect is achieved and strengthened with Kerouac’s use of Stream

of Consciousness. The jumble of Sal’s thoughts which are connected into a never halting stream

create a fast-paced glimpse of America as experienced by Kerouac and simultaneously the Beat

Generation.


48

As the characters venture to drive from A to B, one realizes that these figures spend the least

time on the road, simply enjoying the journey but rather rush down the highway in the hope

that they will reach the place they seek soon enough. (Menand, 2018) Nothing to hold them

back but their own will and desire, the characters seek out the irresistible temptations the big

city life and the unknown offers to them. They hope that at the end of their journey they will be

rewarded with work, recognition, friends, and love; in short, all they desire. But just as they

arrive, their hopes and dreams unravel, sending them back once more on their endless journey

to the next promised land.

Kerouac captures these cross-country trips and illuminated cities in “On the Road” as beacons

in the dark for the likes of Sal and Dean. These dreams the two continuously never realize, due

to them being in an endless insatiable hurry and search to reach the next promised place which

is barely visible at the edge of the horizon.

Sadness:

All the appearances mentioned in “On the Road” have one likeness; the inert sadness of it all,

as Sal would say. The sadness which Sal, Dean and all the inhabitants of America carry within

themselves, is said by Kerouac to be an unchangeable and lingering state. They go about their

days, move from one place to another, but their sadness remains and only occasionally gives

way to other emotions. The generation and the population of Kerouac’s America are depicted

as beaten down, weighed down and resigned as their expectations and promises of their lives

and the “great” America are disappointed.

The characters of the book get married, get divorced; take up a job one day and lose it the next;

they philosophize and yearn for greater and dare to hope that one day they will receive the

recognition they deserve. (Menand, 2018)

The events of the book and Sal’s constant search for meaning and the promised place reeks of

sadness. Sal finds himself searching day in, day out for something he cannot find while he is

continuously unable to find peace. Instead of recognizing the sadness his restless and irrespon-

sible lifestyle causes him, he turns to noticing the sadness within others instead. Just as he

expected, he finds a deep-seated sadness embedded in American culture as he observes his

surroundings. Hitchhikers, day workers, the homeless and the glamorous actors all carry it on

their defeated shoulders. To Sal and all those around him, it has become a matter of fact that

this burden has to be carried by every individual on their own.


49

Sal’s sadness and his inability to find what he seeks speaks of Kerouac’s confusion and disap-

pointment with life. Kerouac himself longs for meaning and continuously stumbles around in

the dark searching for something.

Through the first forty years of his life, Kerouac fails to sustain any meaningful long-term ro-

mantic relationships just as Sal repeatedly fails to do so. This does not mean that Kerouac or

Sal did not attempt to find a relationship which held a certain importance and meaning within

it.

“‘What do you want out of life?’ I asked, and I used to ask that all the time of girls. ‘I don’t

know,’ she said. ‘Just wait on tables and try to get along.’ She yawned. I put my hand over her

mouth and told her not to yawn. I tried to tell her how excited I was about life and the things

we could do together; (…) She turned away wearily. We lay on our backs, looking at the ceiling

and wondering what God had wrought when he made life so sad.” (Kerouac, 2011, p. 51)

Sadly Kerouac and simultaneously Sal are their own worst enemies, the moment Dean arrives

to whisk Sal away on another adventure he abandons any current relationship which could lead

to bliss and a fortunate future.

This truly is a beat generation.


Having read about the blinding success of a novel by Jack Kerouac called “On the Road”, I

wrote my own short story called “Pick Your Poison” to accompany it. It should incorporate

Kerouac’s signature spontaneous writing style, “Stream of Consciousness”, and mimic the

“beat” spirit which emanates from “On the Road”. I aim to explain the approach to my incor-

poration and adaptation of Kerouac’s flair to prove that I have struck up my own style of spon-

taneous “beatness”. This approach is based on the knowledge of the novel and the literature

movement.

Shared Approach of Writing:

Kerouac wrote “On the Road” in a three week long frenzy on a classic typewriter through which

he sustained himself with buckets of coffee. He had been struck with a spontaneous affinity for


50

writing with only minimal outline and preparation. Inspiration had taken hold of him and he

finished his draft on one continuous scroll which served the purpose of not setting himself any

confines which existed within a piece of paper. This draft did not go on to be published but

rather remained the simple product of the burst of inspiration and excitement Kerouac felt for

his new spontaneous way of writing in Stream of Consciousness.

This approach to “On the Road” I mimicked on a typewriter, a Hermes Baby, in a total of one

and a half hours without halt or breaks as I kept noting down my thoughts in one continuous

stream of words to apply the literary device “Stream of Consciousness”.

I wrote my story with minimal preparation and partly drew inspiration from my own experi-

ences. I only had the main idea of a nighttime adventure and its setting in the back of my mind

and went on to write.

The main plotline follows a group of friends on a drunken night out as they stumble around in

the dark, trying to find their way to the place they seek, wherever it may be. The main character

would join her once dear comrades on an escapade which is the material of memories and nos-

talgia to her. Her whole group of friends carries an inert sadness within them which they attempt

to numb with drugs, alcohol and such.

This is where the title “Pick your Poison” relates to the idea of the story. The title was inspired

by a phrase commonly used by bartenders to inquire what drinks their customers want to order.

The phrase seeks to provide the visitor with the comfort and solace offered by alcohol.

The Beat Spirit:

“On the Road” was known for being the embodiment of the “beat” spirit. This spirit I attempted

to incorporate into my story through the Beat Generation’s main characteristics. These consist

of the sadness and the restlessness of a whole generation; the sadness Sal Paradise is met with

all over America and the restlessness Kerouac targets with his writing style and subject matter.

Restlessness:

My story is about an intoxicated, hazy, fast-paced night out of a group of friends. They stumble

from one place to another trying to get somewhere, wherever that might be. The restlessness is

shown through the groups constant movement. They are not able to keep their feet still as they


51

run around, sprint and knock on doors; restless, frantic, nervous, they keep venturing into the

dark.

“We ran around, restlessly, gravity keeping us grounded and hefted to the floor. From door to

door we ran, knocking, asking, wondering what others did, what deeds they committed. (…)

After Caz, after him. Where else to go? (…) Where shall we go? We asked. He muttered ‘On,

on, on and further than the beyond.” (Rüegg, Pick your Poison, 2018, p. 4)

The friends remain in the close proximity of one another from their reunion on. They march

along streets as their only guiding forces are the dim streetlamps and Cas himself. These en-

courage them to move on and keep wandering until they find what they seek. As the story nears

its conclusion Cas remains as the group’s sole motivation to soldier on.

“He shook people up as we climbed the hill leading somewhere. Somewhere. Yes, there was a

place. I took another gulp. Yes, that place. I turned smiling at Cas as he dragged me on. Further

into the dark, further, far and then a little more. He mumbled to himself, turning to me, giving

me another reassuring nod and clasped my hand tighter. His smile bright, illuminating all

around us.” (Rüegg, Pick your Poison, 2018, p. 3)

The story ebbs and flows with moments of action which consist of fast-paced and delirious

movements and is balanced with scenes of reflection and downtime.

Jude, the protagonist, increases her pace and runs to get to the meeting point as swiftly as pos-

sible only to slow down in moments of reflection when she recalls her boyfriend’s words or

when she enjoys serenity as she arrives at the place she sought out. As she increases the pace

of her actions, she gradually enters a maniacal and misty state of mind which she achieves with

the means of intoxication.

The action reaches its climax just as Jude falls unconscious and enters the state of reflection at

the end of the story.

All of the friends itch restlessly for this action, some more than others. While Deacon carries a

mournful resignation and unsettling tranquility within his expression and Jude does not con-

stantly long for the relief of the upcoming nights, Cas and Janice seem to be familiar with the

unsettling streets and the short lasting relief and pleasure movement and intoxication offers

them.


52

The group has finally reached their destination of their travels when Jude, the narrator, awakens

from her self inflicted intoxicated stupor. The final scene represents the completion of their

quest for momentary and short-lived bliss.

Jude takes in the sight of her friends after her awakening. John Deacon has seized to move as

he stares blankly into a plunging abyss no one can see but him and is finally relieved of all of

his sorrows through the release heroin has graciously offered him. Cas and Janice have found

a place to dance around and remain in the place where they are able to enjoy their intoxication

far away from their problems. And the protagonist herself, Jude, has also ceased to wander in

desolate streets and has, in conclusion, resulted in halting and contemplating her friends’ mental

and physical state.

The Different Appearances of Sadness:

Just as sadness soaks through Kerouac’s story, the whole of America and the world, so it also

does through my characters. Each of the four friends I have created has their personal sadness

to wrangle with. They carry upon their shoulders their heavy burden and hope to gain relief

from its weight through the means of cheap thrills which last them through the night.

The group of friends rallies together for this night out to forget about the suffering which had

already occurred and the one which is still to come. They stumble, pace around, indulge in

short-lived romances, take gulps of their flasks and inject themselves with poisons of their own

making to reach a state of blissful oblivion and carelessness.

Their sadness and dissatisfaction with the world urges them to move, walk, run and sprint rest-

lessly to a hopefully better place and state of mind.

Cas, the leader of the group, emits an air of carelessness and casual excitement with life which

attracts people of all walks of life. Just as many are attracted to the feeling Cas emits, his friends

follow him any place he goes. In their oblivious state, they expect the all-knowing Cas to lead

them to the place they all desperately seek. A place where sorrows seem miles away, high above

the clouds, away from all which could harm them.

Cas carries these expectations brought upon him by his peers upon his back additionally on top

of his own “shadows” which swallow him whole. These ominous demons which reach out of

the dark lead him astray and tempt him to commit deeds and to give way to the unrighteous.


53

“The dark shadows became wavering, surreal figures to us. (…) The figures crept up on Cas

and he embraced them fully, accepting the gifts they offered with a shrug. ‘To resist temptation

is a naïve feat. Better not to fight it.’ He said as a matter of fact, his smile on his face, plastered

on.” (Rüegg, Pick your Poison, 2018, p. 3)

It is not mentioned what monsters and inner turmoil Cas battles with as we only see him through

Jude’s eyes who looks at him adoringly at first, only to remark his plastered on smile later. She

notices that his smile, before the night commences, does not quite reach his eyes which indicates

Cas’s discontent, a strained pretense of excitement and a carelessness. This carelessness is not

the result of blissful indifference but is rather his partial resignation to the self-destructive forces

within him.

This hollow strained smile inspired his name, Cassian Grace. Cassian means hollowed out and

empty in Latin which refers to his silent resignation and hollow interior behind his painted on

mask. Grace refers to his handsome appearance and to him appearing as heaven sent to his

friends, being to them their illuminating light which leads them through the darkest of nights.

Jude, the narrator of the story, also participates in the night-out but is a mere visitor. She is

different from her friends and compared to them she is not destined to be dependent on cheap

thrills and means of intoxication. She has been pressured into rejoining her estranged friends

for one more night of “kicks” and fun. She has no part in the world her friends participate in

and in moments of despair and blurriness we are reminded of this when her boyfriend’s voice

makes her recall who she truly is and what is actually occurring around her. This comforting

“light” reaches out to her and attempts to drag her out of this state of “darkness”.

Her name plays into her role of being innocent. St. Jude is the miraculous saint of hopeless

causes. As Cas would say: “Little Jude, the saint joining us crooks once again.” (Rüegg, Pick

your Poison, 2018, p. 2)

The reason why Jude left her friends’ cycle of intoxication behind is due to her having realized

and sobered up to the idea that her former friends and herself were just numbing themselves to

avoid the pain and sorrows of reality.

Jude relapses and enters this vicious circle of self-harm once again. She rejoins them for one

more journey and repeatedly takes gulps from her flask throughout the group’s search to enter

a self-inflicted intoxicated state. She only manages to break out of this cycle after falling


54

unconscious and waking up sober only to see the activities of her friends which convey to her

a strong sense of sadness as she empathizes with them.

Janice Porter and Deacon carry their own burdens as they dependently follow Cas through the

dark all while knowing that at the end of their journey awaits them bliss for Janice in form of

alcohol and for Deacon in form of heroin. They grapple with their own problems which we

know nothing about or only receive little insight into. Janice appears to put on a façade and a

pretense under which she operates and communicates with her friends while Deacon does not

try to hide his sadness and has resigned to his temptations and burdens.

Their names embody the intentions of their personalities. Deacon means servant symbolizing

his dependency, Janice was inspired by the singer Janice Joplin and Porter means the one who

carries.

The once tightly knit group’s friendship was only manifested by the sadness which they have

in common and the poisons of their own making which they consume. Their night of kicks is

to them an occasion where time stands still and all sorrows temporarily disappear. A short-lived

relief which is worth making self-destructive sacrifices by filling one’s veins with black poison.

Their discontent and inert sadness make them seek out and restlessly run towards their promised

place hopefully. Wherever that place may be, the means to arrive there requires them to numb

and resign themselves to the darker parts of their psyche.


55

2018

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein SALVAGING THE CORPSE OF FRANKENSTEIN


56

The Precipice of Life

A lonely figure in the company of a dark shadow hesitantly advanced towards the center of a

tiny historic village in the middle of the Alpine mountains. In the days of summer this little

town christened by the name of Huffle, amidst the mountains looming over and surrounding it,

is known to be turbulent and lively in contrast to the time which leads up to the season of winter.

In those cold and stormy days the town was desolate and deserted of all company. Its inhabitants

had left it behind to find warmer bearings in friendlier climates in the south. Only a few re-

mained to look after the ghost town.

The village of Huffle in its emptied state on a bleak fall day set the foreshadowed backdrop of

the figure’s arrival. This mountain town which the figure crossed to reach its destination found

itself in a deserted valley separated from all which wished to disturb the creature’s calm.

Thus as the lonely figure dragged itself towards the center of the village, one was able to hear

its every step and quiet whispers echoing through the most hidden nooks and corners of the

ancient town. The figure’s lifeless limbs hung at the side of its slim and fatigued silhouette as

a permanent dark veil and shadow hung over its appearance and pursued it at its every step and

turn. The suffocating quiet was preeminent and one merely heard the sound of the single person

moving further along buildings and the commencement of the nearing storm echoing through

the secluded mountain valley which was devoid of other company but nature’s inhabitants who

sought for shelter from the preemptive storm. A defeated sigh, a hurried shuffle across the stone

paved streets and the rumble of a nearing storm; all disturbance aside, the dubious tranquility

of nature and an absence of civilization and company persisted. An unnerving calm had spread

across the village as the unwelcome visitor finally reached the town’s information center and

opened its door. A threatening tempest was nearing.

The door opened without a sound and allowed the figure into the simple, yet cheerfully deco-

rated tourist center of Huffle. The paper thin silhouette dragged its bag with it as it entered,

clinging to it tightly with both of its hands cramped around the luggage’s handles. The cloth

bag contained its scarce belongings and seemed too heavy a burden for its fragile body to bear

as it weighed it down and visibly exhausted the wretch. It continued to drag its weight with its

feeble arms and gaunt body towards the information desk at the center of the tiny room seem-

ingly miles away, where a boy of barely twenty years of age was animatedly engaged in con-

versation with his breathtakingly beautiful coworker. The creature’s breath stopped as it beheld

her beauty and vitality. The young girl granting the boy her company was leaning against the


57

brightly colored counter of the desk while she was nodding without halt at her partner’s every

word to prove her vigor and dedication. She was eager to please the other and did all which was

possible in her power to convey her commitment to him in her attention. She carried a pleas-

antness within her countenance and a warmth radiated from her physique and the looks she

graciously offered the one who had earned them. Her long streams of golden hair curled around

her lively red flushed cheeks as she smiled tenderly at her companion.

There was a tenderness in her animation and the girl appeared to feel profoundly for her partner.

It was clear as day to one who had once loved passionately and vehemently only to lose it all.

The female coworker heard the dissonant sound of the heavy bag repeatedly hitting the carpet

and abruptly turned around as if she had woken from a dream only to pale and awaken to a

hellish nightmare. Her and the boy’s conversation had come to a sudden and forced halt. The

girl’s face turned cold, anguish crossed her features just now by love illuminated and her hands

commenced to tremble slightly. All had become silent apart from the sound of the cloth bag

hitting the wooden floor. She unconsciously grabbed the arm of her companion tightly, grasping

at it for halt as she continued to tighten her grip on her knight in shining armor, the sickly figure

looming ever closer. Before the stranger could inch any nearer to the desk, she nervously an-

nounced her goodbyes to her partner in form of rushed whispers to her dear friend’s ears and

fled. First slow and then shaky steps were taken, one after another out the room, away from the

decaying evil which she had beheld a glimpse of. But slowly these insecure steps gave away to

a quickened pace and resulted in the frightened girl’s departure out of the eerily quiet room in

utter terror.

After the departure of the girl the room had become quiet. One could distinguish the single

tapping noise the steps of the hunched figure made as it continued to make its way towards the

counter where the employee awaited the single customer’s arrival. As the young man stood

there, the welcoming smile he had reserved for guests turned strained and he commenced to

nervously tap the polished counter with his fingers. To calm his nervosity and unease about the

approaching figure and to avoid looking at the stranger’s horrifying countenance, he grabbed a

few information pamphlets which he started sorting vigorously as he attempted to avert his eyes

from the one approaching him. A few long lasting seconds passed which appeared to him like

lifetimes of anticipation before he heard the bag hit the counter with another final and damning

thump. Hearing the sound hitting the surface, he reluctantly raised his eyes to the fading face

of the intruder.

A spindly finger pointed at the employee’s name tag and shook as it did so. “You’re named

Carter?” it asked, its voice hollow and tired. Its voice seemed to call from a place far away. Its


58

sound rippled into echoes within the desolate room and sent shivers of fright up Carter’s spine.

A gasp escaped him and his body visibly commenced to shake vigorously as the finger contin-

ued pointing at him. This gesture appeared to him a messenger of menace and accusation which

filled his body at once with fear of this creature before him. The figure let its arm fall back to

its side and beheld the boy’s emotions of fear and disgust curiously. Did it really awake such

emotions in the innocent young boy? It hesitantly attempted to undo its effect by offering a shy

smile of encouragement. It meant no harm at all. The shadow hanging over it curled around its

gaunt physique like smoke as it attempted to offer a gesture of kindness to the boy and the

ominous curls of darkness continuously offered it whispers. “Attempt to fail yet another time.”

The wretch raised the corners of its sunken mouth in a hint of a smile and failed to do so. Its

lips formed one horrible sneer and its face resembled a grimace. The boy felt nothing but dis-

gust at its sight and retreated, taking a step back to politely keep his distance as his hands trem-

bled with the pamphlets still in them.

“Off you go to disrupt all those around you.” Another whisper passed through the shape.

The lonely figure spoke once again to the visibly frightened boy in a beaten down manner as

its voice barely escaped with little more than a whisper. “Have mercy. I only seek refuge from

the living, from the ones who abhor me and feel nothing but repulsion as they behold me. Fate

has condemned me to misery.”

The young man nodded slowly and even though he felt compassion he avoided the nightmarish

creature’s pleading gaze. His repulsion only allowed him to throw it the keys of the refuge it

sought before he decidedly resigned his working post with shaky upheld hands as a gesture of

surrender.

“I hope you find what you seek.” He said, pitying the wretch which evoked such disgust and

pity in the kind and the living. The boy kept standing at the desk staring at the cold floor beneath

him as he let silence fall over the room, awaiting the stranger’s imminent departure.

Curiosity and sadness, the dying creature had experienced these emotions many times in its

current state of slow decay. A sigh escaped it as she breathed in and out. It observed and

watched the young man standing there, stiff and unmoving awaiting his release. His cheeks yet

rosy, his body strong and with a healthy color.

It decidedly took the key, the access to its secluded haven, from the counter and slowly scurried

out of the room. A thump of the cloth bag and its dragging sound were heard hallowing (echoed,

synonym) through the room as the figure departed as swiftly as it could. Thump, thump and

another thump and the young boy continued to stand paralyzed at the same exact spot as before.

The lonely figure turned one last time to nod a resigned goodbye out of respect to the young.


59

“May fate treat you just, young man.”

The thin shadow sitting on its shoulder continued his whispers solemnly.

“And may it doom the old who are destined to be wretched and wandering.”

µ The sun had already set and disappeared beneath the horizon as the lonely figure left the build-

ing and an ice cold breeze, travelling through the mountain town and valleys, made it shiver

and cower even more than it had before. Its back writhed to preserve the body’s warmth and

the creature huddled more into the thick layers of its clothes which served to hide its grotesquely

shrunken body and to preserve its flame of life which barely flickered within it.

In this cold and grey weather one or two thunders rumbled occasionally from afar and lightning

struck a faraway tree. The clouds had suddenly become impenetrable and pitch black as they

hung over the scenic town of Huffle which had once been so bright.

The hunching shadow which the being had become proceeded to climb up the stony path of the

mountain precipice to reach the destination it had longed for in the far off bustling city. The

clouds were dark and the day was nearing to an end behind the stormy gray clouds. The creature

simply desired peace. Another rumble was heard in the distance which threatened to catch up

with the wretch who huffed and puffed as it struggled to climb up the increasingly steep path.

The paths were steep and unruly and thus one could only proceed on one’s own two feet and

the figure continued to struggle. It conquered one stone after another only to suddenly slip, to

fall and hit its head hard against a nearby jagged rock which left a dent on the creature’s patchy

head and made blood flood down the unpaved mountain path. The figure cursed the spirits and

it cursed all else as it put its hand to its wound. “Oh you spirits can you not grant me the peace

I so ardently desire? Do you desire to see me struggle in vain and such despair only to receive

my final and just request?” The poor and wretched creature looked down the edge of the high

reaching mountain path and voiced its sorrows at the higher spirit and nothing was returned but

the rustle of the fall leaves . No one ever replied but the comforting sounds of men’s origin.

The shadow clinging on to its weak shoulders escaped evil laughter at its spiritual beseeching

and request of the greater. The cackle echoed through the valley and radiated malicious intent

and Schadenfreude for the wretch’s fate.

Another whisper echoed through the mountainous valleys. “Life comes for all of us. One has a

place for all of us in the cold of oblivion and eternal pain for the condemned and guilty.” The

creature continued to climb step after step, another followed by another, all while it carried its

scanty cloth bag holding its scarce belongings and recollections and the shadow of the twisted

evil on its hunched back. The devil flew around its head and crept around in the close proximity


60

of its eyes and dared to mock the hurting figure relentlessly with malicious insults, doubts and

remembrances of its shortcomings.

In a small nook beneath the hills behind hard stone and hidden from the unforgiving cold was

the little rotten abode. The lonely figure neared it cautiously and slowly took the unpaved path

towards it. The wind passed through the hut’s cracks and nooks to sing a melancholy song of

the past, times which mirrored the fate of the wretch. The door of the hut was opened wide by

the lonely figure’s twisted companion. This opening the figure entered and upon entering sur-

rendered to its unforgiving exhaustion.

µ Sun protrudes from the single cracks on the wall and through the windows and illuminates the

single room the hut consists of. The thinly figure startles awake at the sun’s warmth and dares

to marvel at the annum’s last sunshine. Just now it begins to take in its surroundings. The night

had been so dark and tiring that it had not dared to look around at its arrival. But the rundown

domicile does not seem as lowly compared, as it has come to believe, to its industrious city

home. The hut has its comforting charm and strewn around the place’s furniture are old mem-

orabilia from past visitors. Pictures of dried flowers and photographs of smiling hikers come to

its attention and the creature dares to dream in its current condition. Just for a moment, perhaps

a short while it thinks to itself. It traces its bony fingers along the dusty surfaces and across

cheerful memories of others and the lonely figure recollects its own. The recollections flood

into it all at once and fills it with boundless joy which installs in it a renewed strength it has not

felt since its final damnation to death and eventual spiral into hopelessness. Oh, how the world

is cruel to once again make the doomed wretch hope for better, it thinks to itself. What simple

sunshine can evoke in one long dead and gone astounds the creature. Oh, what astonishing

pleasure simple things can awaken! The wretch is possessed by the very spirit of wonder even

the more, knowing this feeling of joy would soon give way to other emotions. If it could only

harness and indulge itself in this state of serenity and happiness it thinks to itself it could know

and seek to understand bliss when it seems so unattainable. The dark shadow sitting on its sickly

pale shoulders has become a mere remembrance faint to it and it barely notices the presence of

evil and sadness in the darkest corners of the humble abode. Evil grins at the figure faintly and

seemingly schemes for its own inevitable return and assistance in the development of the fig-

ure’s destined despair. The creature regards the shadow with a straight back and puffed chest

as it sits in its pitiful dusty corner. It dares to wonder and remember the times in which it walked

by itself, weightless and animated by the ardor of its own nature. The wretch made its way out

of the hut and proceeded to embrace nature which in its every state has always possessed


61

attractions for it. The surrounding area’s sublime and unfathomable mountains evoke such hor-

ror and admiration that it is at a loss for words. No words are required as the place it finds itself

in could not be described with any existing means of communication. At the edge of the moun-

tain lake the figure stands and its chest tightens with the feeling of eternal bliss. Gratitude fills

its being and of the fire, which had once been at danger of being extinguished, the embers flare

up and have become a reignited fire. A fire which could only be dimmed by the creature’s own

appearance it then beholds in the reflection of the serene mountain lake. The reflection which

mirrors its countenance creates ripples and its expression of joy morphs into one of curiosity

and confusion. It has not dared to look, not in any mirror, in fear of seeing a horrifying monster

and beast staring back at it, broken down and savage, a perversion of what the wretch had once

been and which had come to horrify and haunt the living with its unbearable sickness and dis-

ease. But as the creature looks down upon its own image it occurs to it that she is after all the

same. She is a mere woman as she has always been. Her feminine features are distinguishable

and she sees herself, sick and gaunt, but herself nonetheless. Her appearance appeared worn

out, her hair is faded and colorless, her lips shriveled and dry, her cheeks and eyes hollow and

sunken. But the glint of character and life in her eyes has yet to disappear after her appearance

has deteriorated. In between all which is beautiful and decaying, such as the falling leaves of a

forest, the fading blossoms and wildflowers amidst fall, she has found her own image. Nature’s

imminent decay and death would lead to another inevitable state indicating eventual recovery

in a new form. The seasons gave way for another and everything had its course. She believes

that she would behold spring yet again.


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Salvaging the Corpse of Frankenstein (Text)

It was a dark and stormy evening on which Lord Byron and Percy and Mary Shelley, prominent

members of the Romanticist Movement, came together to write horror stories based on the task

Lord Byron set them. Mary Shelley, on this night, created her first novel “Frankenstein” in the

home of Lord Byron, inspired by the contest and the nightmares she had. Frankenstein’s horri-

fying creature and his ensuing fate were thus brought into existence and would become one of

the milestones of Romanticism.

This Romantic novel contains the typical Romantic characteristics but touches also on issues

which concerned Shelley personally. These I adapted and mimicked in my short story “The

Precipice of Life”. These topics dealt with the progression of science in the area of the creation

of human life and one’s resurrection from death and the responsibility a scientist has towards

his creation and product.

The Romantic Bug Bites England

Literary Romanticism originated in many cultures worldwide but most prominently in Britain

in the 18th until the first half of the19th century. It mainly focused on poetry but also included all

forms of literary activity such as novels. The movement caught on like a wildfire all across the

world and soon many artists joined in on the trend and expressed their emotions and distaste of

the current state of society freely.

One of the most prominent English Romantic poets and one of the movement’s forbearers was

William Wordsworth who published “The Lyrical Ballads” in 1791 and “commenced” Roman-

ticism in England. In the Preface of Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads”, he described poetry and

simultaneously summarized the principle of the Romantic Movement as “the spontaneous over-

flow of powerful feelings”. (Britannica, 2018) In other poets such as Lordy Bryon and Percy

Shelley English Romanticist poetry eventually reached its culmination post the 1830’s.

All Romanticist writers had in common that they appeared lost in their own imagination and

dreams of an ideal society and way of living and focused on their individual personalities and

reflection of it. This utopian society and individual state were to the Romantics man’s return to

nature and a deepened focus on emotion. Subsequently, these beliefs led to the Romantic re-

pulsion of reason and industrial activity.

These ideals challenged popular conceptions of reason and rationality, which the preceding

period of Enlightenment held dear. The deviation from classic and current social values was


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revolutionary to the period and led to the innovation of both literary Romantic content and

writing style.

The Context of Romanticism and its Subsequent Beliefs:

Amid the fast-paced progress and revolutions worldwide, the Romantics felt discontent with

society’s current state and began to record their thoughts on paper. In their writing, they ex-

pressed beliefs which resembled the Romantic movement’s mood during the specific periodical

context of the 18th and the 19th century which fueled their desire to create art.

These expressions of Romantic subject matters primarily embraced the individual and his or

her subjectivity. An insight into one’s own being and character in the form of a healthy and

critical self-reflection was one of the Romantic’s main goals, which served the purpose of dis-

covering the nature of one’s self and the one of humans.

This revelation most followers of Romanticism attained through the means of contemplation

and reflection in nature where they found complete solitude and peace of mind. Thus the mirror

became an important Romantic element which symbolized the reflection of one’s self and inner

workings.

In Romantic literature, this focus on the individual was shown in the preoccupation of authors

with the image of a grand hero and individual at the center of a story. These tales of grandeur

focused on the individual’s passions, ambitions, inner struggles, and turmoil, which regarded

both negative and positive sensations.

This subjective approach and exploration of the human being led to the Romantic belief that

emotion ruled over reason. The human senses and emotions became more important to the Ro-

mantics than the intellectual and in their mind one ought to be able to freely express one’s

personal impulses and thoughts.

This expression of emotion over reason the Romantics valued might as well be best described

by the French poet Charles Baudelaire.

“Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor in exact truth, but in a way

of feeling.” (Baudelaire, 2018)


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This manifestation and expression of feelings appeared in bursts and overflow of emotion in

both poetry and novels. Excessive emotion, negative or positive, was expressed superfluously

at one’s whim. These impulses of excessive emotions and sense were believed to lead to the

understanding and experience of the world just as well as reason and scientific knowledge

would.

This emphasis on emotion was to counteract the insistence on the restricting reasoning and

logical approach the ideology of Enlightenment. To the Romantics, the creative spirit should

not have to be bound to rigid formal procedure and societal rules. Thus the diverse imagination

of the individual and the artist had entered the movement’s foreground and became their most

priced good.

The Romantics additionally desired a return to traditional values and a period prior to Enlight-

enment in all their work. Their writing dealt with this desire to return to nature and our origins

which we had dared to neglect and forget. This longing, they showed through a deepened ap-

preciation of nature and a yearning to reside in nature in complete solitude. As Industrialization

and the increasing establishment of enormous and huddled industrial breeding grounds knocked

at their door, the Romantics sought to elude the relentless industrial advancement and reside in

nature instead. Nature was to them a safe haven where one can find one’s desired peace and a

place untouched by all the filth and dirt of factories and humans. They believed that solitude

would offer them the necessary peace and quiet they sought for their contemplation and reflec-

tion of themselves and their surroundings.

Thus the Romantics were known for their close observation of nature which they based their

work on. Romantic artists made a connection between humans as visitors and part of nature,

while concurrently portraying the protagonist as being conscious that nature is omnipotent and

unpredictable in its actions which evokes a feeling of the sublime in the beholder. The sublime

being a sensation of awe combined with terror which serves to humble the viewer and make

them feel insignificant in comparison to the powerful constructions of nature. (Seiferle, 2018)

This development of Romanticism and revolution of classic literature took place in the frame-

work of the 18th up until the middle of the 19th century which presented a time of drastic and

revolutionary change of structure all over the world such as the French Revolution and Indus-

trialization.


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In part the emphasis and disregard of formal rules by the Romantics were influenced by the

model of the French Revolution in 1789 which had introduced a new conception of freedom of

expression, equality, and revolution against social structures to the world. (Seiferle, 2018)

The focus on the individual can be accounted to the period’s industrial revolution which ranged

from 1760 to 1840 which led to the unjust treatment of the individual human being. The

worker’s and the human’s basic rights were disregarded and infringed on to create revenue for

the rich. This the Romantics heavily disagreed with and deemed immoral, one of these infringe-

ments of a human’s rights being the inhumane crowding of industrial capitals.

Emotion and spiritual development in this periodical context and technological change had be-

come unimportant to the government and the public as reason and technical efficiency had come

to take the place of morals. Romantics sought a return and escape to the ideals of their ancestors

who valued the individual and felt appreciation for nature.

The Birth of “Frankenstein”

On the above fateful stormy night, Mary Shelley was challenged by Lord Byron to write Frank-

enstein. This challenge took place in the context of Mary Shelley and her husband’s, Percy

Shelley’s, visit to Lord Byron’s castle in the year without a summer.

1816, the Year without a Summer would become the breeding ground for one of the classic

works of literature, Frankenstein. This phenomenon was caused by a volcanic eruption and

would affect the whole of Europe.

The consequence of the event was a darkened climate which caused unease and fear of nature

among the population. It appeared as if a harbinger of the supernatural was imminent as the

once joy awakening Summer occurred eerily dark and heavy clouds spread over the landscape.

The dubious and unknown atmosphere was creeping up on them and spread with its gradual

approach a sense of unrest.

Shelley, her husband, and her group of friends felt the same way during their visit of Lord

Byron’s estate in the Year without a Summer. While the couple resided in their friend’s home,

Byron and her husband’s conversation about the nature of death and the current scientific pro-

gress sparked Shelley’s interest in the concept of life and death and the consequences of scien-

tific research. These ideas would then go on to become the focal point of Frankenstein.


66

On a frightful, stormy night as the group of friends sat in Byron’s estate, the host set his guests

a task. In the current gloomy atmosphere, they ought to compete against one another to see who

could write the best horror story. This encouraged Shelley to take up action and create her first

novel, Frankenstein. This group of friends, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, amidst whom

she wrote the story would eventually, just as Mary Shelley did, become the representatives of

the English Romanticism, Lord Byron and Percy Shelley being praised as the climax of English

Romantic Poetry.

The same year,1816, the couple concluded their several trips and travels across Europe. These

took place in France, went on to Switzerland and reached as far as Italy. Both, Percy and Mary,

took extensive notes of the landscapes passing by during their travels. (Literature Network,

2018) They had such an immense effect on Mary Shelley that the beautiful sceneries of Swit-

zerland inspired her and became the setting of her novel and the backdrop of Victor Franken-

stein’s childhood.

Shelley’s Recipe for Frankenstein

Shelley’s Writing Style:

Mary Shelley, born into a wealthy family, enjoyed a high-class education in her youth and was

encouraged to become an accomplished woman. She had a proficient knowledge of literature

which showed in her sophisticated writing style. This sophisticated writing style came to be in

part because of her extensive vocabulary, which she had acquired in her youth, but also because

of her inexhaustible imagination which enabled her to capture the essence of Romanticism.

Descriptive Scenes of Nature:

Just like other Romantics, Mary Shelley found enjoyment in her surroundings and rejoiced

when she resided in nature. She and her husband traveled a lot and attained much joy from

distancing themselves and escaping from the crowded cities such as London to nature. Thus

this inclination to nature is incorporated in her novel, Frankenstein, which contains several vivid

displays of the Swiss Alpine region.

This setting would also be where Victor resided in his childhood and where the Frankenstein

family remained after Victor’s departure for Ingolstadt. So the surroundings and countries


67

Victor passes during his journeys and his vengeful hunt for his creation are also depicted in

immaculate detail.

Shelley’s characters in Frankenstein, are both in awe, feel appreciation and simultaneously hor-

ror for these enormous natural landscapes. Shelley utilizes this state of mind to evoke and em-

phasize emotions which resemble eternal bliss or utter doom in her characters as well as the

reader with the means of descriptions of dramatic and omnipotent structures of nature.

“The weight upon my spirit was sensibly lightened as I plunged yet deeper in the ravine of Arve.

The immense mountains and precipices that overhung me on every side – the sound of the river

raging among the rocks, and the dashing of the waterfalls around, spoke of a power mighty as

Omnipotence – and I ceased to fear, or to bend before any being less almighty than that which

had created and ruled the elements, here displayed in their most terrific guise. (…) Immense

glaciers approached the road; I heard the rumbling thunder of the falling avalanche, and

marked the smoke of its passage. Mont Blank, the supreme and magnificent Mont Blanc, raised

itself from the surrounding aiguilles, and its tremendous dôme overlooked the valley.” (Shelley,

2013, p. 148–149)

In Victor’s perception of the Swiss mountains, which he continuously ascends and crosses to

reach his goal, Shelley paints pictures of power. To Victor nature appears omnipotent and oth-

erworldly. The landscape is described by Victor as immensely vehement and powerful. His

worldly sorrows fade away as he realizes that whatever he fears it cannot be less frightening

and mighty than nature itself. He is made conscious of his own insignificance amidst nature. In

such a manner, Victor finds peace and calm in the mighty Alps.

Unrestrained Sensations and Professions of Emotion:

A typical Romantic interest is the focus on the individual and their emotions, spiritual mind,

and sensations. Shelley’s characters are all Romantically inclined in the way that they are in

touch with their emotional side and actively examine their state of being. Shelley incorporated

this Romantic aspect by making her characters profess their emotions in a very open manner,

burst into monologues and narration of happiness and sadness and, in the case of the monster,

attempt to understand their nature.


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Hence when the character vehemently feels a certain way, he professes, feels and embraces his

emotions, not differentiating between negative and positive sensations. Thus to the reader, the

character’s mind is an open book and one knows exactly what the character thinks and feels.

“I can hardly describe to you the effect of these books. They produced in me an infinity of new

images and feelings, that sometimes raised me to ecstasy, but more frequently sunk me into the

lowest dejection. (…) As I read, (…), I applied much personally to my own feelings and condi-

tion. I found myself similar, yet at the same time strangely unlike to the beings concerning whom

I read, and to whose conversation I was a listener. I sympathized with, and partly understood

them, but I was unformed in mind. (…) My person was hideous, and my stature gigantic: what

did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These

questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them.” (Shelley, 2013, p. 198–199)

In this excerpt, after the creature discovers volumes of classic literature in the wild, he begins

to reflect on his own existence while reading on about the emotions and lives of others.

The books create such a vehement whirlwind of emotion within the reader that the creature is

swept away with it and begins to feel just as strongly and ardently as the books’ characters.

He commences to ask questions raised by the stories and wonders about his own state. He feels

similar and relates to the heroic protagonists, but simultaneously finds there to be a gulf sepa-

rating him from them which awakens discomfort in him.

Shelley’s Literary Themes within “Frankenstein”:

Frankenstein was the typical Romantic novel of its time. It followed many Romantic ideals but

also raised its own questions which were a concern to Mary Shelley herself. Its main focus and

criticism lay with the fast advancing scientific progress of the time and the movement of En-

lightenment, both of which are embodied by Victor Frankenstein. Shelley points this out by the

means of her protagonist who conducts dangerous scientific experiments which were typical of

the time. In Shelley’s eyes, in many of these contemporary scientific ventures, man had over-

stepped his boundaries by playing God as he attempted to uncover all the secrets of nature. The

consequent moral Shelley wanted to convey was a warning. If humans ever dared to overstep

their boundaries and meddle with nature, there would be serious consequences, which in Vic-

tor’s case lead to eventual doom and an irresponsible creation let loose upon the world.


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The novel additionally, due to the challenge proposed by Lord Byron, also included elements

which were deviations from the common Romantic characteristics. It delved into the fascination

of the supernatural, the unknown and horrible, which are shown in the thoughtful creature

Frankenstein has instilled life in his ambitious search for scientific perfection and recognition.

The Quest for the Elixir of Life:

Mary Shelley raises the question about the morality of scientific ambition in her novel as this

topic had become an active concern to many Romantics. Due to industrialization and the pre-

ceding enlightenment, an increased number of scientists had begun to conduct ambitious re-

search which had the purpose of challenging the fundaments of and beliefs on nature and to

reveal to the world the secrets of nature. Shelley discusses the issue in the essence of her book

in the person of the academic Victor Frankenstein.

The scientists of the period sought scientific truth and perfection which would not only match

God’s work but exceed it. Shelley feared the consequences of such pursuits which could possi-

bly defy nature and God himself.

“No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the

first enthusiasm of success Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first

break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me

as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. (…) ,

I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless mater, I might in process of time (…)

renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption.” (Shelley, 2013, p. 87)

Thus the novel tells the story of an ambitious scientist named Victor Frankenstein who longed

and desired to discover the secret of life. A discovery which would instill in him the power over

life and the recognition of having provided substantial knowledge to humanity and its future

generations. Victor observes the processes of death and decay during his search and halts at

telling us the secret about the spark of life in fear that the listener and the recorder of the story,

Captain Walton, will be subjected to the same gruesome fate if they dare to overstep the bound-

aries of nature.


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The reason why Shelley raised the concern about the consequences of ambitious scientific re-

search in the first place is that she was worried about the moral implications of the scientific

experiments on the deceased.

Shelley’s period was a time of discovery and progress. These experiments on the dead found

form in examinations of corpses and resuscitation of the unconscious through the reanimation

of their heart with the aid of electricity which could cause temporary movement, spasms of the

muscle. The method of resuscitation through electric shocks was also referred to by Shelley

since Frankenstein’s “monster” was called back to life and instilled with the spark of life with

the aid of lightning.

These experiments on the diseased disturbed the spirit of the dead as superstition said. Corpses

used to be respected and holy. It used to be strictly forbidden to experiment with any corpses

and it was believed that if one dared to disturb the peace of the dead, one would carry the

consequences.

“Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps

of the grave, or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay? My limbs now tremble,

and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless, and almost frantic impulse,

urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit. (…)The

dissecting room and the slaughterhouse furnished many of my materials; and often did my hu-

man nature turn with loathing from my occupation whilst, still urged on by an eagerness which

perpetually increased.” (Shelley, 2013, p. 89)

Even though Victor has never been superstitious, he is conscious of his transgressions and the

immorality of conducting research on the dead, yet he proceeds with his experiments which he

feels are unethical. To reach society’s goal of the continuous pursuit for truth, Victor is driven

to put his conscience and morals aside and to conduct his experiments despite knowing his

actions to be “wrong” and contradictory to human nature.

This intrusion into the workings of nature by the modern pursuit of knowledge is deemed mor-

ally incorrect and heavily criticized by Shelley within Frankenstein. She recognizes its dangers,

just as Victor does, and the novel serves as a warning to the manically ambitious young men

who seek to change the world.


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God in Shelley’s eyes is omnipotent. An extent of power, humans should not and will not ever

truly acquire. If they dare to defy this boundary, despite all the grim forbearing, they will be

faced with their imminent doom just as Victor was.

Shelley visualizes for the reader, Victor’s metamorphosis from a young boy who seeks scien-

tific truth and perfection into a depressed man who is haunted by the repercussions of his un-

ethical experiments. This raises a multitude of questions, such as how dangerous can the acqui-

sition of knowledge be? How far ought one to go? Where is the limit? What areas of life should

man leave untouched?

Ambition and curiosity can be fortunate traits to possess, but they might as well turn into a

curse or obsessive compulsion.

The Nature of Being Human:

Frankenstein’s creature is brought into the world as a mere infant with no understanding of the

world and the way it functions. From the first moment on in which he enters the outside world,

he is confronted with the most basic senses of a living being which are completely foreign to

him. He takes in his surroundings and experiences both positive and negative sensations as he

stumbles around in the wild by himself. Soon after he commences to feel emotions such as joy

and fear which are triggered by the different moods of nature such as rain and its consequent

cold.

The creature has no one to turn to, teach and educate him in his ways on how to feel, think and

most importantly behave as his creator has abandoned him at first sight. There is no example

which he can mimic and learn from in the absence of his creator until he encounters a kind

family and a selection of books which he finds in the woods.

The family passively “teaches” the creature, among other qualities, how to be kind as it observes

them from its hidden nook. The family through conversing kindly and caringly with one another,

nurture and raise the creature to become “good” and more “human” in the process by assisting

it at developing empathy towards others.

But when the creature encounters the family in person, he is chased away by them and this

event fills him with a hatred which fuels his subsequent revengeful actions against Victor, the

only being he has any bond to in this world.


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The creature additionally continues to be “nurtured” by its surroundings and experiences and

subsequently acquires several additional “human” qualities as it immerses itself in literature

and grapples with the questions raised in its novels. These “human” qualities consist of emo-

tions and capabilities such as kindness, empathy, and despair. Classic literature encourages his

process of thinking and questioning and helps him develop a “human” mind which longs for

answers, understanding from others and company.

“The Sorrows of Werther” offers him insights into emotions, “Paradise Lost” mirrors his expe-

riences and make him question his origins and existence and “Plutarch’s Lives” teaches him

about civilization and human institutions. From these three books, he derives a further general

comprehension of civilization and humanity.

Victor Frankenstein, his creator, thinks of the creature as irredeemably evil from the moment

he beholds the revived corpse. He simply does not believe in its goodness and potential to be

“human” despite the creature having educated itself and being eloquent in its speech and be-

havior due to its horrific appearance, unproportionate body, and ugly countenance. He is re-

pulsed, just as civilization is, by the creature he beholds.

To Victor, the human is an absolute good and the “monster” he had wrought does not and never

will fulfill the criteria of a “human being”. Victor’s creation will for eternity remain the evil

wretch who had brought doom upon him by merely existing and being created.

He feels an ounce of temporary empathy for the creature as he beholds its manners and elo-

quence but this compassion dissolves immediately when he casts a look at his creation’s ap-

pearance and is filled with shame for his own scientific failure instead.

Through the virtuous family and the aid of classic literature, the “monster” was molded into a

being with character, morals and a consciousness which never ceases to question its surround-

ings and the creature’s state of existence. He does not simply exist as many other savage crea-

tures do, but feels, thinks and experiences life with all its positive and negative facets.

The life of the creature experiences positive aspects in the form of the enjoyment in literature

and the hope for love, companionship, and acceptance. The negative manifests itself in the form

of the creature’s rejection from society and its subsequent agony and emotional distress.

This wide spectrum of sensations the creature experiences, the way he holds himself and con-

templates his own actions and surroundings make him more human in Shelley’s and in the

Romantic’s eyes than many biological humans are.


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He displays positive empathetic and emotional qualities and critical thinking which the Roman-

tics qualify as part of the criteria for being human and which are highly valued by them

Shelley criticizes and showcases the shortcomings and vices of men in comparison to the qual-

ities of the monster by telling tales about the unjust workings of civilization through the expe-

riences of the kind family and Victor’s detestable and prejudiced treatment of the creature.

The monster is judged solely by his appearance and not by his moral composition or his kind

deeds towards the impoverished family and beings in need. His positive qualities are of no

matter to civilization and society, as an agreeable appearance and the mere look of a human is

enough to qualify as one.

This prejudicial behavior based on appearance can be seen as blind old De Lacey treats the

creature with compassion due to his inability to behold the creature’s appearance but the crea-

ture is attacked on sight by the man’s family members.

Or it is also shown on the basis of Victor abhorring the wretch from the moment he beholds the

living being and its frame without having become familiar with the creature’s behavior and

intentions.

“ (…) when, by the dim and yellow lights of the moon, as it forced its way through the window

shutters, I beheld the wretch – the miserable monster whom I had created. (…) Oh! No mortal

could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could

not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but

when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even

Dante could not have conceived.” (Shelley, 2013, p. 93–94)

The wretched creature, affected by this unjust and inhumane treatment, becomes aware of his

horrific appearance and begins to believe himself indeed to be a monster which is unworthy of

love and compassion from any human. He indulges in contemplation and comes to this conclu-

sion as he beholds his own appearance in a pool of water self-consciously for the very first time.

This pool of water constitutes a very important Romantic element which serves as a tool of

reflection and demonstration of one’s inner and outer workings.

“I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers – their grace, beauty, and delicate complex-

ions: but how was I terrified, when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I started back,


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unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully

convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations

of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this mis-

erable deformity.” (Shelley, 2013, p. 177)

This treatment of and the disposition towards the creature begs the continuous philosophical

question what the nature of a human constitutes. Is one born or does one become human through

external forces acting on oneself and by continuous self-reflection? Does one lose the quality

of being human if one treats another cruelly?

Romantics would argue that the quality and nature of being human is rather earned through

self-reflection, expression of emotion and acts of kindness than the mere achievement of being

of fortunate birth.

This question of what makes us human occupies many until this day and reappears across a

wide range of literature. The answer varies from one person to the other and everybody has

their two cents on the matter. Shelley professes her opinion on the issue in the representation

of Frankenstein’s creature who appears more capable of being human than bigger parts of so-

ciety and some might argue more human than Victor himself.


The short story “The Precipice of Life” is the product of my knowledge about Shelley. I read

her novel “Frankenstein” and beheld and contemplated the aforementioned themes and her

writing style which embody the ideal of Romanticism. I then incorporated Shelley’s Romantic

elements into my own writing and short story. Below I elaborate on my approach and imple-

mentation.

Shelley’s Writing Style:

The Appeals of Nature on Display:

The Romantics including Shelley were fascinated by nature and its structures’ sublime appear-

ance. Landscapes and their immediate natural surroundings had an immense effect on their

emotions and subsequently their writing. The sublime mountainous regions Shelley visited

evoked as much awe in her as it did fear. She felt immense respect for the omnipotent structures

which she came across and felt small and powerless in comparison. This sensation she felt when


75

she was faced with nature called forth humility in her. The reader knew through Frankenstein’s

powerful and descriptive imagery not to meddle with nature and was humbled in the process.

This Romantic obsession with nature I adapted into my story “The Precipice of Life” by setting

it in a hidden mountain nook. The small isolated hut, its location and the town of Huffle which

are situated in the hidden mountain nook are all purely fictional except for the fact that they are

all situated in the Alpine region.

By creating my personal setting of the story I was able to let my imagination run wild and create

a purely fictional landscape in which I could express the influence nature had on my protagonist.

My main character escaped from its contemporaries and the blinding lights of civilization to

find solitude in an isolated nature hideaway in which no one was to disturb her peace. The area

is unvisited by any tourists in fall and winter due to the gradual decay of the greenery in the

area which does not hold much appeal for visitors. The protagonist seeks this place for exactly

this reason. She hopes for the gloomy weather and the brewing storms to match her mood and

nature to serve as an escape from society. She hopes for nature to grant her solace and distance

from all human beings in her sorrows through its cold and foggy weather.

First, the protagonist is met with a brewing storm and the hardships of reaching her abode. But

soon she arrives at the hut and faints out of fatigue only to be awakened by the warm embrace

of the sun. The opposite result is achieved, instead of being engulfed in the state of resigned

melancholy, the character is welcomed with the warmth and joy nature offers to all living beings.

“Sun protruded from the single cracks on the wall and through the windows and illuminated

the only room the hut consisted of. The thinly figure startled awake at the sun’s warmth and

dared to marvel at the annum’s last sunshine.” (Rüegg, The Precipice of Life, 2018, p. 4)

The protagonist is revived by the healing powers of nature and its radiance and is simultane-

ously beaten down and humbled at her ascension to her hut during the harrowing storm. Due to

this wonder and awe nature has granted her, the character is amazed by it, begins to reflect on

the cycle and workings of nature and commences to once again believe in her own eventual

recovery from sickness and decay.


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“But the glint of character and life in her eyes has yet to disappear after her appearance has

deteriorated. In between all which is beautiful and decaying, such as the falling leaves of a

forest, the fading blossoms and wildflowers amidst fall, she has found her own image. Nature’s

imminent decay and death would lead to another inevitable state indicating eventual recovery

in a new form. The seasons gave way for another and everything had its course. She believes

that she would behold spring yet again.” (Rüegg, The Precipice of Life, 2018, p. 5)

Romantic Confessions of Emotions and Intentions:

The Romantics supported and enjoyed vehement expressions of emotion and one’s individual

reflection of oneself and one’s surroundings. They targeted this interest in their writing with

the aid of a hero who was the focal point of their piece and expressed his emotions in an open

manner to the reader. This way, the readers themselves are given the opportunity to understand

the hero better and examine the issues raised by the hero. This contemplation and the conse-

quent comprehension of oneself through the means of solitude and the escape to nature is a

typical element of Romanticism and my story, “The Precipice of Life”.

This is mirrored in my character’s behavior and speech as she expresses her desires and emo-

tions actively through speech, her body language, and facial expressions. In all sadness and all

happiness, the protagonist attempts to express her emotions.

“‘The figure cursed the spirits and it cursed all else as it put its hand to its wound. “Oh you

spirits can you not grant me the peace I so ardently desire? Do you desire to see me struggle

in vain and such despair only to receive my final and just request?’ The poor and wretched

creature looked down the edge of the high reaching mountain path and voiced its sorrows at

the higher spirit and nothing replied but the rustle of the trees.” (Rüegg, The Precipice of Life,

2018, p. 3)

She does not hold back even in her sickly and beaten down state when she is faced by the

adversity of nature. She laments her state and professes her calamity actively to a greater power

above, hoping to one day be heard by a just force.

“The recollections flooded into it all at once and filled it with boundless joy which installed in

it a renewed strength it had not felt since its final damnation to death and eventual spiral into

hopelessness. Oh, how the world was cruel to once again make the doomed wretch hope for


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better, it thought to itself. What simple sunshine could evoke in one long dead and gone

astounded the creature. Oh what astonishing and absolute pleasure nature could awaken!”

(Rüegg, The Precipice of Life, 2018, p. 4)

In all her bliss and joy, she expresses her emotion and her astonishment of the sensations, which

nature has the power to evoke, freely. Her surroundings and the warmth they emit triggers an

overflow of emotion and wonder in her which makes her dare to hope once again.

Both negative and positive sensation and reflection take place within the story. Both are equally

important to the Romantics and the protagonist who embrace all facets of the human being. So

my story ends with the protagonist’s conclusion that the state of melancholy and decay she

experiences are just as much a part of life as the bloom of bliss and joy.

Romantic Literary Themes:

The Query for the Essence of Life:

Victor Frankenstein embarked on a search for the essence of life. He sought to know what life

consisted of and what it took to instill life upon an inanimate being. Throughout his research,

he kept wondering what the spark of life truly was and what made a being truly alive. A matter

Shelley was rather curious about too.

This matter of the secret of life does not appear in the form of an ambitious scientist who ven-

tures to possess the secrets of the world in my story but takes form in my sickly and gaunt

protagonist.

“The paper thin silhouette dragged its bad with it as it entered, clinging to it tightly with both

of its hand cramped around the luggage’s handles. The cloth bag contained its scare belongings

and seemed too heavy a burden for its fragile body to bear as it weighed it down and visibly

exhausted the wretch. It continued to drag its weight with its feeble arms and gaunt body (…)”


Her sickly and thin appearance hint at a possible illness which has driven her to a state at the

edge of death. She is a broken down creature which has lost all hope in the continuation of her


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life and her survival of yet another season and thus decides to spend the remainder of her days

in an isolated hut far away from the society of others.

The spark of life within her, I refer to as a flame, had already been dimmed by the death sentence

her sickness presented prior to her arrival. The embers of her flame are barely glowing. She has

given up on life.

I ask myself in my story if a person can already be departed from the living if their heart is still

beating? The protagonist has resigned from life, continues to mourn her state and wishes to end

her sufferings once by moving on to death. Is a person who has resigned from the living, still

alive?

In my story, I attempt to convey these questions by stating that by resigning to death one’s spark

has already dimmed and one becomes a mere wandering corpse.

The diagnosis of an incurable sickness presents to many and the protagonist herself imminent

death. They wish to fight no more after a certain point, due to them being treated differently by

their surroundings and loved ones because of their sickness. Their fighting spirit and their flame

of life have to be retained to truly call them alive. Resignation to death is never an option, if

one does not bother to fight death, one has already stepped into one’s grave with one leg.

Simply dragging oneself through life in the hope for death or a miraculous recovery and being

a mere wandering shadow represents to none a life worth living.

The Nature of Being Human :

By creating the novel Frankenstein and consequently his creature, Shelley shows the reader

based on her story what she thinks it means to be human. The creature Frankenstein created

stumbles around in nature, attempting to survive the scorching heat, the biting cold and the

adversity of civilization. It gradually discovers how to be more civilized, kind and longing for

company, in essence – human. But as every biological human chases away the well-meaning

wretch and we hear Shelley’s stories of the vices of men, one begins to wonder what being

human really means.

Perhaps being human predisposes empathetic characteristics and a wide range of emotion sim-

ilar to my protagonist who possesses a grotesque appearance marred by illness rather than a

biological human who commits heinous deeds and possesses the appearance of an angel.

Anybody who beholds the sight of the Frankenstein’s creation flees in fright or decides to ma-

liciously attack the wretch who only longs for love, disregarding his possibly kind intentions.


79

I imitate this theme in my protagonist and the repulsion of her as she enters the deserted town

of Huffle, which only holds few in the winter months. The reaction to her appearance is one

full of fright and disgust in the humans she comes in contact with. The usually friendly towns-

people of Huffle behold her countenance and her gaunt frame and cannot help but run from the

creature infected by sickness in front of them.

“The girl’s face turned cold, anguish crossed features just now by love illuminated and her

hands commenced to tremble slightly. (…) She unconsciously grabbed the arm of her compan-

ion tightly, grasping at it for halt as she continued to tighten her grip on her knight in shining

armor, the sickly figure looming ever closer. Before the stranger could inch any nearer to the

desk, she nervously announced her goodbyes to her partner in form of rushed whispers to her

dear friend’s ears and fled. First slow and then shaky steps were taken, one after another out

the room, away from the decaying evil which she had beheld a glimpse of. But slowly these

insecure steps gave away to a quickened pace and resulted in the frightened girl’s departure

as she stormed out of the eerily quiet room in utter terror.” (Rüegg, The Precipice of Life, 2018,

p. 2)

The humans she encounters cannot help but feel disgust at her sickly appearance despite the

protagonist’s good intentions and lack of ill will. Her disease has morphed her into a creature

which no one wants to get near to, so they cast her out of society. The living who she was once

a part of have repulsed her due to her state and are persistently keeping their distance from the

sick and the ones at the precipice of death.

Civilization prejudicially judges her by her appearance and concludes that she is repulsive and

different from an ordinary human being because of her appearance’s gradual decay. Her moral

composition and intentions are of no matter to them as long as her appearance is unpleasant.

I describe the protagonist throughout the story as the “creature” or the “lonely figure”. I do not

mention her gender and her human appearance until the climax of the story where she beholds

herself in the mirror in a moment of reflection, astonishment, and realization about her nature.

With a neutral term and a disconnection from her actual identity and gender, I dehumanize the

protagonist to show how she had become an outcast which was subhuman in the eyes of society

and most importantly herself.


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“The reflection which mirrored its countenance created ripples and its expression of joy mor-

phed into curiosity and confusion. It had not dared to look, not in any mirror, in fear of seeing

a horrifying monster and beast staring back at it, broken down and savage, a perversion of

what the wretch had once been and which had come to horrify and haunt the living with its

unbearable sickness and disease. But as the creature looked down upon its own image it oc-

curred to it that she was after all the same. She was a mere woman as she had always been.”


Sickness and the consequent reactions of others changed her into something she did not recog-

nize as herself. The proud human she once was, was forever changed by the realization that her

death is imminent. Her resignation to death and her physical decline changed her appearance

towards the world and most importantly to herself. The added treatment of others towards her

only dehumanizes her more in her own eyes and makes her the monster she thinks she has

become. She is disgusted with herself and wants to wait for the end of her life. But as she looks

at the mirror image of herself, which is reflected in the lake, and the warmth of nature shines

on her once again, sparking her fire of life, she realizes that she was no monster after all. She

was a woman marred by sickness, who continues to persist and carry the weight of her sorrows.

From this point on, I begin to use female pronouns to refer to her human identity rather than

the neutral pronouns which emphasized the perception that she was more monstrous than hu-

man.

By coming to the realization through the Romantic element of a reflection that she had not truly

changed, she dares to regain hope once more and sees herself again as a human being, which

she was all along. This idea that she was not human and a grotesque monster was enforced on

her rather by the decay of her appearance than the moral composition or the person she was and

is.


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Conclusion

I began this Matura paper as a passion project. Its execution united all my interests in one:

reading and researching, which subsequently leads to my immersion into an author’s life, cir-

cumstance and writing. This paper allowed me to read great works of literature, to brush up

on diverse literary movements and improve and test my own writing abilities.

The process consisted of me reading the chosen authors’ works, conducting research and then

writing my story, mimicking the authors, and a consecutive analysis. In the finishing touch, the

analysis accompanying each short story, I presented the results of my critical reading of the

authors’ works, the conclusions and “lessons” I drew from it and finally their implementation

and the intentions of my story. The intentions and conclusions were laid bare, elaborated on

and justified with purposefully chosen extracts.

The process of implementing the authors’ way of writing into my own stories consisted of me

reading their texts several times to get a feel for their writing, understanding the literary themes

and then adopting my variation of their “quirks” into my short story. I stay true to the authors’

examples and heed their “lessons”, but my story is based on my own beliefs and experiences

and contain my own twist to their style. These lessons take form in the authors’ ways of writing,

their storytelling and the issues raised in their texts.

By heeding and adapting these lessons into my story, I thereby prove that one will always be

able to profit from classic literature. This value does not only exist in the form of the improve-

ment of one’s writing but also in the learning of lifelong lessons which aid the individual’s

development of character, empathy, and intellect. Thus literature will always find a place in

modern society and culture for its inherent and timeless qualities which convey these lessons

and values. Future generations ought to make use of this treasure which lies just at their finger-

tips.

This paper, consisting of the short stories and the accompanying analysis, additionally made

me come to conclusions about the authors, the endless cycle of revolutionary literary activity

opposing suffocating social conformity and the significant autobiographical impact on an au-

thor’s literary work.


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All three authors, Wilde, Kerouac, and Shelley, were part of countercultures in their time pe-

riod. All of the revolutionary movements originated from the necessity to counteract a re-

stricting societal force which threatened to censor freedom of opinion and thought.

This threatening force results from society, across many centuries, tightly holding on to the

idea of conformity to social convention and “normalcy”. Society has thus gradually developed

a defense mechanism: the process of cleansing itself of the unconventional and different.

Never has society been completely tolerant towards minorities and an opinion differing from

the popular consensus. This results in society rejecting and discriminating against or even

seeking to suppress and silence the unconventional and the minority.

All three authors and their corresponding movements were faced with this resistance against

unconventional thought in the form of suffocating social order and intolerance and thus subse-

quently commenced their active rebellion against social convention and sought the liberation

of thought within their work. Repeatedly, in an endless cycle, such revolutionary movements

occur and are necessary to counteract the oppressive force to enable freedom of speech and

art once again.

Oscar Wilde’s Aesthetic movement fought against the role art had been given as an educating

force and decided that it had no obligation but to be beautiful in itself. Jack Kerouac fought

against suppressive social convention and “normalcy”. Shelley fought against the restricting

force of pure reason.

Additionally, all three authors included significant autobiographical aspects in their work

which mold and frame it. Jack Kerouac’s novels are completely based on his life and only

slightly differ from reality as they had to be adjusted to artistic freedom and the form of a

novel. Wilde and Shelley both incorporated autobiographical elements and issues which were

important to them into their work. Thus an author’s life strongly influences their work. An au-

thor’s writing has a strong bond and cannot be separated from its creator and narrative.

The authors reveal parts of themselves to the reader and the world by proclaiming their beliefs

and in the process reveal their thoughts and nature. An author pours their soul into their work

consciously or unconsciously and it shows. I like to believe that all the words and actions

within a book carry a meaning and are consciously executed by its author.

Because an author’s work can contain strong autobiographical influences it is vital to under-

stand an author’s life as it enhances the reading experience immensely. Thus by acquiring in-

formation about the writer’s life one can understand the classic literary text better and gain a

broader understanding of the context of it, which plays into its content.


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Acknowledgements

First and foremost I would like to thank my advisor, Michael Aeschbach, for guiding me

through my first paper, providing me with advice, continuously correcting my grammar mis-

takes and reminding me to keep my calm. But he is not only a great advisor but also a fantas-

tic German teacher, whom I continue to bug with my discussions in English during German

class. In part, my interest in literature has been elevated by his engaging classes which con-

tinue to encourage me to think more about the inherent meaning and qualities of literature

compared to just its literal meaning.

I would also like to thank Bernard Hild, my biggest fan, harshest critic and the person I love

the most. He made a great consultant who had an open mind and a proficient knowledge of

English and literature. By giving him my stories to read, he was able to give me his opinion

on them and read through the texts with me to point out the logical and grammatical mistakes

in my paper. He was also my rock during this whole nerve racking half of a year as I sped

through my project because I had procrastinated to finish it before. He provided me with sup-

port, kept me calm and grounded, and encouraged me to be proud of my work. I could not

have done it without his help and appreciate him without end.

Last, I would like to thank my friend, Ari Hechel, for his encouragingly snarky comments

about my paper and how he is only interested in reading my stories as the paper is too long

and therefore tedious. He always brought a smile upon my face.


84

Bibliography

Books (Primary Literature): Kerouac, J. (2011). On the Road. Penguin Modern Classics.

Shelley, M. (2013). Frankenstein. Reclam Fremdsprachentexte.

Wilde, O. (1991). Lady Windermere's Fan. In O. Wilde, Plays, Prose Writings, and Poems.

Everyman's Library.

Wilde, O. (1991). Plays, Prose Writings, and Poems. Everyman's Library.

Wilde, O. (1991). The Importance of Being Earnest. In O. Wilde, Plays, Prose Writings, and

Poems (p. 481-542). Everyman's Library.

Wilde, O. (1991). The Picture of Dorian Gray. In O. Wilde, Plays, Prose Writings, and Poems

(p. 127-320). Everyman's Library.

Wilde, O. (1991). The Truth of Masks. In O. Wilde, Plays, Prose Writings, and Poems (p.

101-126). Everyman's Library.

Own Short Stories: Rüegg, R. (2018). Pick your Poison.

Rüegg, R. (2018). The Precipice of Life.

Rüegg, R. (2018). The Anatomy of a Self-Established Philanthropist.

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“I thereby confirm, that I have written this paper independently and without any other

sources than the ones mentioned above.”

Place, Date: Name, Signature:

the composition of short stories based on the legacy of ...€¦ · of writing i then went on to...

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