Mind in Frankenstein and The Shallows Essay Example

One of the main characters in the film Inside Out mentioned, "Do you ever look at someone and wonder, what is going on inside their head? Well, I know. Well, I know Riley's head." Riley's intellect and emotions are always developing as she develops, as portrayed in the film, as are adaptations that occur in the everyday, normal working of our thinking. This statement from the film Inside Out relates to the themes of both Frankenstein and The Shallows since it emphasizes the significance of the brain's ongoing development as well as the rise and fall of emotions. However, rather than fully expanding, the brain is not establishing as it once did since individuals rely on the web or internet and do not provide their thoughts or emotions. Both texts explore and emphasize the concept of the brain and mind continually evolving, as well as the emotions that they sense, see, and experience.  

In the story of Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, a skilled scientist who succeeds in giving life to a being of his invention is portrayed in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley a female author and artist. However, this is not the flawless specimen he expects, but an ugly creature shunned by Victor and humanity in general. Victor, armed with the information he has long sought, spends months busily constructing a creature out of ancient body parts. In the solitude of his apartment, he brings his concept to reality one climactic night. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned. As a result of Victor's narcissism, he shuts off the creature; causing the creature to act out and do horrible things that he did not intend to do but came naturally to the creature.  

The Shallows, a book by Nicholas Carr, a Harvard graduate and American writer of technology, culture, economics, investigates the impact of internet technology on the human psyche. We are bombarded with stimuli in the digital era. Our computers, phones, and digital gadgets provide us with continual access to limitless knowledge and a sense of connectedness. Carr offers a thorough and illuminating exploration of how the internet affects the brain and its neural connections. Carr's analysis is deep in neuroscience and other studies, as well as philosophy, science, history, and cultural evolution. It also evaluates the effect of technology on human cognition. We have greater access to knowledge than ever before in the digital era, and we feel more connected to one another than ever before. These advantages, however, come at a cost: we are exchanging vital abilities for a form of intelligence that adapts us to computers rather than the other way around. Carr addresses how the Internet has altered our perception of intellect in his book. Similarly, as seen with the Industrial Revolution, there was a preoccupation with efficiency and multitasking over profound thought. Individuals are regarded as less essential than the system. Our brains are not designed to process all this information while still learning new things about ourselves or others. As a result, instead of depending on books or other kinds of literature for information and understanding about themselves and others, people are rapidly becoming reliant on social media for amusement. Carr contends that the internet is altering our understanding of intelligence. Our obsession with efficiency has gotten out of hand because we are constantly bombarded with information from apps on our phones and websites such as Facebook. The net also rewires our brains, making us more susceptible to distraction and less capable of concentrating on complex thoughts or expressing nuanced emotions. Scientific facts, brain research, and case studies are used to support his statements. As illustrated, a person's intelligence was measured by their ability to sit quietly and solve complex problems.  

The novel Frankenstein agrees with my claim because the creature expresses, “By degrees, I discovered of still greater moment. These people possessed a method of communicating their experiences and feelings to one another by articulate sounds. I perceived that the words they spoke sometimes produced pleasure and pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers. This was indeed a godlike science, and I ardently desired to become acquainted with it” (Shelley 78). The monster explains that as he was surrounded with the cottagers, he began to experience what they were feeling for himself. His surroundings had affected him in a way that sparked his curiosity and his desire to become familiar with it. His experience supports the belief that due to our neurological plasticity, we quickly become mirrors of our environment; the brain is an information-processing system that is shaped by the sort of information it processes.  

The creature shows that its mind and emotions are constantly developing because in the novel Frankenstein, he discloses “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.” (Shelley 91). For example, the creature learned visually by seeing the cottager's family father instructing his children. He had also learned new skills such as their language by listening to the cottager’s conversations. Comparably, in The Shallows chapter four by Nicholas Carr, "The Deeping Page," he examines how the growth of writing and reading transforms the mind. It alters the mind because Carr tells how, in the early days of our original intellectual technology, considerable mental pressure was imposed on the reader's frontal brain. Carr elucidates "When he reads, his eyes scanned the page and his heart explored the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still, "(Carr 60). Carr advocates the idea that jolting your brain into action, keeping concentration, and enabling your mind to absorb the events unfolding in front of you allows your mind to construct knowledge. Both Frankenstein and The Shallows understood the importance of individual and social responsibility. Concerning the mind's continual evolution.  

However, rather than fully expanding, the brain is not establishing as it once did since individuals rely on the web or internet and do not provide their thoughts or emotions. This relates to my previous claims. Several times, the creature experienced sentiments of delight, joy, and excitement. However, he felt lonely, ignored, and depressed most of the time. His heart had been tainted by evil, wrath, and bitterness. The creature allowed his rage and negativity to get the best of him, and as a result, he acted rashly. This connects to the novel Frankenstein; the creature did indescribable things because Victor, the person that created the creature, did not want to create a mate for the creature and that triggered something in the creature's mind. In the novel Frankenstein, it states “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it you as a right which must not refuse to concede” (Shelley 104). Victor's hopeful goal of starting a new life exemplifies a failure to understand personal responsibility as well as a lack of government oversight.  

In conclusion, both texts explore and emphasize the concept of the brain and mind continually evolving, as well as the emotions that they sense, see, and experience. Riley's intellect and emotions are continuously evolving as she matures into maturity, as seen in my introductory tale. Adaptations exist in the everyday, regular functioning of our thoughts, as well. Experiments demonstrate that, just as physical or mental activity may help the brain create new or stronger circuits, neglect can cause such circuits to weaken or dissolve. As a result, Carr discusses the logical reasons why the mind functions in The Shallows, whereas Shelly discusses the mind more emotionally throughout Frankenstein.