A-level English Frankenstein and Handmaid's Tale essay on the fear of the unknown
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Course
Unit 2 - Prose
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
A* English A-level Frankenstein and The Handmaid's Tale comparison essay titled: Compare the ways in which the writers of your two texts convey the fear of the unknown
Compare the ways in which the writers of your two texts convey the fear of the unknown
Both writers convey the fear of the unknown through warnings to the reader. Shelley uses
gothic elements in Frankenstein to leave much of the darkness and horrors of the novel to the
reader’s imagination, effectively leaving them in the unknown. Similarly, Atwood uses the first-
person narrative to deliberately disorientate the reader subjecting them to a similar state of
mind as Offred, that being one lacking knowledge. Shelley highlights the dangers of science
through characters such as Victor and Walton as they lack a fear of the unknown, which leads
to Victor’s mistake of creating a Creature more powerful than himself. Shelley argues that we
should fear the unknown as curiosity and the desire for more knowledge is dangerous.
Similarly, Atwood highlights the dangers of curiosity through Offred’s train of thought as she
constantly tries to speculate what others are thinking.
Shelley uses gothic elements to convey the fear of the unknown as much is left to the
imagination of the reader of the true horrors in the novel such as the creation of the Creature.
Gothic novels are based around secrets and in Frankenstein; Victor’s secret of his creation is
tinged with shame and fear. Shelley is deliberately vague in the details of how the Creature is
created and as readers, we are limited in knowledge of only Victor’s reaction to his creation
encouraging the reader to believe that the true horrors of the Creature are indescribable and
that this hideous unknown entity should be feared. The knowledge that Victor’s ‘eyeballs were
starting from their sockets’ at the sight of the Creature allows a limitless horror of the reality of
the Creature to be imagined by the reader. Furthermore, the settings in Frankenstein can be
linked to…
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