GatorBait
6th period
Final Exam Blogpost Template
Introduction
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein recounts the intertwined narratives of Victor Frankenstein and his nowhere near perfect Creature, revealing not a single truth but a layered fiction that questions the stability of identity, authorship, and moral authority. Through fragmentation, metafiction, and multiple identity crises, Shelley anticipates Postmodernism’s fascination with fragmentation, unreliable narrators, and constructed realities, inviting readers to confront the monstrous truths born from society’s pursuit of perfection.
Summary of Element One - Fragmentation
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein anticipates Postmodern concerns through its exploration of fragmented identity and the destabilization of moral binaries. The Creature reflects on his transformation, lamenting, "I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend" (Shelley 97). This quote showcases the blurred line between good and evil, a key Postmodern element, as the Creature’s identity fractures due to his environment and rejection. The Creature's self-awareness and moral conflict frame his loss of innocence as a product of external trauma. This whole situation causes the reader to question whether identity is inherent or constructed, a central theme in Postmodern literature that dismantles absolute truths and embraces multiplicity.
Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)
This idea reminded me of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film Spirited Away, in which a young girl named Chihiro crosses into a mysterious spirit world and must rely on her inner strength and intuition to survive. Though the settings are vastly different, both stories explore how children confront overwhelming fear using gestures that are not rational but symbolically powerful. In Spirited Away, Chihiro doesn't fight her way out with force or logic. Rather, she survives through acts of memory, kindness, and self-assertion, along with the assistance of some allies she makes along the way. For instance, when she clutches her name to avoid forgetting who she is, or when she clings to a piece of rice her friend gives her, these moments mirror Nye’s use of the fist as a symbolic anchor. Just as Nye’s narrator clings to her fist to assure herself she's alive, Chihiro’s actions become metaphors for identity, survival, and transformation in a world that constantly threatens to erase her.
My Take - I can make a link between these two stories because in both of them, there are characters that are faced and changed by the opinions and actions of the people around them; for reference, these characters are the creature from Frankenstein and No Face from Spirited Away. In Spirited Away, No Face starts off as a friendly and innocent spirit, who’s perceived Kindness ends up being rejected by the main character, which results in a monstrous rampage much like the creature from Frankenstein when he is rejected by society and his creator.
Summary of Element Two - Metafiction
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein anticipates Postmodern concerns through its use of layered narratives and commentary on human ambition as a constructed narrative device. When Walton wants to know “What can stop the determined heart
and resolved will of man” (Shelley 14), he embodies a romanticized vision of progress and heroism, one that Shelley ultimately deconstructs. This line, placed early in a story told through nested narratives, sets up an ideal that is later dismantled by the tragic events that follow. The statement acts as a metafictional device, drawing attention to the fact that the novel is more of a story, with each narrator shaping events to suit personal beliefs or ideals. Walton’s question becomes ironic when juxtaposed with the collapse of Frankenstein’s ambition and the Creature’s suffering. In this way, Shelley plays with metafiction, using narrative structure and self-aware commentary to highlight how stories can mask truth, manipulate meaning, and expose the artificiality of moral certainty.
Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)
“Humility” radiates a strange kind of irony. It’s sonically upbeat and joyful, yet its lyrics suggest quiet resignation and withdrawal. This tension between sound and sentiment is more than just contrast; it’s a deliberate act of emotional dissonance, a hallmark of postmodern art. The video plays into this further: 2-D’s carefree skating and Jack Black’s chaotic guitar strumming border on absurd, yet they unfold in a curiously empty context. Nothing really happens, and that nothingness becomes part of the point. Gorillaz often refuses to deliver emotional clarity; instead, they lean into fragmentation, contradiction, and cool detachment. The characters both participate in and observe their own narrative, making “Humility” feel like a performance that knows it’s a performance. It kind of reminds me of one of Deadpool’s 4th wall breaks. The layered, self-aware ambiguity is where the song’s power lies: it’s emotionally distant on the surface, but profoundly relatable when you dig a little deeper to find those sweet diamonds!
My Take - These two works both share how there are characters that are aware of their existence being a story or other form of entertainment for someone else, and that they are telling some kind of story to their audience. The characters will do things like how Victor will make a monologue or how 2-D will interact with the “real” people in some other way, like how he wraps his arms around his friends.
Summary of Element Three - Identity Crisis
Your Literary Tradition Text
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein explores Postmodern themes of broken selfhood and unstable identity through the Creature’s reflection, “I ought to be thy Adam, but rather I am the fallen angel” (Shelley 87). This quote reveals the Creature’s deep internal conflict between who he believes he was meant to be, innocent, loved, and guided, and who he has become, rejected, isolated, and morally corrupt. The juxtaposition of Adam and Satan signals a crisis of origin and purpose, as the Creature searches for meaning in a world that has denied him love and belonging. Rather than
possessing a fixed or essential identity, the Creature’s selfhood is shaped entirely by external rejection and suffering. This shows us that identity is not inherent, but constructed by social and relational forces of society. The blurred boundary between innocence and monstrosity pulls in readers and makes them question the very notion of a stable self, highlighting the Postmodern rejection of absolute roles and binary moral systems.
Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)
Though “Humility” has the vibe of a summer anthem, the lyrics suggest emotional fatigue masked by a relaxed facade. This reminds me of Marino’s “Wake Up”, which offers a lo-fi, emotionally detached atmosphere that mirrors the internal emptiness beneath “Humility’s sunny exterior. Where Humility floats on breezy funk rhythms, Wake Up trudges through minimalistic production, with hazy vocals and understated emotion. Despite their stylistic differences, both tracks embody the postmodern experience of disconnected presence, being awake and active, yet emotionally numb. Marino’s verses feel almost slurred or intentionally distant, as if he's observing life rather than participating in it. Like 2-D in the Humility video, skating past people without connecting, Marino drifts through a world that doesn’t quite touch him. The repetition of the phrase “wake up” becomes ironic since it’s not a call to action, but a reflection of exhaustion. These two songs demonstrate that postmodern expression doesn’t have to be loud or overtly dramatic. Sometimes, the most powerful statements about alienation and mental fatigue are whispered, disguised in simplicity, and hidden behind a mask.
My Take - between the song and the story, we can link with how an individual is isolated or rejected by the rest of the world. Marino feels that no matter how hard he tries, he “can’t fit in”, same as how Frankenstein is pushed away from the people in his life that he wants to get close to, like the cottage people and his creator.
Conclusion
Through the Creature’s internal conflict and the novel’s layered narratives, Shelley challenges fixed ideas of truth, selfhood, and authorship. These ideas echo more recent media like Spirited Away, Gorillaz’s Humility, and Marino’s Wake Up, which similarly explore alienation, constructed realities, and unstable identities. Together, these works show how Postmodernism invites us to question what we believe about ourselves and the world around us and what the world believes about us.
Works Cited
Gorillaz. “Humility (Official Video).” YouTube, 31 May 2018, youtu.be/E5yFcdPAGv0. Accessed May 7 2025.
Marino. “Can’t fit in”, Genius 6 February 2025, https://genius.com/Marino-i-cant-fit-in-lyrics Accessed May 8, 2025
Nye, Shihab, Naomi. Making a fist, NerdyPublisher, 1988, nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/read-between-the-lines. Accessed May 6 2025
Pierce, Jack. Choking Frankenstein's Monster, Giphy, 2025, giphy.com/gifs/boris-karloff-KZp3Mj1AoTHCo. Accessed May 14 2025
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, Contexts, Criticism. Edited by J. Paul Hunter, Norton, 2012. Accessed March 22, 2025
I find it cool how this author not only demonstrated the facts, but also wrote about his own takes showing how perspective is really big in literature. I really like the connection the author made to Frankenstein and No Face from "Spirited Away", specifically about how they both follow around and once rejected, act up.