ESL Writing Achievement and Grades

ESL Writing Achievement and Grades STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD WRITING ESL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS PEER RESPONSE Graham, Berninger, and Fan (2007) emphasized that attitude is an effective component of motivation. Concerning (Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Cook (1993) elaborated on the Affective Filter Hypothesis proposed by Krashen’s 1982 theory of second language acquisition. Cook (1993) stated that Krashen theorized that motivation is an essential variable that has a facilitative, affective role in L2 (second language) learning. Cook (1993) explained that Krashen claimed that Language learners who are highly motivated are more inclined to acquire the target language. Unmotivated learners who are highly anxious on the other hand, usually have difficulty understanding the target language because of a high â€Å"affective filter† which results in a â€Å"mental block† that hinders â€Å"comprehensible input† from being acquired. The question here is; how about peer reviewers’ affective state? More critically, and in direct relation with (ESL) writing, Anderman and Wolters (2006) indicated that the affective states may influence the different types of strategies which are utilized by students while writing (as cited in Graham et al., 2007). Along similar lines, Isen (1990) stipulated that students with negative affect tend to use obsolete and dead-end writing strategies whereas students who are characterized by an affirmative and more encouraging attitude towards writing tend to get engaged in more flexible and adaptive self-regulated strategies which help them be cognitively engaged to the writing task (as cited in Graham et al., 2007). According to Graham, Berninger, and Fan (2007) the sole researcher who investigated students’ attitude towards writing in a systematic way during the 90s was Knudson (1992, 1993, 1995) whose main area of focus was elementary age children. Kear, Coffman, McKenna, and Ambrosio (2000) found out that children’s attitude toward writing actually worsens as they move to upper grades. Same results were reported in earlier research done by Knudson (1991, 1992, 1993) who also found out that older students tend to have less positive attitudes towards writing that younger ones (as cited in Kear et al., 2000). Therefore, Knudson (1995) insisted that since research indicates that writing anxiety and apprehension have a negative effect on students’ success in school, practitioners should be more involves in research that has to do with writers’ attitudes towards writing and how it evolved in school environment. Knudson (1995) also emphasized that educators should be know ledgeable about their students’ understanding of the writing tasks so that they would be better able to assess their students’ engagement, involvement, and interest. Knudson (1995) conducted a field study which examined how writing attitude and achievement are correlated in addition to the correlational relationship between writing attitude and grade level in addition to gender. The participants were 430 students enrolled in an elementary school in the USA / English language native speakers who came from either low or lower socio-economic status. The researcher administered a questionnaire for each student grade level. Hence, students in grades (1-3) responded to the writing Attitude Survey for Primary grade students; whereas older students in grades (4-8) responded to the Writing Attitude Survey for Children. It must further be noted that the aforementioned attitude scales were both developed by the researcher. In addition to the questionnaires, students were asked to respond to a given prompt. Each essay written by students was read and graded by two raters who had achieved acceptable terms of inter- rater reliability. Knudson (1995) triangulated her data collection procedures by randomly selecting 12 students from all grade levels and interviewed them to elaborate on their answers they have given in the writing attitude survey . The children were also interviewed to elaborate on their beliefs towards the writing tasks done at school and how they were directly related to their achievement as well as to explain how they perceived writing to be important. The interview contained 10 open –ended questions which provided the researcher more insights about students’ understanding of writing tasks and activities at different grade levels as well as more explanations on students’ responses given in the questionnaires administered earlier. Results indicated that writing achievement was directly related to students’ grade level as well as their perceptions and attitudes towards writing. Hence, Knudson (1995) reported that students who have positive attitudes towards writing regardless of age and gender tend to be better writers. On the other hand, concerning grade level and gender and their relation to writing achievement, the researcher also reported that older students and females in particular have a better inclination towards becoming proficient writers that younger writers and males in particular. What is interesting is that Knudson (1995) claimed that the questionnaires and interviews she conducted also measured how students’ attitudes towards writing changes as a result of specific writing strategies they learner in class. Hence, students in grade 4 for example were able to verbalize the process strategies they used in writing such as planning, organizing, and goal setting. So, the researcher conclu ded that the process writing approach became more prevalent in writing instruction where students engage in prewriting activities and this strategy was verbalized by the participants as â€Å"planning the entire composition†, drafting which was voiced by the interviewed students as â€Å"thinking what to include and leave out†, in addition to revising which was verbalized by Knudson’s participants as â€Å"being sure they stayed on topic† (Knudson, 1995, p. 94). These results are consistent with what Knudson (1991) suggested when she was in the process of developing her writing attitude scales back then. Hence, she recommended that â€Å"it is useful for researchers, program evaluators, and researchers to assess children’s attitudes towards writing and the effect of instruction on their attitudes, including treatment, grade, and times of measurement† (Knudson, 1991, p. 814). Of direct relevancy, Graham, Berninger, and Fan, (2007) investigate d one aspect of motivation; specifically, attitudes of young, beginning writers. The participants were 128 first grade level students (70 females and 58 males) and 113 third grade level students (57 females and 56 males) who were English language native speakers. The educational level of the parents was used as a socioeconomic status as well. The participants’ writing proficiency was average ranged. To begin with, each student wrote a composition and three measurements were conducted for each written composition. The first measure aimed at assessing the sophistication of vocabulary use by students. Therefore, two scorers counted 7- letters or more vocabulary words and transformed into portions (based on TOWL-2). The second measure was the average length of the right word sequence. The average length was measured by obtaining the â€Å"average length and correct word sequences that occurred in sequence before an incorrect word sequence occurred† (Graham, Berninger, and Fan, 2007, p. 525). Two scorers revised and discussed the rules for obtaining a correct word sequence and inter-rater reliability coefficient was 0.85.The overall quality of written essays was calculated by the third measure which was a holistic rating scale based on (Cooper 1977) . The papers were scored on a 7-point Likert scale, 1 being the lowest quality of writing and 7 being the highest by two former e lementary grade school teachers (inter-rater reliability coefficient was 0.93). As for students’ attitude towards writing, students had to cater to seven questions which measured their attitudes toward writing. The researchers used the Garfield the cat scale developed by McKenna et al. (1995). Hence, students chose images ranging from the image of a very happy Garfield the cat (score of 4) and ending up with a score of 1 that is the very unhappy or sad Garfield. Later on, structural equality modeling (SEM) approaches based on (Bollen, 1989, and Kline, 1998) were used to identify the structural relationship between attitude and achievement. It should be noted that in addition to examining the structural relationship between attitude and achievement, the researchers examined age differences (younger / older) and gender differences (male/ female). Results indicated that writing attitude does influence writing achievement because the relationship between them was found to be statistically significant. Moreover, girls were found to have more positive attitudes toward writing and therefore favored writing more than boys did. However, no statistical difference was reported concerning the writing achievement variable. Interestingly enough, Musgrove (1999) conducted a different kind of study concerning students’ attitudes toward writing. The researcher had her students write self-evaluative narratives that reflect how writing attitudes are usually shaped by how successful students’ writing experiences are. The participants were English majors prospective secondary teachers and college students registered in a first-year writing class. At the beginning of the term, Musgrove (1998) identified for her students what is meant by attitude â€Å"one’s predispositions toward particular tasks, ideas, or people† and provided them with lexical terms of attitude. Then, in a series of mini-lessons, she provided her students with literary works which demonstrated particular attitudes (positive and negative critical attitudes) which were discussed by students. The researcher then asked students to track down how their attitudes towards writing developed by keeping records and compiling portfolios. Musgrove (1999) announced that the portfolios included â€Å" a resume, an initial attitudinal survey, learning goals, personal grammar and usage handbook, in class writing, homework assignments, essays, and portfolio self-evaluations written at midterm and end of semester† (p. 5). Musgrove (1998) concluded that drawing students’ attention to their attitudes gave them the opportunity to examine how their beliefs and what they bring to their writing definitely affects their writing achievement. Moreover, the self-evaluations written by students helped them connect to their backgrounds as writers because their writing background actually directly affects their attitudes towards writing. However, Katstra, Tollefson, and Gilbert’s (1987) study was the only study; to my knowledge, that examined the effect of peer response on students’ attitudes toward writing. To elaborate, the study was conducted to investigate whether peer response in a process approach to writing environment could yield to positive attitudes towards writing along increased fluency. The participants were ninth grade native speakers in the USA who registered in seven English classes which were taught by three teachers. The subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups in such a way that each teacher had a control group and an experimental group to teach. Both the control groups and the experimental groups responded to two attitude instruments before treatment. Then, both groups wrote the first draft of a personal narrative. The first drafts’ word number was tallied and recorded as a pretest measure for fluency in writing. The treatment was introduced over a pe riod of four days. First, the experimental group explicitly received training in peer response and participants rewrote their second drafts according to comments suggested by the peers in each response group. The students in the control group on the other hand, wrote their second drafts based on assistance offered by the teacher due to specific questions asked by students in the control group. The two groups then counted the number of words they had written in their second drafts and this became the post-test measure of writing fluency. Finally, the two attitude instruments which were administered to both groups as pertest were administered again as post-tests measures. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was administered in order to measure the three – way interaction between the independent variables which were (1) teachers (three levels) (2) gender of students (3) and treatment condition. Results indicated an increased positive attitude towards writing on behalf of the experim ental group. However, no significant differences were noticed in post-test writing fluency. Therefore, peer evaluation does not affect students’ writing fluency. Some studies tackling the affective benefits of peer response examined students’ perceptions toward peer feedback. Chong (2010) examined student teachers’ perceptions and attitudes toward peer response and the likelihood to how they are willing to use the aforementioned approach in L2 writing classes. Results indicated that student teachers did not favor the usage of peer response in their classes due to â€Å"external reasons such as class size, time restrictions, authority control, as well as internal factors such as inability to see the benefits of peer response, insufficient experience or training in using this technique† (p. 58). As for the affective factor of peer feedback of ESL university students, Zhang (1995) made it clear the majority of his 81 ESL students (75%) who were enrolled at a university in USA actually favored feedback provided by teachers as opposed to feedback provided by peers.. The findings coincide with Nelson and Carson (1998) whose ESL college students expressed their tendency to favor teachers’ feedback rather than their peers’ feedback. Moreover, cultural differences were perceived to negatively affect peer response as some of the participants’ goal in peer review sessions particularly Chinese students was mainly maintaining good harmony by refraining from providing their pees with critical peer response. However, another study actually contradicted Nelson and Carson’s (1998) findings concerning the Chinese group’s perception of peer response. Hence, Roskams (1999) who examined Chinese EFL learners’ perceptions toward peer response. The univer sity –bound Chinese students actually reported their openness to engage in peer response and expressed that this approach could be beneficial to their ESL language learning. Hence, participants generally perceived peer feedback as useful. However, only 5 % of participants did not enjoy the collaborative learning arrangement. Therefore, many studies revealed conflicting results which reported inconsistency in findings which reflected that peer response is problematic due to students’ cultural schemata, their ability to review their peers; work and their attitudes towards peer response. However, Hu (2005) indicates that these problems are not inherent in peer response as research literature suggests that carefully designed training in peer response can help assist L2 writing students as well as their teachers gain understanding of the benefits of peer response (Berg, 1999; Min, 2006; Ting and Qian; 2010). THE ROLE OF THE COMPUTER IN CONVEYING MEDIATED FEEDBACK The role of computers in conveying mediating feedback in L2 (second langue) settings has become central for research concerned with technology-enhanced peer response lately. However, the results on the effects of integrating computer-mediated communication (CMC) into peer response have been conflicting, mixed, and even inconsistent (Schultz, 2000; Hu, 2005; Liu and Sadler, 2003; Tuzi, 2004; DiGiovanni and Nagaswami, 2001). Hence, many researchers (Braine, 1997; Leh, 1999; Biesenbach-Lucas and Weasenforth, 2001; Liu and Sadler, 2003) have expressed concerns about using computer-mediated communication as a substitute for the face-to-face venue of peer response, especially that its ultimate benefits for ESL learners have not been yet established fully by researchers. However, consensus have been researched among researchers that CMC-based peer response should be seriously blended with face-to-face communication in the peer response process (Schultz, 2000; Hu, 2005; Liu and Sadler, 2003; Tuzi, 2004; DiGiovanni and Nagaswami, 2001).

Alzheimer’s Disease Research Paper Essay

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in elderly individuals. Currently, 4.5 million people in the United States approximately have Alzheimer’s disease. (Burns) Alzheimer’s disease presents the victim with a sharp decline in memory, language, visuospatial perception, executive functioning and decision-making. Because this disease is so harsh on people’s personality, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms are frequently present in Alzheimer’s disease. The impact Alzheimer’s disease has on health care is significant and estimated to cost $100 billion dollars per year and predicted to rise as it is a demand to find new medication and the number of Alzheimer’s disease individual rise. (Burns) There is medication available, however there is currently no cure, the medications that are given have symptoms that do not alter the negative progression of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is defined as progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells and neurons resulting in a loss of memory, thinking, language skills, and behavioral changes. (Burns) Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric symptoms, behavioral disturbances, and difficulty performing daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and presently 4.5 million Americans are living with it. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia in elder individuals. (Burns) Even though there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, the health care costs are extremely high, being just over 100 billion dollars per year. The hopefulness of the development of a cure or new therapies becomes more desperate every year for new advances in the future. (Burns) The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in every individual vary; the disease can be extremely severe and other times slightly mild. Because Alzheimer’s disease is progressive it advances as time goes on, it starts off as the individual becomes forgetful and looses a small amount of memory and continues to severe dementia and loosing memory completely. The cognitive dysfunction of a person with Alzheimer’s disease includes memory loss, language difficulties, and executive dysfunction, which consists of a loss of higher level planning and intellectual coordination skills. (Burns) The psychiatric symptoms and behavioral disturbances can be anything from depression and agitation to hallucinations. The psychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can also be collectively termed as non-cognitive symptoms. (Burns) The general symptoms of memory loss is always the first symptom of a majority of the cases of Alzheimer’s disease. The gradual onset of memory loss has the same symptoms as normal aging, because ageing shows symptoms of some dementia as well, this can understandably become confusing to diagnose, and however Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. (Burns) The onset of Alzheimer’s disease is sly and emerges with a mild loss of memory and continues on with difficulty in finding the right word to go along with sentences. A diagnoses occurs only when the symptoms interfere significantly with everyday life such as social and work functions. Personal and emotional changes within the individual are very common for people who have Alzheimer’s disease. Major depressive disorder occurs in 20-35% of cases, while anxiety reaches 15-25% of people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (Burns) Every 67 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease. Women seem to get his the hardest with this disease. In a women’s 60’s, the estimated risk for developing Alzheimer’s is 1 in 6 and two thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease are women. (Burns) Not only are women more likely to have Alzheimer’s, women are also more likely to be caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease leads to nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. Over time, the brain shrinks dramatically because of this, affecting nearly all of its functions, especially the memory. The cortex of the brain  shrivels up and damages areas involved in thinking, planning, and remembering. (Fackelmann) Shrinkage is especially threatening in the hippocampus, which is the area that forms new memories. The ventricles, which are the fluid-filled spaces within the brain, grow larger to fill in the places that have shriveled up. The tissue within an Alzheimer’s patient has fewer nerve cells and synapses than a healthy brain. Nerve cells and synapses are what carry messages throughout the brain they are crucial to the biological computations that make up perception and thought. The dead nerve cells contain tangles, which are made up of twisted strands of another protein. The small clumps can clock the synapse and can activate the immune system to trigger inflammation. (Fackelmann) The plaques and tangles spread throughout the cortex in a predictable pattern as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. The rate of the progression of the tangles and plaques within the brain varies significantly. (Fackelmann) People with Alzheimer’s disease live an average of 8 years, but some individuals can survive up to 20 years. In a severely advanced Alzheimer’s disease most of the cortex is severely damaged. (Fackelmann) This is where the brain had shrunk dramatically because of widespread cell death. In this stage, individuals lose their ability to communicate, recognize their family and loved ones, and to care for themselves in their daily activities. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, however researchers have linked several risk factors with Alzheimer’s disease such as an increasing age, family history, head injury (anti-inflammatory drugs have been associated as a reduction of risk), depression, hypertension, high cholesterol, low physical and cognitive activity, diabetes, diseases that cause mutations of chromosomes 1, 14, and 21, ApoE genotype, and individuals diagnosed with down syndrome eventually develops the neurological symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. (Fackelmann) The genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease is a risk. The risk for the first degree of relatives of people with the disease is estimated at 10-40% higher than unrelated people. (Whalley) The fact that monozygotic twins (twins who share 100% of their genetic material) have a higher concordance rate than dizygotic twins indicates that there is a significant genetic  component to Alzheimer’s disease. (Whalley) Because of the risks stated above, researches suggest that environmental factors are also a contribution to the diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease. Environmental factors is confirmed by the fact that the strongest association is not true across all races; 50% of white patients with Alzheimer’s disease do not carry an e4 allele (ApoE genotype), which is a significant risk in getting Alzheimer’s disease. (Whalley) The cure for Alzheimer’s disease is uncertain and is mainly focused on therapeutic treatments that help some dementia and other symptoms associated with it. For clinical reasons, non-drug interventions should be used initially, especially if the symptoms are not causing stress or placing the individual at risk to themselves or to others. If non-drug remedial interventions have no effect, cholinesterase inhibitors are the conventional drug treatment of choice for Alzheimer’s disease. Cholinesterase inhibitors have a moderate beneficial symptoms associated with the drug. The drug modifies symptoms in the minority of people with Alzheimer’s disease because it is nicely tolerated in the majority of individuals. Memantine is a drug that is a glutamatergic antagonist that trials have found effective in individuals that have severe dementia, however it is restricted to those in clinical trials. Cholinesterare inhibitors and memantine are known to produce little identifiable improvements in the activities of daily life. Non-drug approaches are not effective in helping memory loss, even though there are therapeutic techniques that help retain memory and can offer support for people with mild dementia. Sources Burns, A. Alzheimer’s Disease. British Medical Journal, 338, 467-471. Retrieved June 2, 2014 Fackelmann, K. Forcasting Alzheimer’s Disease. Science News, 149, 312-313. Retrieved June 2, 2014 Whalley, L. Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease. British Medical Journal (clinical research edition), 1556. Retrieved June 2, 2014

The Backyard Of My Father s Rickety House Essay - 1238 Words

There used to be a small town in the backyard of my father’s rickety house. It wasn t constructed by carpenters or designed by architects. This primitive village was built by children with overactive imaginations and an abundance of time. In fact, I was the one, who came up with the idea to build it. During the summer of 2010, my two stepsisters and I had exhausted all of our summer activity options. Everyday, we were in the pool or riding our shiny bikes up and down the gravel driveway. Even though I only visited my father for a week at most, I couldn t help, but feel like these activities were becoming repetitive and unenjoyable. Commonly, this would cause anyone to search for something else more interesting to spend their time on. I found that â€Å"something† to be an untouched wooded area on the side of my father’s property. No one usually went near there due to the glass and the creatures living under the leaves. Whenever it would rain, snakes would emerge from those woods to play in the puddles near our house. Needless to say, it took a few years for a group of girls to work up the courage to explore the snake’s natural habitat. Before my step sisters and I started to clear the forest, we had to ask for permission to use our parent’s yard tools. Sadly, I had sent my step sister Kelsey to ask because I was too afraid that my step mother would say â€Å"no†. In short, my step parent was a tall, blond woman in her early twenties, who mostly laid around on the couchShow MoreRelatedDescriptive Essay About My Memories1824 Words   |  8 PagesEven though we only lived in Philadelphia a short while, this is the house where I have the most memories. I remember living right across from the school, the red door, and most importantly the people who lived there and around us. One of my favorite things about living here was that my family was only about a 15-minute drive away. I loved being around them and I even â€Å"ran away† to one of their houses once. Now, I miss out on birthday parties, reunions, and just regular old Sunday dinners after church

The Ideas Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein - 1288 Words

The ideas in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein endorse the concept of man’s place in nature and contradict the ideas found in On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin. Although Frankenstein was written nearly 40 years before Darwin’s theories, the evidence of Darwinism can be found throughout the works. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein encompasses a strong desire to be educated in science that he would become fully enthralled in his learning. Charles Darwin had an equal passion for learning himself, such as when he partakes in his voyage on the Beagle. Darwin and Shelley were deeply entrenched in their studies, but the decisions they made in their research landed them in completely opposite directions. Both have agreeable views on nature in that man evolved from evolution, with the exception that Frankenstein intervenes with the balance of nature, which leads to his shortcomings in his life. Victor and Darwin’s ideas are agreea ble in that they both believe that through natural selection; the greater species thrive and has led to what makes humans different from other species today. Their ideals differ slightly on creationism. Darwin believes that creation of living species should be left to nature without human interference, while Victor takes creation into his own hands and acts as God. These influences are directly related to the meaning of mans value in nature. In Frankenstein, Shelley implies that Victor Frankenstein’s creation of theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein 1601 Words   |  7 Pagesthe substance itself.†(Mary Shelley) An author’s personal story and background has an immense impact on literature and culture. It affects the style of the writing and ultimately the topics and themes they write about. The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is an exceptional example of how a person’s experiences influence literature and culture. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor, his monstrous creation, and the consequences both he and the monster had to live through. Mary Shelley’s traumatic earlyRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein 1306 Words   |  6 Pagestragedy. Mary Shelley has been surrounded by death her entire life and she felt like a monster, such as the one in her novel Frankenstein. She felt responsible for the tragedy around her. Deaths around Mary Shelley In London, England, Mary Shelley was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797, and her parents were of high status at that time. Her father was William Godwin, a famous philosopher and an author best known for his books Caleb Williams and Political Justice. Her mother Mary WollstonecraftRead MoreThe Concepts of Knowledge and Happiness in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1011 Words   |  5 Pagesaspires to become greater than his nature will allow (Shelley 60). 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Mary Shelley, previously Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, was the only daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, two noted writersRead MoreMary Shelley1066 Words   |  5 PagesMary Shelley was born on August 30, 1797, becoming a distinguished, though often neglected, literary figure during the Romanticism Era. Mary was the only child of Mary Wollstonecraft, a famous feminist, but after her birth, Wollstonecraft passed away (Harris). Similar to Mary’s book Frankenstein, both her and Victor’s mothers die when they are at a very young age. Mary’s father was William Godwin, an English phi losopher who also wrote novels that would inspire Mary in the late years of her life (Holmes)Read MoreAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein 1184 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses a ‘framed narrative using three different characters who tell their story at different times of the novel. In the beginning of the story, the audience receives Captain Walton s point of view, who primarily writes letters to his sister Margaret Saville, in England. Secondly, the audience comes hand in hand with Victor Frankenstein s point of view and within his narrative, they receive the indomitable Creature s point of view. The major theme portrayedRead MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein Feminism1429 Words   |  6 PagesRobert Youshock Prof. Matthew Gerber HIST 1012 10/19/18 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Feminism before it was mainstream? Writing a paper on the topic of Frankenstein days before Halloween might give you the wrong idea- lets clear something up straight away Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster and the monster doesn’t have a name (which we later learn is mildly important to the story). You see, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is arguably a story of creation, murder, love, and learning amongst manyRead MoreThe Myth Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein Essay1204 Words   |  5 Pagesfiction, Frankenstein. Shelley’s Frankenstein was deeply influenced by the Prometheus myth ranging from the history of the title, the action of the main character, and the consequences of performing the action. When the book was first published, Mary Shelley gave a hint of the Prometheus origin in the name of the book. Her original title in 1818 for this book was called â€Å"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.† After the overwhelming success of Frankenstein in 1818, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley’sRead MoreMary Shelley ´s Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus, an Analysis of the Subtitle1219 Words   |  5 Pagesof creation.† (Shelley 37). Ab initio Victor Frankenstein, the main protagonist, is being put on a level with Prometheus through the subtitle. An indication that Mary Shelley did indeed have the myth in mind as she wrote the novel, is not only her subtitle, but moreover the parallels between the Prometheus myth and Frankenstein, which are undeniable. The title itself gives a lot away of the story which follows. It links the modern world with the ancient Greek myth. Victor Frankenstein â€Å"steals† theRead MoreThe Consequences Of Technology On Mary Shelley s Frankenstein Essay1703 Words   |  7 PagesThe Consequences of Technology Revealed in Shelley s Frankenstein In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the late nineteenth century, the author proposes that knowledge and technology can be dangerous to individuals and all of humanity. Frankenstein was one of the first cautionary tales about scientific research. Shelley s novel offers profound insight of the consequences of morally insensitive scientific and technological research. Learn from me. . . at least by my example