Essay 2:

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“Beauty fades, but knowledge is eternal.” –Andrew Fairchild

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The quote “Beauty fades, but knowledge is eternal.” by Andrew Fairchild is one that can cause a debate. Though there are fair points to both sides, I believe that Fairchild’s quote is indeed correct. Beauty is a chain on one’s freedom. It ties one down to the expectations of society and won’t let go. Knowledge, however, signifies wings. It can only allow one to soar above and be released from society’s grasp. Beauty is prone to wilt, but knowledge is constantly growing and changing, it is freeing and it can push one so much further in life than beauty.

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According to society’s standards beauty can often fade with time; knowledge, however, can only expand. In the beauty industry, aging can often be the cause of one’s downfall. Society often has the idea that the definition of beauty is “young.” For people in the beauty industry, “young” is essentially a motto to them. However, in the pursuit of knowledge, “young” can easily mean naive. With knowledge, age is a sign of wisdom and skill that can only grow as time progresses. This is similar to how society tends to dispose of trends quickly. Society welcomes knowledge as a whole, more than beauty. As mentioned before, beauty standards tend to change quickly. This makes it hard for models and beauty influencers to keep up with the tides. This sense of limit from society is something that does not exist in the education industry. Knowledge cannot go out of style; it can only be built upon. Not one person can gain all the knowledge in the world, nor one all the beauty, so people in both studies respect those above them. However, respect is more easily shown within the studies of knowledge. Respect tends to be easily outweighed by jealousy in the beauty industry.

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In the long term, knowledge has the upper hand over beauty. In the novel, The House on Mango Street, the main character, Esperanza, meets many people, one of which is Alicia. Alicia isn’t like the other girls in the neighborhood because she strives for an education. She works part-time jobs, learns from them, and takes in the world around her because she understands that beauty will not prepare her to reach her goals. To get a job in either the modeling industry or an education business is no small deal, both are incredibly competitive and time-consuming. Yet, there are some major differences between the two, specifically the long term effects. When one gets fired from the modeling industry, there are not a lot of places one can go after. One can find themselves stuck and helpless in this situation. Such as the following passage from The House on Mango Street describes: “Next week she comes over black and blue and asks what can she do? Minerva. I don’t know which way she’ll go.” What this quote explains in the life of Minerva, a young woman with no education who has lost her way in life. Her lack of education is what has trapped her in this confusion. On the other hand, when one is fired from an educational standpoint many places will still be in reach. Even so, problems can arise before one even gets the job. After months or years of work to get a fulfilling place in the modeling industry, one can easily be turned down. It is the same with an educational path, but the choices that follow are very different. With education and knowledge, jobs are always hiring and will welcome one with no problem. Without this knowledge, just merely beauty, jobs will not be as welcoming. Similarly, as a career, few places will accept beauty over knowledge. This automatic constraint on one’s future that follows beauty as a career can be suffocating.

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Relying on oneself is a great strength to have. This strength comes easier to those with an educational background than those in the beauty industry. In The House on Mango Street Esperanza learns that you cannot always rely on others and sometimes one has to take things into one’s own hands to solve problems. Once she learns to do this, it gives her so much more freedom in her choices. Unfortunately, on the other hand, the beauty industry can often cage a person: “You could close your eyes and you wouldn’t have to worry that people said because you never belonged here anyway and nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you’re strange because you like to dream and dream.” What this quote from the novel depicts, is the cage placed on uneducated young women in this written society. It limits one’s standards and choices to the point where one is no longer thinking of, and for themself. They become vulnerable and naive. On the flip side, being educated automatically gives one more confidence. Similarly, Alica and Esperanza sought out an education, and even when life threw rocks they stood confident and strong. When one has this belief in their knowledge, they learn to trust and rely on themselves instead of society. Similarly, knowledge gives one much more freedom than beauty. A privilege that education comes with is to know right from wrong and which path to take. In spite of that, beauty does not come with this privilege. Once one chooses a path in this field, there is no going back. Education, however, gives one the ability to go back or make a different choice down the road.

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Knowledge and beauty are constantly evolving. Yet, at some point, beauty fades. Knowledge, however, continues to grow. It liberates people and allows them to aim for their goals in ways that seemed impossible before. Knowledge is a life choice and a privilege. One that is everchanging and everlasting from generation to generation.

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Essay 3:

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For a fragile nightingale and a horrid creature to have differences, seems likely. But for them to have so many similarities and connections binding them together, that is quite odd. The character of the creature Frankenstein is one I had trouble understanding at first. For a non-human creature to possess such characteristics, was thrilling and unusual. The Nightingale had easier thoughts to follow but was still just an unusual. The author's ability to delve into the mind and intentions, and see the world through the mysterious and kaleidoscopic lens of a non-human creature, is fascinating. The similarities and differences between the creature of Frankenstein and the delicate Nightingale, are held through their human-like emotions, their thirst to understand and reactions to their ideals.

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Frankenstein and the Nightingale, though neither are human, are bound together by their human-like emotions. In Frankenstein's case, he is a monster that is able to feel everything that a human can. Yet, he does not have the experience to control or understand these emotions, much like this quote describes; “He raised her and smiled with such kindness and affection that I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and please, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food; and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear these emotions” (pg 103). Similarly, the Nightingale is also a creature who is able to bear the feelings of a human being, and like Frankenstein, is unable to understand these emotions fully; “‘Here indeed is the true lover," said the Nightingale. "What I sing of, he suffers - what is joy to me, to him is pain. Surely Love is a wonderful thing. It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals. Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the marketplace. It may not be purchased of the merchants, nor can it be weighed out in the balance for gold.” This quote illustrates that the Nightingale may not be able to understand the emotion of love, yet believes it to be something extremely precious to humans. Both these creatures share human emotions, yet, how humans react to them sharing these emotions, is interesting and surprisingly mirrored from story to story. The following two quotes show exactly how humans react to the creatures’ emotions: “How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favorable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion? Believe me Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?” (pg 96). Frankenstein's perspective illustrates the confusion and misery shared between himself and a human. The human interaction in the story of the Nightingale is similar: “‘She has form," [...] "that cannot be denied to her; but has she got feeling? I am afraid not. In fact, she is like most artists; she is all style, without any sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for others. She thinks merely of music, and everybody knows that the arts are selfish. Still, it must be admitted that she has some beautiful notes in her voice. What a pity it is that they do not mean anything, or do any practical good.’” This monologue illustrates that the human does not see the Nightingale as one worthy of his recognition or time, for she is just a creature. Like this, Frankenstein is no more than a hideous creature to others. The idea of him having emotions, let alone human emotions, had never crossed a person's mind at the time. The same goes for the Nightingale. Though the nature around her may have known of her human emotions, no other being is able to understand what power she holds. Having these emotions causes a lot of problems for the creatures, and in the end, Frankenstein wants to rid himself of the emotions while the Nightingale still does not: “But the Nightingale understood the secret of the Student's sorrow, and she sat silent in the oak-tree, and thought about the mystery of Love.” As the author pens, the Nightingale learns to accept her emotions and control them. On the contrary, Frankenstein cannot control them and wishes his human emotions would disappear forever along with his being in total: “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?” (pg 130)

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Both characters are driven by their thirst to understand the beings around them, as well as themselves. “‘The path of departure was free,’ and there was none to lament my annihilation. 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” (pg 123). This quote illuminates how Frankenstein questions his existence and being and wishes to know about his past and what will come in his future. The Nightingale on the other hand, wishes to know, not more about herself, but the people around her. This is projected in the following line: “From her nest in the holm-oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and she looked out through the leaves, and wondered.” Regardless of the topic, the two creatures still strive to understand and are willing to do anything and everything to do so. On one side of the coin, Frankenstein believes himself worthy of an answer to any of his questions. The following quote depicts these intentions: “Could they turn compassion and friendship? I resolved, at least, not to despair, but in every way to fit myself for an interview with them which would decide my fate” (pg 125). The flip side of the coin is the Nightingale’s view. The Nightingale also believes herself worthy of an answer to her question, yet will go much further than Frankenstein to achieve that answer: “‘One red rose is all I want," cried the Nightingale, "only one red rose! Is there no way by which I can get it?" "There is a way," answered the Tree; "but it is so terrible that I dare not tell it to you." "Tell it to me," said the Nightingale, "I am not afraid.” Though they both want this, how they achieve their desires are different. This is because they crave different types of understanding, as the quotes above showed. Mary Shelley pens Frankenstein's feelings as ones that readers can sympathize with: “He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature, but I was wretched, helpless, and alone” (pg 124). While Frankenstein wishes to understand more about himself, the Nightingale wishes to learn about the emotions that crowd a students’ mind. She craves to feel as he does and grasp his feelings as her own: “‘Here at last is a true lover," said the Nightingale. "Night after night have I sung of him, though I knew him not: night after night have I told his story to the stars, and now I see him. His hair is dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose of his desire; but passion has made his face like pale ivory, and sorrow has set her seal upon his brow.”

The ideals held between the Nightingale and Frankenstein are approached and executed differently in some circumstances, yet are very similar in others. They both wish dearly to bring happiness to the humans around them, as the following passages exhibit: “I thought (foolish wretch!) that it might be in my power to restore happiness to these deserving people” (pg 109). Frankenstein and the Nightingale share a search for manners in which to do this. Yet, although this fact is true, the desire of the Nightingale is shown more thoroughly throughout her story: “‘Be happy," cried the Nightingale, "be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty.’” Though not easily seen, the difference in their desires can be shown through the following quotes:  “I discovered also another means through which I was enabled to assist their labors. I found that the youth spent a great part of each day in collecting wood for the family fire, and during the night I often took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days.” This line displays that Frankenstein helps with small jobs that slowly restore elation to those around him day by day. The Nightingale however, wants to do much more than a few simple tasks for the humans. She wishes to give them exactly what they want: “Suddenly she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the air. She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed across the garden. In the centre of the grass-plot was standing a beautiful Rose-tree, and when she saw it she flew over to it, and lit upon a spray. "Give me a red rose," she cried, "and I will sing you my sweetest song.’” This shows that the Nightingale wishes to give everything for the human, while Frankenstein just wants to help in small ways. This is a vast difference, but their efforts end as a pair. In the end of both stories, the creatures’ desires and efforts are for naught: “This was then the reward for my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feeling of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to a hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (pg 135). This quote shows Frankenstein's loathing and increasing greed for the destruction of humans. Both Frankenstein and the Nightingale give everything they can to the humans around them but are either forgotten, betrayed or abandoned, as the quote above and the passage below clarify: “‘Death is a great price to pay for a red rose," cried the Nightingale, "and Life is very dear to all. It is pleasant to sit in the green wood, and to watch the Sun in his chariot of gold, and the Moon in her chariot of pearl. Sweet is the scent of the hawthorn, and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley, and the heather that blows on the hill. Yet Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?’” This passage beautifully exhibits the Nightingales feelings and desires; which bring many emotions to the reader as the story comes to a close.

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A monster and nightingale can share so much. Human emotion, a thirst for understanding, their ideals, these are what tie the delicate Nightingale and the monster together. Is it possible that an non-human creature could have human emotions? To these writers, yes. Yet whether we choose to believe them is our choice. These concepts are all things that we ourselves can relate to and understand:  Being out of place and wanting to understand and be understood in return. These are feelings no creature can avoid in totality.

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