OPPapers.com

Frankenstein Vs. Bladerunner

As society changes around us, we spot things we never noticed before: high divorce rates, murder rates, and drug use just to name a few. James Riddley-Scott and Mary Shelley noticed and had a fear of child abandonment. In Frankenstein, Shelley explores this subject through the viewpoint of a man, Victor, who creates a child so hideous that he cannot bear to look at it, and consequently deserts it. In Blade Runner Scott explores this matter through a businessman, Tyrell, who makes replicants of humans, the Nexus 6, gives them only four years to live, and sells them as slaves. The children of these creators turn out to be smarter and more human than expected, and revolt against the way society treats them, giving us all a lesson in parenting and child development.

In Shelleyfs Frankenstein, Victor brings a monster to life only to abandon it out of fear and horror. gThe beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my hearth (Shelley, 35). The reader must question the ethics of Victor. After all, he did bring this creature upon himself. This renunciation later comes to haunt Victor, and hurts his creation more than Victor can ever imagine. When Victor leaves the monster, Shelley is exploring abandonment by the parent. Later in the novel, when the monster tries to confront Victor and Victor shows that he does not want any part of the Monster by saying gBegone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust!h(74). Shelley is showing us that the monster is not being nurtured, as a child should. Blade Runner also looks at the roles of parenting and abandonment. When first meeting Tyrell, Roy states, gIt's not an easy thing to meet your makerh, Scott reveals that the Nexus 6 have been discarded by their family, and have had a lack of a loving relationship throughout their lives.

The idea that parents play a double role as parent and creator continues throughout the stories. Tyrell is looked at as a parent and a...