Adam Safi
Professor Ellis
English
10/16/13
Natural vs. Unnatural
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Frank
Runyeon’s dramatic performance of The
Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew connect to “Theology” by Paul
Lawrence Dunbar, and “Tableau” by Countee Cullen because all four works of
literature express the dichotomy of the natural and the unnatural. In
“Theology” Dunbar touches on the dualistic nature of the natural and the
unnatural that accompanies the act of judging in a religious environment. In
“Tableau” Cullen focuses on the essence of the natural and the unnatural, while
relating their antagonistic relationship to the relationship blacks and whites
maintained during segregation. Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, details the life of Doctor Frankenstein, whose
unnatural goal leads to an unnatural lifestyle, which comes to life in
Frankenstein’s monster, and portrays how negative the unnatural can be. Frank Runyeon’s dramatic performance of The Sermon on the Mount contained the
beatitudes, which illustrate Jesus’ perspective on the relationship between the
natural and the unnatural. All four of these works allow for a better
understanding of the complex relationship between the natural and unnatural.
In “Theology” the speaker critiques the
dualistic nature of heaven and hell in a sarcastic and comical manner. The poem
begins in a serious tone brought on by the title “Theology,” which is a topic
rarely taken lightly. However, the tone quickly shifts when the speaker states,
“There is a hell…If there were not, where would my neighbors go?”(Meyer 252).
This leaves the reader wondering how serious of a poem “Theology” is. At first,
the poem seems to be written by someone uneducated because the speaker’s
defense for heaven and hell appears to be conceited, but soon we realize the
purpose of “Theology.” Dunbar wants his readers to realize that religion sits
in an ivory tower and judges, which creates conflict. He wants us to realize
that it is unnatural to judge, and that we are taught to judge through religion.
The fact that it is unnatural to judge is demonstrated in “Tableau” where we
see two boys too young to have learned to judge.
In “Tableau” the speaker paints a
vivid image of two kids, one black the other white “locked arm in arm” walking
down the street. The speaker refers to the white boy as “the golden splendor of
the day” and the black boy as “the sable pride of night” (Meyer 489). These
metaphors allude that the two boys are invaluable and the imagery of day and
night adds a subtle note of equality. As the poem progresses the scene widens,
and the speaker states, “The dark folk stare, and here the fair folk talk, [i]ndignant
that these two should dare [i]n unison to walk”(Meyer 489). Cullen specifically
chooses to use the word “fair” to describe the white folk, because in the next
line it juxtaposes the word “indignant,” which connotes unreasonable unfairness
the “fair” folk demonstrate. This poem serves the purpose of portraying that it
is unnatural to judge because the two boys don’t judge each other. Only the bystanders,
who have learned what it means to judge, judge. Race is an invention of man and
Cullen wants us to realize that our unnatural creation terrorizes many. The
horrid creation of race and the segregation that it leads to parallels
Frankenstein’s monster in many ways.
In Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein retreats from society to work on the
unnatural act of animating the non-living. The doctor breaks connection with
his family, his friends, and even his instructors and colleagues to tend to his
aberrant project. Eventually, “After days and nights of incredible labor and
fatigue”(Shelley 43) the doctor animates his creature. When the creature comes
to life, the doctor “feels the beauty of [his] dream [vanish], and breathless
horror and disgust [fill] [his] heart” (Shelley 48). Frankenstein’s monster is
the culmination of the unnatural lifestyle Frankenstein lived working towards
his unnatural goal, and his disgust for his creation parallels his disgust for
himself. When Frankenstein’s monster goes out into the world he causes horror
in the same way the unnatural act of segregation caused horror.
In The
Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us the
beatitudes, which are a set of rules for the newly forming Christian faith. In
his sermon the two beatitudes, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the
land” and “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” relate well to the previously discussed
literature. Jesus wants us to realize that there are negative aspects of being
natural such as being meek or being persecuted by unnatural people, but Jesus
want us to know that natural people will be rewarded for not choosing an
unnatural path. While sitting in our school’s cathedral I realized that I have
given into the unnatural, and I have suffered consequences for my actions. This
allowed me to look for moments in my life where I was taught to be unnatural
and it made me wonder how unnatural I have become.
These four works of literature are
interconnected because they reflect on the hostile nature of the natural and
the unnatural. “Theology” shows how even the high moral act of practicing ones
faith can corrupt us to the unnatural. “Tableau” demonstrates how oppositional
the natural and the unnatural are, and how the unnatural seeps into society. Frankenstein shows us how grotesque the
unnatural can be while illustrating that the creation of the unnatural is a
painful and hard process. The Sermon on
the Mount shows us how even though there are visible weaknesses of being
natural there are worse consequences for the unnatural, and we will be rewarded
for being natural. In conclusion, these four works have given me a better
understanding of what it means to be natural and what benefits being natural
can have.
Collins, John J., Mary Ann. Getty, and Donald
Senior. The Catholic Study Bible: The New American Bible. New York:
Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Meyer,
Michael. Poetry: An Introduction. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2013.
Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern
Prometheus. N.p.: Simon & Brown, 2010. Print.
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