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 * __Prometheus, Frankenstein, and Jurassic__**

//Prometheus In Chains//

__Part 1__

A) By Andrew Mikol

The story of Prometheus is now a story that is told of throughout history. It is of the stories of uprising, revolution, and a stand for what one wants. It has been the story of our country and others. That story of “sticking it to the man” and doing what you want is now the story that is a dream of many.

The Prometheus Unbound and Frankenstein story parallel each other in a way that the monster and Prometheus are both suffering for what their creators had done; Prometheus for having the special abilities that he has, Frankenstein for the lack of adaptability to the society of the monster that he created. The story of //Prometheus Unbound// “is the representation of steadfast endurance under suffering,” and that suffering is the essence of the story that is told.

The notion of the author of __Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus__ is to convey ownership; ownership for one’s mistakes and that there are consequences for what was done. Prometheus’ suffering and consequence are being chained to a rock, and Frankenstein’s punishment being the fact that the creation he made is now a creature that cannot live among the people and having to be responsible for the actions that the creature takes. With those actions that they took, the ideas they tried to help also took on the partial responsibility of the punishment that the creators have put upon themselves. The monster of Frankenstein is hated by the people of the town that consider him as a thing that is not to be regarded as humane. The humans that were helped by Prometheus were also hurt by his actions because they are now hated by the gods like Prometheus is hated.

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/prometheus/section7.html (Critical Essay)

http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/bates019.html (Critical Essay)

//Frankenstein Staring into the Distance//

B) By Cynthia Pedroza

Frankenstein is a novel that contains some elements of the Romantic Movement. Throughout the years the novel has slowly acted as a warning beacon against the “over reaching” of man. The novel has influenced many literary works and popular culture. It has also given birth to a complete genre of horror stories and movies. Many well-known authors believe this the very first science fiction novel. Frankenstein also happens to be subtitles the Modern Prometheus. In some Greek versions of the myth Prometheus was the one that brought fire to people and yet in others he was the one that created people. Prometheus was also a fable told in Latin but was completely different. In this version Prometheus makes man from clay and water, which is a very related theme to Frankenstein as Victor revolts against the laws of nature and is punished by his creation because of it. Frankenstein is in some ways symbolic. The novel was imagined and written during an early part of the Industrial Revolution. The novel was born at a time of dramatic advances in science and technology. The fact that the creator was destroyed by its creation can be viewed as a warning that the use of science can lead to unplanned consequences. The book can also be seen as a criticism of scientists who are not worried by the possible consequences of their work. Victor was reckless of those dangers, and careless with his invention. Instead of destroying the evil he had created right away, he was overcome by fear and fell psychologically ill. During Justine's trial for murder, he had the chance to tell the truth and as a result save the young girl. Instead, Frankenstein indulges in his own self-centered grief.

http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/frankenstein/James_Field.doc (Critical Essay)

http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/frankenstein/Sagan.doc (Critical Essay)

//Jurassic Park//

__Part 2__

By Jonathan Ernsberger

The story of Prometheus reflects how the titan, Prometheus, attempted to advance human progress by defying the gods. Prometheus achieved this goal by teaching the humans how to create fire, which was forbidden by the gods. This story can closely be related to the film //Jurassic Park// directed by Steven Spielberg since the story has characteristics and a commentary on society, which are similar to those of Jurassic Park.

The similarities of the characteristics consist of two main aspects: The stories and the main characters. The stories of Prometheus and Jurassic Park are very similar since they deal with the same plot. They both have characters who are trying to advance humankind and fail themselves and humankind in the end. Furthermore, the main characters, Prometheus and John Hammond, show great similarities in their goals, and in the outcome of their goals and dreams. As stated earlier, both of the characters have the same goal: To progress humankind. John Hammond attempted to advance the humans in the fields of science by creating a new method of cloning dinosaurs. Prometheus wanted to advance the human race by expanding the boundaries of human knowledge by teaching them how to create fire, which was a skill reserved for the gods. In the outcome of their goals, both characters fail since they never made any progress in the human society. Prometheus did not succeed since he is the reason why the humans were punished, which hindered human progress. Since Zeus discovered Prometheus’ plan to improve humans, he decided to punish the humans by creating Pandora who would open Pandora’s box releasing human misfortune, which would negatively impact progress. John Hammond failed since he was not able to control his creations and lost the key component used in the cloning process, which was the DNA of his dinosaurs. The dreams of the characters were also shattered. Prometheus would never be able to see the humans progress while living with gods. Instead, he was chained to a rock for 30,000 years while an eagle would continuously eat his liver. John Hammond would never see human progress in science and never create a park that would show the dinosaurs that he created.

The commentaries on society that Jurassic park and the story of Prometheus feature closely correlate. They are commenting on how the eventual progression of the humankind will lead them to their own destruction if they go in the wrong direction. Prometheus attempted to play god by giving fire to the humans even though he was forbidden to do this by the gods. When they discovered what he was trying to do, the gods punished him. John Hammond attempted to play god by creating dinosaurs, life, which is a power that is considered reserved for a god. By attempting to play god, John Hammond created monstrous dinosaurs that wreaked havoc and crushed John’s dreams.

Jurassic Park and the myth of Prometheus are similar in their characteristics and commentary. They also leave us with an idea to remember in any endeavor that we choose to participate in. We must always consider the worst when partaking in any task since we could share the same outcomes like John Hammond or Prometheus.

http://www.wikipedia.org/