Essay example --

In life, people experience different situations and live different realities. It is not illogical to say that the different journeys in life sometimes give us different ways of viewing the world. This was evident upon a closer examination and analysis of Wu Cheng’en’s â€Å"The Journey to the West†, and Mary Shelly â€Å"Frankenstein†, where the two main characters of the book, a Monkey and a creature, each have a different way of viewing life. The monkey see’s life as a journey that should be explored, while the creature has no way of exploring and sees life as something he cannot enjoy. In the end, what can be taken away from the works of literature is that no matter the journey taken, it is important to remember that one’s subjectivity, built on our experiences, determines reality. A journey in life begins once a child is born. Even from the very moment of birth, an individual is very easily influenced by the surrounding environment. Usually a great upbringing means an individual has a better outlook in life, while a bad upbringing has negative side effects on the individual. Nothing proves this case more than by looking at the Monkey’s birth, compared to that of Frankenstein’s creation. The monkey’s birth in "The Journey to the West" seems quiet unnatural in that he was born out of a stone that split in half. The creature in Frankenstein on the other hand was made by a human, Frankenstein himself. The key differences in the birth is not the fact that one was made by stone and the other was made by hand, the difference lies in the intend and care of the creator. The stone that the monkey was born out of was â€Å" nourished for a long time by the seeds of heaven and Earth and by the essences of the sun and the moon, until quickened by di vin... ...portant part of life when it comes to happiness, but it may not be the answer. The Monkey had companionship and so he was able to focus on other tasks. The creature was so consumed by the idea of companionship because it was what he lacked. The bigger message to be learned from these novels is that one should seek out to find a feeling of happiness within themselves instead of looking for it from somewhere else. Had the creature perceived the beauty in solidarity maybe he would not have been so vengeful. But alas, it is natural to want what one does not have. It is sometimes even fulfilling when one achieves something that one hoped to achieve. The most important thing learned here is that the key to happiness then is not something out of one’s control. Although experiences sometimes are hard to control, action and a change in perception can make all the difference.