Contemporary Science Fiction

All of these groups are minorities; from which less is stereotypically expected. As such, this essay shall be tailored towards subverting the ideology that science fiction inadvertently serves no purpose for the black community. To do this, the subsequent text will encompass the content mobilization and critique two contemporary science fiction texts: Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and Ursula K Leguin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. The study of these two books, whose authors were neither black nor indigenous, will show how they used the literary works as radical tools for engaging readers in criticism, reflection, hope and ingenuity. Concerning Marry Shelly’s Frankenstein, I find it notable that she framed her words in a way that was emotionally compelling to the point of influencing individuals to consider the ill treatment of minorities in regards to color, ideologies and cultures.

Her blurring of this line consequently led to the beautiful things becoming or embodying ugliness in their actions and the ugly ones taking on beautiful personifications. An example of this line’s blurring is in the statement that Victor says in his lamenting at the death of Justine upon his wrongful execution, “My dearest Justine, with resignation, and a confidence elevated beyond this world. …when one creature is murdered, another is immediately deprived of life in a slow torturing manner; then the executioners, their hands yet reeking with the blood of innocence, believe that they have done a great deed” (Marry Shelly, 123). Another instance is in her illustration of how Victor behaved chasing the monster he had created from Geneva to the frozen tundra, she does it in a way that makes them seem almost indistinct from each other in their ugliness.

“I call on you, spirits of the dead; and on you, wandering ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my work. Leaving it the way it is, Mary Shelly leaves readers with questions that they get no answers to. Like how does the monster know exactly when and where Victor is? Or what makes him confess when we see no concrete reasoning behind his confession or any emotional connection to garner remorse? Shelley’s text makes my thoughts stream in a struggle in my search for an understanding of westernized ideas of science fiction. In comparing them to those of contemporary science fiction as written by black writers, I find it enlightening in ways which she is able to incorporate instances that get the minority groups, cultures and ethnicities to relate with the characters.

In this way, I find her elaboration of freedom, rights and constant violation of both through her characterization and plot alignment makes it easier to take the characters at more than face value; she functionally gives them depth while making the reader realize that not all white writers white-wash their content. Her entire work takes a metaphoric approach towards the understanding of equality among all humans in existence taking into consideration race, gender, ethnicity as well as ideological beliefs. There were mass homicides subsequent to gender, religion and ethnical backgrounds; basically all the minorities experienced persecution on account of their affiliations. This interrelation of ugliness and beauty is clear in her statements in the first parts of the book where she describes how Victor Frankenstein’s parents adopt a girl simply because of her beauty.

“I have often heard my mother say, that she was at that time, the most beautiful child she had ever seen… These indications, and a desire to bind as closely as possible the ties of domestic love, determined my mother to consider Elizabeth as my future wife” (Mary Shelley, 76). In comparison, Ursula K Le Leguin showcased through her work in The Left Hand of Darkness, that women were not inferior to men. Her being the first person to win two awards: a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award at the same time. The girl that gets adopted, Elizabeth, is loved based on her beauty which reflects on how people relate to her. The way her looks affect people emotionally works as an added plotline which foreshadows her murder by the ugly monster that Victor Frankenstein made.