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Emily Daniels

Mrs. Mann

AP Literature Block 4

5 January 2017

The Insight of the Other

The concept of the Other is often critical to many works of literature because of how

often they are underestimated: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, Or, the Modern Prometheus, Toni

Morrisons Beloved, and Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner are among them. They are outcasts

to their society, whether it be due to traits they were born with or actions they committed in the

past. Shelly depicts that knowledge can be dangerous if a certain threshold is crossed, as Victor

Frankenstein isolates himself through his ability to create his monster which ends in the

destruction of himself and his surroundings. In Morrisons Beloved, Denvers sense of self is

made up of her familys past, but her drive to reach out to the community for help argues that the

past is escapable. Hosseini illustrates that redemption and peace are always attainable by letting

Amir sympathize for the Other through his complicated relationship with Hassan.

The Other drives the novel in all three works when represented by different characters. In

Frankenstein, Victor constantly isolates himself from his environment due to his pursuit of

science. He is considered strange for his studies in archaic science amongst his colleagues in

Ingolstadt, as M. Krempe argues that [Victor has] burdened [his] memory with exploded

systems and useless names. [he] little expected, in this enlightened and scientific names, to

find a disciple of Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus (Frankenstein, p. 43). Victor combines his

strange knowledge of the ancients with modern natural philosophy to create his monster, which

sends his life into chaos. The monster destroys everything he loves, leaving Victor with the
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desire to seek him and to satisfy [Victors] vengeance in his death.. That he should not

triumph over [Victors] accumulated woes, and survive to add to the list of his dark crimes.

(Frankenstein, p. 206). Without Victors unique interest in creating life, the bloodshed that

occurs throughout the book would not happen. Denver grows up amongst Otherness in Beloved,

as she is raised by a family who is shunned by the rest of the black community. She is Other

because she has no identity of herself. She only relates herself to stories of the past, such as how

she was named after a white girl who saved her, and how she hangs onto the idea that Beloved

is [her] sister. [She] swallowed [her] blood right along with [her] mothers milk. She was

[Denvers] secret company until Paul D came. (Beloved, p.242). When the past comes in the

form of Beloved, it haunts Sethe to the point that Denver had to step off the edge off of the

world and die because if she didnt, they all would. (Beloved, p. 281). Denver lets her

perception of herself die alongside her familys past by going out into the present world to get

help. Hassan is a vital aspect of the Other in The Kite Runner. The main character, Amir, is a

privileged Pashtun-- he grew up in the most beautiful house in the Wazir Akbar Khan district....

A broad entryway flanked by rosebushes led to a sprawling house of marble floors (The Kite

Runner, p. 4). Amir would be ignorant to the suffering of Hazaras without his friendship with

Hassan, who he would play with despite that People called Hazaras mice-eating, flat-nosed,

load-carrying donkeys. [Amir] had heard some of the kids in the neighborhood yell those names

at Hassan. (The Kite Runner, p. 9). Hassan impacts Amirs life by giving him the desire to

balance between cultural norms and respect for the Other throughout the book.

In order to convey the theme, the authors of these works had to utilize these characters

that symbolize the outcasts of society. Shelly stresses that there is a threshold of knowledge that

we must never cross, so it is vital for Victor to have a different perspective on natural philosophy
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in order to drive him to cross that threshold. When Victor reveals his understanding of creating

life to Walton, he refuses to lead [Walton] on, unguarded and ardent as [he] then was, to [his]

destruction and infallible misery. by explaining how he made the monster. He continues to insist

that Walton must learn from [him]... how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how

much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world. (Frankenstein, p. 51).

The monster that Victor creates causes the deaths of everyone he loves, showing that there are

dire consequences to applying concepts that are beyond the power of man. In Beloved, Morrison

uses Denver to prove that there is hope for anyone to escape the past. Denver is forced to leave

the world of her familys home once the past becomes so dangerous that if Sethe didnt wake

up one morning to pick up a knife, then Beloved might. (Beloved, p. 285). Denvers identity is

within her mothers perception of the past, and once she saw Sethes eyes bright but dead, alert

but vacant, paying attention to Beloved. Locked in a love that wore everybody out. (Beloved,

p. 286), it was apparent that her identity was poisonous. In Denvers action to get help from the

Lady Jones and the rest of the neighborhood, she is able to rid Beloved-- and the past-- from her

identity forever. Morrison depicts the letting go of the past for someone who bases their life

around it, which suggests that letting go of the past is a possible goal for anyone. Hosseini points

out that redemption and inner peace can always be achievable in The Kite Runner. When Hassan

was raped by Assef, Amir had one final opportunity to decide who [he] was going to be but

chose to ran because he aspired to cowardice. Hassan was the price [he] had to pay, the lamb

he had to slay, to win Baba. He was just a Hazara, wasnt he? (The Kite Runner, p. 77). Guilt

consumes Amir after that incident, and he creates distance between them because when

[Hassan] was around, the oxygen seeped out of the room. Everyone [Amir] turned, [he] saw

signs of his loyalty, his goddamn unwavering loyalty. (The Kite Runner, p. 89). It is seemingly
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impossible for him to make up for his actions when he moves to America until Rahim Khan

gives him an opportunity to save Hassans son, Sohrab. When he fights Assef to free Sohrab,

Amir finds himself laughing. He recalls that for the first time since the winter of 1975, [he] felt

at peace. [His] body was brokenbut [he] felt healed. Healed at last. (The Kite Runner, p.

289). Hassan gave him a chance to understand the Other during the winter of 1975, and even

when Amir rejected it, Hassan still gave him a second chance through his son.

Outcasts can give insight into many themes of literature, and writers like Hosseini,

Morrison, and Shelly utilize them to depict different concepts. Since they are often shunned by

society, their perspectives in life stand out from the rest. If society can listen to them, there is

incredible potential for new ways of thought and understanding of reality. If people can open

their minds and hearts to the Other, perhaps redemption and peace can be found, the past can be

left behind, and dangerous knowledge can be safeguarded.