Have you ever thought about the advice given in children’s movies? In the movie Antz, Barbatus says, “Don’t follow orders your whole life. Think for yourself.” Society has always consisted of people deciding for others, resulting in one forgetting to think for himself. Man’s natural curiosity then becomes suppressed in an attempt to conform man’s education to fit what society deems best. However, those who let their curiosity guide them have the advantage of broadening their horizons of knowledge and therefore becoming more successful with their own education. Therefore, our theory on education is the idea that man learns best when the motivation to become educated comes from within himself, instead of allowing the pressures of society to be the main influence on his education. In order to prove this claim, we will be exploring Shelley’s theory on education and how our claim reflects some of its ideas, highlighted by Victor Frankenstein and the monster. Next, we will support our theory by discussing Frederick Douglass’ curiosity for information, which led to his successful education. After that, we will discuss how Emerson’s idea of the “American Scholar,” pushes men to be their best and therefore reflects our theory. Lastly, we will analyze how Rousseau’s idea of society influencing man challenges our claim of achieving an education through one’s own drive to learn.
Mary Shelley’s illustration of her theory on education reflects our own claim very well, having the characters of both Victor Frankenstein and his monster ignore societal influences on the road to educate themselves. When Victor Frankenstein was just a little boy, he fell in love with the way specific theorists thought. However, people whom he respected were constantly calling the things he studied nonsense and a waste of time, but instead of listening to them, this just motivated him to keep learning. At the age of thirteen, he began reading a book about Cornelius Agrippa, becoming entranced by his theories and showing it to his father in excitement, but this only garnered a reaction of: “Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash” (Shelley 34). By emphasizing this quote in Victor’s past, Shelley lets the audience know that this would prove to be a crucial moment – the answer his father gave him did not satisfy his curiosity so he kept pushing himself to obtain the education he desired. This motivation follows him to university, where he encounters a professor who gives him a similar reaction when hearing about Victor’s interest in these theorists. Instead of resenting this advice to give up the things he believed in, he took his professor’s words and incorporated it into the lesson plan he had for himself, finding “a great deal of sound and sense” to add to what he had already learned (47). All of this motivation to gain intellectual success allows him to do what has not been done before – create life in the monster through artificial means. Life is not the only thing Victor seems to have given the monster, however, as the latter has received his creator’s passion to learn and understand. Despite the constant backlash the monster receives from society due to his appearance, he pushes forward with his desire to educate himself, spending his days in “close attention, that [he] might more speedily master the language” taught by Felix to Safie. The monster is so successful with his study plan that by the next time he meets with his creator, he is well spoken and well read, having already finished the books from the abandoned bag that he finds in the forest. He is able to narrate his story to Victor and ask the latter to create for him a companion. More importantly, the monster is able to get Victor to understand what the former has gone through due to Victor’s neglect, and this is all a result of his unwavering determination to educate himself in the ways of man.
The idea of providing education to slaves was immoral and never accepted by the society of Frederick Douglass’ time. Society and man forbid slaves of education from the very beginning of their life. Black children didn’t even know their age, but white children could say the exact year of their births. The discrepancy in education between whites and blacks made Douglass realize the injustice of slavery. Additionally, the lack of knowledge that Frederick Douglass had further motivated him to pursue a greater education. Sophia Auld, Douglass’ mistress, had given the “inch” to Douglass by fulfilling his request on teaching him how to read. Master Hugh Auld intervened and stopped his wife from teaching Douglass any further because it would awaken the latter’s curiosity. However, it was too late; Douglass’ suppressed curiosity due to society’s standards had been aroused and Douglass wanted the “ell” to his “inch.” Douglass’ own desire for knowledge grew more intense that he became willing to sacrifice whatever he could to obtain it. Douglass traded bread for lessons on how to read, he copied words from little Tommy’s books, and learned how to write by watching others at the shipyard. To Frederick Douglass, if he did not have that self-desire for knowledge, he would not have gotten an education that led to greater things upon his life later on.
This same desire to learn is what fuels Emerson’s idea of the American Scholar. His theory encompasses the concept of an independent mind, free of influences that may suppress the inner truth that the self is attempting to conceive. Emerson says, “In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker” (Paragraph 6). In two sentences, Emerson summarizes the consequences of man relying on what society encourages him to learn to base his education on. If man follows accordingly to society’s study agenda, he loses his ability to create a study plan based on his own personal interests and curiosity. If he loses this, he loses his potential to think like a true intellect. This is what Emerson wishes to avoid as he insists that man find truth within himself, as that is the most effective way of reaching progression. He says, “[The mind], instead of being its own seer, let it receive from another mind its truth…and a fatal disservice is done” and goes on to talk about how over influence hurts the genius. External influence on one’s education is acceptable to a certain extent; anything past that will only damper man’s ability to achieve educational greatness within himself.
Rousseau’s theory of man influencing education by societal pressure challenges our claim of man learning best through his own motivation to learn. Putting the pressures of society on man is ineffective on one’s education. Rousseau states: “Society must be studied in the individual and the individual in society” (31). He believes that one should compare themselves to the customs and traditions of society in order to mold them into what is socially acceptable. Here, Rousseau is man influencing, while Emile is man being influenced. Rousseau believes that he should “put him in his place from the first, and keep him in it, so that he no longer tries to leave it” (8). This explains how people tend to categorize one another, which then builds boundaries on one another’s way of learning. By formal education, one is learning the core curriculum that the teacher wants him or her to learn, which might not be within their interests. With this, one becomes complacent, and halfheartedly achieves their grade, rather than excelling in the topic because they have expressed a true interest in it. This hinders one’s ability to think and reason if they are not passionate about the topic, which then confines man to the scope of their knowledge to what must be taught and learned. There are many cases when those who have dropped out succeed because of their motivation to learn on their own. Rousseau expresses the importance of gaining an education through the influence other men. However, this would only stop people from reaching their full potential. Instead, one should rely on his own motivation to influence his education.
