Jean_Jacques_Rousseau_Social_Contract

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Rousseau was a French philosopher on the forefront of the Enlightenment Era. His beliefs had a major impact on society, and his political ideas influenced the onset of the French Revolution. [1] Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712, and was cared for by his aunt and uncle for the majority of his childhood. His mother died shortly after giving birth, and his father fled from Geneva after committing a minor offense against the law. He had little training and discipline in many areas, considering his lack of parental care, but was nevertheless involved in apprenticeships with both a notary and an engraver. [2] Rousseau established himself through self-education, and independently gained success in intellect as well as in music. [4] Furthermore, Rousseau was assisted in his education by Francoise-Louise de Warens, a wealthy French Catholic baroness. Rousseau converted to Catholicism under the protection of Warens, who later became his lover. [1] Rousseau did not have any stability in his living situations, and he moved from place to place until 1742, when he moved to Paris. [3] In Paris, Rousseau befriended Diderot, and contributed to and became familiar with Diderot’s Encyclopedie. [1] With his continually growing education in Paris, Rousseau began to develop his own thoughts regarding society, government, and relationships. In 1750, Rousseau //Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts// for a competition, and this essay gave Rousseau a major voice in intellectual society. Rousseau’s greatest known work is //The Social Contract//, in which he discusses man and his ideas about the best way to live in society. [4] In 1754, Rousseau moved back to Geneva, and was determined to live by his belief in simple living, which is against the ways of the cultured man. His work //Emile// questioned orthodox ways of education. He enhanced a belief in education from experience, and not only was his book banned in Switzerland and France, but he was condemned for religious unorthodoxy. Rousseau fled to Switzerland, until he was kicked out. He then moved to England, and eventually fled back to Paris with a pseudonym. He then returned to Paris when he was given permission to do so. [2] In 1768, he married a woman named [|Thérèse Levasseur], whom he had met over 20 years prior. Rousseau continued to write until he died in 1778 from a hemorrhage. His remains now lay at the Pantheon in Paris. [1] -Man is inherently good. [3] -Man is corrupted by society. [3] -Savages are noble, when uncorrupted. [2] -There is a compact between men regarding their roles in society. [3] -The Earliest men had free will, compassion, and a healthy self-love. [1] -There should be no such thing as private property. [3] -The state is created to preserve a man’s freedoms. [3] -Sovereignty should be in the hands of the people. [1] -Morality and politics should remain hand-in-hand. [3] -The arts and sciences are unnecessary, and evolved because of man’s pride and vanity. [1] -Learning by experience is more important than learning by books. [2]
 * __About Rousseau__**
 * Biography:**
 * Rousseau believed that:**

About the Social Contract
The Social Contract touches upon the basic principles on how man lives, and the social implications that come with life in general. It deals with the topic of slavery, and states that man is born free, yet almost immediately loses these elementary freedoms and becomes a slave of society. Rousseau touched upon the fact that man thinks he is in total control of others and everything around him, yet ironically is basically controlled mostly by the rules of society. He provides reasons that show how forms of restricted freedom has both benefits and negative implications. He states that society generally does well when it is guided by an outside force, and an individual also can do well when he or she justly acquires liberty. It also describes that man's first natural law is to provide for himself, first and foremost. He states that after a child is done being raised by the father, he or she becomes independent and this bond that was once between them disappears. Humans are viewed as highly independent, and the masters of their own lives after they are done learning the basic values. The retribution that the father receives for teaching his children basic values is the love that is created throughout this process. Touching upon the opinion that man can not create new forces, but only rather make use of what is there already, Rousseau speaks on the topic of coming together to achieve success. To overcome a challege, it is necessary to put all of the power of individuals together in order to resist. Yet, this may fall into a category in which it can be looked at as a possible contradiction to his other principle, doing what is best for yourself. He questions if settling on compromises is best for every individual. Rousseau stresses that no man should compromise himself for any other man, and should make decisions which both help his own interests and also benefit the general will secondarily. A person must see his or herself as both an individual as well as belonging to the public, but should never sacrifice his or her own identity. The concept of a man and his right over his property is discussed at length. It is a part of every man's life to possess something that has a certain value to him, and this should not be taken from him. Rousseau speaks about the right of each and every man to have privacy and be respected. He says that the first occupier of something is solely in charge of whatever that item or thing is, and it can not be unjustly stripped from him. Also talked about are the special situations in which men agree to share something such as a piece of land, in which a general agreement is made before they are able to do so. [6] Rousseau is generally concerned with the well-being of individuals, and protecting the rights of man. His books, when they were written, did and still have completely sensible solutions to the problems. The things he discusses are still present in society today, even though they may be in a different form.



As Seen in Frankenstein
Rousseau's Social Contract is made reference to in the novel, mainly by Victor and the Creature, and it reflects how they live their lives and how they're repressed or held down by society. Victor first refers to the Social Contract when he returns home to Geneva from Ingolstadt. “The shutting of the gates regularly at ten o’clock and the impossibility of remaining on the lake after that hour had rendered our residence within the walls of Geneva very irksome to me. I was now free. … But I was restrained, when I thought of the heroic and suffering Elizabeth, whom I tenderly loved, and whose existence was bound up in mine” (Shelley 87). [5] Rousseau states that man is born free and everywhere is in chains. [6] This relates to the quote because Frankenstein is enslaved in his village overnight, but is free to explore his village. The village is like Frankenstein’s soul. It keeps him emotionally locked up, but it allows him to explore why he’s the way he is. Elizabeth is like society in this quote because she’s restricting his freedom. This is because she’s adored by Victor. Frankenstein makes reference again when he and Clerval are touring London. “For an instant I dared to shake off my chains and look around me with a free and lofty spirit, but the iron had eaten into my flesh, and I sank again, trembling and hopeless, into my miserable self” (Shelley 153). [5] Rousseau states in the Social Contract that slaves lose all desire of escaping from their chains. [6] This relates to the quote because Frankenstein at first desires to escape from his enslavement, but because of what he went through, he emotionally can’t escape from his chains. Frankenstein also refers to the Social Contract when thinking of his own possible death on his wedding night. “If he were vanquished, I should be a free man” (Shelley 179). [5] Frankenstein would be a free man if his “master”, the Creature, was vanquished. The Social Contract ties into this because Frankenstein’s Creature is mainly the thing that’s keeping Frankenstein in chains and away or isolated from society. Also, the Creature represents society because it’s enslaving Frankenstein for destroying its partner. Frankenstein lastly refers to the Social Contract after he returns to Geneva from his very abbreviated honeymoon, a time of joy turned into a morbid occasion. “I know not; I lost sensation, and chains and darkness were the only objects that pressed upon me” (Shelley 188). [5] Rousseau states that society keeps man in chains. [6] After Frankenstein collapsed, the chains of society and his emotions were holding him down and restricting his actions. His emotional and physical exhaustion caused him to collapse and they prevented him from attaining consciousness. His emotional problems also led society to judge him as mad because of his possible ravings, restricting his actions. The Creature first refers to the Contract when arguing with Frankenstein after Victor destroys the partner he was creating for the Creature. “Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master; obey!” (Shelley 160). [5] The Creature refers to Frankenstein as a slave because he’s threatening Frankenstein with more deaths unless Frankenstein creates an equal partner. He’s forcing his power or authority over Frankenstein. Rousseau states in the Social Contract that man thinks himself his own master, but is a slave to others. [6] This relates to the quote because Frankenstein is the master of his Creature, yet he’s a slave to the Creature. The Creature lastsly refers to the Contract when telling Walton of what occured after Clerval's death. “I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey” (Shelley 208). [5] The Creature realizes here that he’s the slave to his lust for murder. This relates to the Social Contract because it states that man is in chains everywhere. [6] In this case, the chains are the Creature’s lust, enslaving him to do it’s bidding.
 * Victor:**
 * The Creature:[[image:0,,5429152,00.jpg align="right"]]**

=Further Theme Analysis and Connection to the Novel= The following passages are extended excerpts from __The Social Contract__, followed by a simple explanation which shows direct correllation between Rousseau and Shelley's ideas and themes.

//“Every man has naturally a right to everything he needs; but the positive act which makes him proprietor of one thing excludes him from everything else. Having his share, he ought to keep to it, and can have no further right against the community.”// [6] -This relates to the Creature’s relationship to the Delacey family. He is tempted to steal food from them as he feels he needs it, but later realizes that people have to right to what they own. //“Thus the possessors, being regarded as depositaries of the public good, and having their rights respected by all the members of the State and maintained against foreign aggression by all its forces…”// [6] -Again, this describes the rights that the Delacey family has in regards to privacy from the Creature. //“I SUPPOSE men to have reached the point at which the obstacles in the way of their preservation in the state of nature show their power of resistance to be greater than the resources at the disposal of each individual for his maintenance in that state.”// [6] -He uses the word “nature”, which is a prominent theme word throughout this novel. Also, he mentions the power of resistance, which is clearly shown when the Creature becomes angry with everything in the world and seeks revenge. When the Creature kills, it is obvious that he cannot maintain his position or location in society, which is mentioned in the last several words of the quotation. //“But it is clear that this supposed right to kill the conquered is by no means deducible from the state of war. Men, from the mere fact that, while they are living in their primitive independence, they have no mutual relations stable enough to constitute either the state of peace or the state of war, cannot be naturally enemies.”// [6] - This strangely describes a certain right to kill. It relates to the Creature’s situation almost exactly. He feels conquered by human culture and decides he possibly has a right or something similar to rebel and kill. It also uses the word primitive, which certainly is a fitting characterization of the monster who has just learned how to exploit his senses through personal experience, like the early hunter-gatherers did. //“THE most ancient of all societies, and the only one that is natural, is the family: and even so the children remain attached to the father only so long as they need him for their preservation. As soon as this need ceases, the natural bond is dissolved. The children, released from the obedience they owed to the father, and the father, released from the care he owed his children, return equally to independence.”// [6] -This has a correlation to the relationship between Frankenstein and his respective child, the Creature. Shortly after its birth or creation, the monster is let go by his father and left out alone. In the book, the Creature seems to be given a set of instinctual senses that allow him to survive, even at a young age, and therefore the “natural bond” was able to be broken early on. The Creature’s care is cut off so early that the independence is almost instant.
 * 9. REAL PROPERTY**
 * 6. THE SOCIAL COMPACT**
 * 4. SLAVERY**
 * 2. THE FIRST SOCIETIES**

//“I think that the// //social// //theorist, Jean Rousseau, would have been the strongest supporter of equal rights. In the "The// //Social// //Contract," wrote that man was naturally good but becomes corrupted by the pernicious influence of human society and institutions. He preached a mankind improved by returning to// //nature// //and// //living// //a natural life at peace with his neighbors and himself. He claims to be in favor of democracy, but what he really favors is social equality.”// [7] Naturally good was a good phrase to describe the Creature at first upon his creation. It is obvious that he was only tainted by his poor experiences that were caused by the direct contact with humans. Rousseau clearly mentions in his essay that man was once good and only made bad by the implications of the interactions with others, as social problems arose. I feel that Shelley is trying to show the tendency of man as a whole to be unaccepting of those who are noticeably different. The entire novel reflects on the theme of the fear of the unknown, as well as the reluctance of people to have an open mind.
 * The following is an excerpt and analyzation of an essay, titled "Politics and Jean Rousseau"**

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