The novel tells the story of poor Victor Frankenstein who is very fascinated with the nature of the world. He studies the works of alchemists and philosophers as a child and later goes to college to study chemistry. It is while he is deep in his studies that he discovers how to create life from inanimate matter. Inspired by this epiphany, he begins work on creating a structure to imbue life into. This structure as it turns out is a man of disproportionate size and strength; the height of a giant, the intelligence of man, and the hardiness of the toughest creature on Earth. When the creature becomes alive, Victor is disgusted by the very sight of him and flees his laboratory, leaving the creature isolated and truly alone. Seasons pass and the monster is consumed by his isolation and anguish and starts to kill off all of Victor’s loved ones after Victor betrays him after promising to make another like him so he may not be alone. Victor is lead to his death by grief and the monster marches to the northern frozen wastes to destroy the life that was irresponsibly given to him and to silence the suffering and loneliness he endured forever after.
The themes of the novel are to be careful and meticulous when exploring untested areas especially in the scientific region, and that even a beautifully kind and compassionate person can becomes a true monster when only faced with hatred and whose only companion is their isolation in life.
The author’s tone could be said to be sad or regretful for the characters. There are very few positively charged words such as joy, glee, or happiness used in the dialogue of the characters and the description of the scenes taking place around them. These excerpts from the book exemplify my point.
I honestly do not have a clue what to put in this section.
a) 1. How did you conclude that a theme was: "that even a beautifully kind and compassionate person can becomes a true monster when only faced with hatred and whose only companion is their isolation in life"?
ReplyDelete2. When Victor flees his laboratory because he is disgusted with his creation, what do you think this says about Victor?
3. This story seems very emotionally charged. Did the author use pathos? And if so, how?
b) 1. I've heard about the story of Frankenstein before and always thought it was just some creepy story. However, after reading your blog I've realized that it is more than that. That a lot of people can relate with this story on a personal level.
2. The creature, Frankenstein, and the narrator from my book, Invisible Man, both struggle with their identity and isolation. Frankenstein feels completely isolated and neglected due to the actions of Victor which then causes him to feel that he is a monster. Similarly, the narrator of Invisible man feels isolated because he is black and living amongst cruel white people therefore, leaving him to feel invisible.
3. Both characters from both novels are also, cruelly treated by others leaving them to have a lot of inside turmoil.
By: Kayla McCallie
Period 2
I remember reading this back in sophomore year...and I agree with pretty much everything you said, but there was just one thing. You're a smart cookie, and I'm surprised you didn't pick up on or mention anything about how much Shelley talked about nature. My goodness, there was so little dialog in this book, it was painful. Whole chapters were devoted just to describing Victor running away into the hills and the mountains and the woods, and how peaceful it was. Not to mention, the one big natural event that gave him the idea for creating life: the lightning striking the tree. She has this sort of romantic view of nature and it's healing powers. I think that could have been added to the themes.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think the author of Frankenstein wrote this book? Did it relate to the era during that period of time?
ReplyDelete