Frankenstein
By Mary Shelley
Gothic Literature/Science Fiction
Historical Context
Frankenstein was written in 1818, and the story takes place in Russia in the beginning of the novel, but later switches over to Geneva, Switzerland. The setting changed many times throughout the course of the novel, but overall it stays inside of Europe.
Protagonist
Victor Frankenstein- He is the creator of the monster. Victor spends a majority of his time trying to destroy the creation that he made. He feels scared and depressed after creating the monster, and goes home where he finally sees the repercussions of bringing a human back to life.
Antagonist
Frankenstein’s Monster- This monster was created in the University of Ingolstadt, by Victor Frankenstein.
…show more content…
Victor used Alchemy, and Chemistry, as well as electricity in order to create life in the monster. Electricity symbolizes the monsters life and how it was created because of it.
The monster- the monster symbolizes being outcasted from society. The monster constantly is judged and secluded from society. The monster represents how the weak, and the different people in society are outcasted and in this case turned into “a monster.”
Weather- The weather was an influential symbol due to the fact that it foreshadowed much of the novel. When something miserable was going to happen, the weather tended to be stormy. When the spirits of the monster as well as Victor were lifted, the weather was more sunny and warm. The weather in this novel symbolized the feelings of the protagonist and antagonist.
Journal
…show more content…
Light was a major theme in Frankenstein, as it represented discovery as well as knowledge. An extremely important quote that emerged early on in the novel, was written in Walton’s first letter to his sister. In this letter he says “What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?”(Shelley ). This quote represents the similarities between Victor Frankenstein and Walton. Walton is trying to reach the end of the world; a pathway from russia to the ocean, and at the same time Victor Frankenstein is trying to find out the secret of life through his experiments. It shows the extents that both characters will go to, in order to gain the knowledge of these knew discoveries in the world. Light is a major theme in the novel due to the fact that the novel is surrounded around creation and discovery so much that the novel depends on it, and it would not be Frankenstein without it. Discovery is the cause of the monster, and the discovery of Victor is the cause of the entire novel. Without the theme of light the novel would not have been a successful
Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature highlights Frankenstein as the work of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, published in 1818, and it brought into the Western world one of its best known monsters. Elements of gothic romance and science fiction help in telling the story of young Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein, as he creates a horrible monster by putting together limbs and veins, leading to destruction and his later regret. The creature is left alone in the world, even by his own creator, for his hideous appearance, and through watching humans he learns their ways of living. Haunting Victor due to his loneliness, he forcefully makes Victor agree to make him a female companion, but Victor’s regret and misery enables him to tear up his
When victor brings the monster to life he soon realises that he has made a big mistake because he says ‘What have I done?’ this tells us that Victor has pride in his work at first but then it quickly turns to disbelief then he becomes terrified he leaves the monster and goes to his home in Geneva. The monster soon realises that he has been abandoned (I think that Mary has put in her novel him getting abandoned because her father abandoned her because he didn’t like the person who she was going to get married to) so he sets of to see what the world has to offer. As the monster comes across a village that has just been outrun with a deadly disease called colleria so when the villages see him they think that he brought it in and they beat. He turns to find Victor and make him pay for bring him back ugly. The monster finds a place to hide from all the people and he helps out a family by helping them with their farm work and he learns to read and write. In the family there is a blind man the monster is very protective over the blind man and the man come for the tax on the house where they live and he beats the blind man up but then the monster beats up the tax man and the little girl with the blind man screams and the mum and dad hears meanwhile the blind man and the monster
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
Frankenstein chases the monster to the North Pole, in an attempt to kill it. Weakened by the cold and long chase, a dying Victor is taken aboard a ship, where he relates his tale to the captain and dies soon after. The next night the monster visits the ship and looks upon Victor's body, ashamed by all of the killing he has done the monster flees into the Arctic Ocean, never to be seen again. Frankenstein appears to be a novel about the evil ways of man, but it is truly about the human soul and how it needs friendship and love to survive.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
The monster of the novel is often misattributed with the name, “Frankenstein.” However, Victor Frankenstein can ultimately be considered the true monster of this tale. His obsession would lead to the corruption of his soul and the creation of two monsters—one himself, and the other, the creature. In attempting to take on the role of God, nature would become a monster to Victor and destroy his life. These elements of monstrosity in Frankenstein drive the meaning of its story.
Monsters, in myths and legends, are ugly beasts with vicious tendencies and overbearing powers who bring suffering and agony to those who cross their paths, regardless of intention. However, the same cannot be said for Mary Shelley's monster, the Creation. Victor Frankenstein's lab experiment emphasizes the danger of not taking responsibility for one's own actions and knowledge, by being an instrument of Victor's suffering.
Victor Frankenstein, the main character in Mary Shelley’s novel, is the creator of the monster. When Victor created the monster, he believed he created the monster for the betterment of humankind, but he actually created the monster because he desired to prove to the world that an average human can do Godly acts. The desire to create the monster goes back to Victor’s childhood. As a young kid, Victor’s passions always lied in science and chemistry and in college; he became obsessed with the idea of creating life out of inanimate objects. He then decided to specialize in Alchemy. Within Shelley’s book Frankenstein, Victor said:
At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.
The first major event that happens that helps develop the book of Frankenstein, is that our main character Victor Frankenstein is found by Captain Robert Walton in the arctic sea. Victor is frozen and on the verge of death when Walton finds him and takes him upon his ship to nurture him. It is there where our story begins. Victor begins to tell his life story and the how he ended up where he is now.The second major event that happens in Frankenstein is that Victor starts to describe his early life. Victor was a child that interested in the big picture questions, such as life and death. He also tells of his fascination with “Galvanism” and “Alchemy”. However, this fascination of Victor’s soon becomes an obsession and he engulfes himself in his
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
Monsters can come in various physical forms, but all monsters share the same evil mentality. A Monster is a being that harms and puts fear within people. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of how appearance does not determine whether a creature is a monster or not. In the story, Victor Frankenstein tries to change nature by creating a super human being. The being appears to be a monster. Victor becomes so obsessed with his creation and then rejects it. Victor is the real monster because of his desire for power, lack of respect for nature, and his stubbornness.
I had the opportunity to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley several years ago and it became one of my favorite books. My initial feeling was sorrow, what a wonderful story that has been slowly destroyed by Hollywood through the years. We think of Victor Frankenstein as a mad scientist trying to destroy mankind, and the monster having bolts in his neck with very little intellect. Mary Shelley’s book is completely different from the Hollywood version we are accustom to. The monster is intelligent and has emotions, the mad scientist or Victor was scared of his own creation due to his appearance. The monster initially showed no signs of evil in the novel, but where did he learn it from? Who is the real evil monster
Victor Frankenstein experiences a great childhood life in Switzerland, Victor Frankenstein experiences a perfect childhood in Switzerland; surrounded by a loving family and accompanied by his cousin Elizabeth. Victor is interested in all of the books he reads about science. After the death of his mother, his first murderous experience was when he attended the University of Germany where he applied his newfound knowledge and created a human being, (the monster) of enormous size and strength. When his creation is made and awakes Frankenstein, is so horrified by his creation that he falls into an illness, lasting for months. While he is sick, the creature leads himself into the woods and purposely does what his brainpower tells him to do. Frankenstein returns home when learning that his brother had been murdered and Justine a friend Frankenstein is falsely executed. Having been hated, refused, and feared by every human being he meets, so he decides he wants to change. He asks Frankenstein to create him a female buddy but he never wantsto exchange bread with humanity ...
The theme in a piece of literature is the main idea or insight on characters. Most pieces of literature do not limit itself to one but many other themes all collected into one. This is just like in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This horrifying story was produced in 1818 and has several themes that she portrays throughout. The theme of dangerous knowledge is unmistakably seen theme in Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see this theme through three of the main characters, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. We can see how their desire for knowledge can take them places and show them eventually what they are looking for. Sooner or later it will take them to dangerous and unwanted places. The desire for knowledge can eventually lead one to its grave. Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this theme of dangerous knowledge.