Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was yet again another story that frustrated me. The novel had so much promise due to its great plot and frame story structure, and Shelley completely ruined it through the actions of Victor. I just do not understand Victor's foolish actions because he caused every negative aspect of his own life. I have much sympathy for the creature because all he wanted was to have a loving family and companion of his own. Past just the conflict between Victor and the creature, I really enjoyed the romance that went on between Victor and Elizabeth. Shelley was able to do a good job at characterizing Elizabeth into what seemed like the perfect women who completed Victor. It came as a big surprise to me when Elizabeth said , "That I love you" (Shelley, 138). Then again Shelley let me down by killing off Elizabeth, which further irked me. Overall, I would have to say this was a well crafted novel. I found it very interesting how connected Victor and the creature were. Shelley was really able to pack a lot of events into a short amount of time, while also creating suspense with almost every situation. Furthermore, this novel was able to keep the reader entrained through the complexities of literary techniques.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a novel composed of multiple character's chasing something. Whether they are chasing a person, or a dream, or an idea, there is always a character chasing something. Victor finally decides to chase the creature after the death of Elizabeth because he has a new found motivation: revenge. Victor recalls, "I was possessed by a maddening rage...to wreak a great and signal revenge on his cursed head" (Shelley, 147). Victor's motivation to chase down the creature is not to make amends, but rather it is to execute the creature. All Victor can now think about is accomplishing his revenge on the creature. This constant thought process has caused Victor to become mad within his obsession. This motivation also serves to begin Victor's downward spiral to his death. Victor stops at no end to seek his revenge, which causes him to become mentally and physically weak while stranded in the Arctic. Victor allows himself to become so caught up in his motivation to seek revenge because it is honestly the only hope he has left in his entire life.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley establishes a variety of thematic topics. One theme that is discussed throughout the entire novel is the idea of health and how it is affected by mental and physical conditions. After Victor discovered the death of Henry, "[His] strength was gone. [He] was a mere skeleton; and fever night and day preyed upon [his] wasted frame" (Shelley, 135). Victor was in so much shock and horror that his health began to deteriorate. At this point he is beginning to lose the will to live. He is in so much dismay that he has rendered himself physically ill for months on end. Since Victor's health is so harshly impacted due to being weakened mentally, the reader can get a sense of how his memories are destroying him. The events that occurred distorted his mind so much that his physical health leads to near death. Whenever Victor hits a mental breakdown, he seems to come close to death due to illness. Shelley is able to convey a direct correlation between the frantic mental state Victor is in to the health conditions he experiences.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The creature in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is characterized in a controversial manner. Some people find the monster to be evil at heart, and others observe that he is truly a genuine creature. Shelley is able to use juxtaposition to tie both of these ideas together when the creature states, "My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred it did not endure the violence of the change" (Shelley, 164). Shelley is stating that the monster began life as a loving and kind creature. Due to the creatures constant rejection, the creature began to feel hatred toward humanity. Therefore, the creature was morphed into the "wicked devil" that Victor portrays him as because of the evil humanity inflicted upon him. This juxtaposition proves that the creature did not intend to cause such distress in the lives of others, but did so in order for others to feel his pain. The creature felt pain and sorrow whenever he murdered one of Victor's loved ones, but he expressed even greater despair when he was labeled as an outcast. The creature just wants to return to his original, loving and sympathetic ways, rather than cause such heinous crimes.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Toward the end of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor's story begins to catch up with the present. Since there are at least three different stories told, this novel is structured to be a frame story. The story follows a pyramid by beginning with Walton's story, continuing with Victor's story, including the creatures' story, and then heading back through Victor and Walton's stories. When Victor question's whether Walton will help him, Walton writes a letter stating, "You have read this strange and terrific story" (Shelley, 155). This use of a frame story allows the writer to convey that the story is being told by actual witnesses. The frame allows to show the complexities of how each character is involved because each of their stories intertwine. This structure also allows the reader to better observe how the personalities and characteristics of the characters are similar in respects to their dreams and ambition. Victor and the creature share similar emotions during the exact same time frame. The reader would have no knowledge of this aspect of the story if their stories were not told within each other's story. This framework helps to cover each topic and unanswered question, and then tie it all together from each perspective.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

So far Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a fairly decent novel. The story is very different from the folklore that I had heard previously before starting this novel. I had originally imagined the doctor to be in a state of elation and have an evil laugh once the monster was born, rather Victor, “Rushed out of the room… [and] threw [him]self on the bed” (Shelley 35). This novel is very different in many other aspects especially because the focus is not based on a creepy monster that goes on a massive rampage throughout the village. As I stated, this novel is decent, but I believe it is a little slow with action throughout the story. Whenever a person or topic is brought up, Shelley goes into full detail of explaining this person/idea, which causes the story to become monotonous at points. It also does get quite annoying that adjectives such as “benevolent” so frequently that the word is almost clichéd.   Other than that slight negative aspect, the story seems to have a great plot and story line behind it. The vocabulary is high, but very easy to understand. Not too bad of a novel for an eighteen year old who hates the thought of writing books.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Throughout Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is a great deal of conflict that arises in Victor’s life. He is conflicted externally with the issue of the monster, but he is mostly conflicted internally by his thoughts and emotions.  When discussing how Victor felt at fault for the death of his brother and sister, he proclaims, “I behold those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts” (Shelley 60). Victor is mentally blaming himself for the murder of both his relatives. He feels that since he created the monster who led to their deaths, it is his fault that their situation had ever occurred.  Victor is even further struck with depression and despair by this. He is conflicted internally because he has to live with the knowledge and guilt of these two lives that were ended by his creation. Victor reflects frequently about this disaster, which does not help his internal confliction. This conflict creates more madness to Victor’s character. Victor is now obsessed with revenge by killing the monster, which he feels is the only way to end his mental confliction.