...ALLIIIIIVE!!!” Everyone knows the famous line from pop culture’s Frankenstein where, surrounded by fantastical science equipment, Dr. Frankenstein, aided by his hunched assistant, Igor, zaps life into a grotesque monster within medieval castle under the cover of a dark and stormy night. At the epicenter, a creature awakens while the mad scientist cackles maniacally. It would be equally shocking for most, however, to find that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the original, poses a quite different, almost anti-climatic, scene–void of any shouting, Igors, and with no clear depiction of the creature’s endowment of life-giving forces. In fact, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein contrasts heavily to the pop culture Frankenstein in many aspects, namely,...
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...Examine some of the ways Gothic horror is presented in Frankenstein showing how your understanding of Mary Shelley’s techniques has been illuminated by your reading of Poe’s short stories Firstly, Shelley uses the setting of her novel in order to create an unsettling atmosphere in various chapters. Factors such as time, weather and architecture all play an important role in bringing horror to life in both Frankenstein and Poe’s short stories. Mary Shelley aligns Victor with the Romantic Movement, which emphasised a turn to nature for experiences like hope and happiness. The natural world has notable effects on Victor’s mood. He is moved and happy in the presence of the scenic beauty of Switzerland. In return this also reminds Victor of his guilt, shame and regret. “The rain depressed me; my old feelings recurred, and I was miserable”. This enables the weather to foreshadow Victor’s emotions throughout the novel. The theme of nature also reappears in the monster’s narrative. Whereas Victor seeks the high cold hard world of the Alps for comfort, as if to freeze his guilt, the monster finds solace in the soft colours of a spring time forest. This symbolises his desire to reveal himself to the world and interact with others. The architecture of the early nineteenth century was typically gothic and of a medieval revival style. It is this gloomy and frightening scenery, which sets the scene for what the audience should expect. Likewise, Poe uses the setting to convey...
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...necessity. But then how does Frankenstein by Mary Shelley written over two centuries ago, still manage to have a lasting impression on today’s society? Even though 250 years on, Frankenstein still manages to be relevant and pertinent to this very day. The reason being is that Frankenstein becomes more than synonymous with “monster” and “crazy inventor” but is in fact a cautionary tale of the monstrosity capable by man. It’s the universal themes of Frankenstein such as what it means to be human, medical ethics and the darker natured tendency of man to achieve ultimate glory. The events that occur in the text stem from Victor Frankenstein’s want and desire for glory. Dr Victor Frankenstein embarks on a futile quest to create and sustain life where he constructs his nameless monster from various dead matter. Here is where the nameless monster comes to life through being electrified into a conscious being. However, when the experiment is finished, Frankenstein is petrified by what he sees and flees the scene. However, for Frankenstein, time and space are unable to separate himself from his creation where the text delves into a cold and thrilling...
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...HUMN 303 Week 7 Assignment Sheri A. Green DeVry University Professor Gessford August 23, 2014 Frankenstein, a novel first published in the year 1818, stands as the most talked about work of Mary Shelley’s literary career. She was just nineteen years old when she penned this novel, and throughout her lifetime she could not produce any other work that surpasses this novel in terms of creativity and vision. In this novel, Shelley found an outlet for her own intense sense of victimization, and her desperate struggle for love. Traumatized by her failed childbirth incidents, troubled childhood, and scandalous courtship, many of Shelley’s life experiences can be seen reflected in the novel. When discussing the character and development of the monster, Shelley launches an extensive discussion on the need for a proper environment and education for a child’s moral development. When we explore the novel in depth, we can see that it exudes the true horror of childbirth felt by Shelley, and articulates the fears and anxieties she had regarding her reproductive and nurturing capabilities. Shelley’s life was marked by a series of pregnancies, miscarriages, childbirths, and deaths. Her firsthand experience of a bereavement started early in her life, when her mother died when she was eleven days old, because of a puerperal fever contacted because of childbirth. This marked her first encounter with pregnancy and related complications, but unfortunately, it was not the last...
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...Frankenstein: The First Modern Monster Story When we hear Frankenstein the image that many of us think of today is that of a mindless monster with bolts in his neck who wishes to terrorize anyone who crosses his path. This image is far different from that of the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In Shelley’s novel Frankenstein’s monster is smart, caring, and he posses near super human strength and speed. Frankenstein is thought to be heavily influenced by of many of the places and events in Shelly’s life. For example many of the scientific themes are thought to be influenced by the scientific revolution which was being analyzed during the romanticism period which is when Frankenstein was written. Frankenstein is often considered to be the first modern monster story because it deals with many modern issues, it has many differences from earlier monster stories, and because it is written using a modern romanticism writing style. The most prevalent modern issue dealt with in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the boundaries between religion and science. In the novel Victor uses science to create life which is something that only God can do. Frankenstein’s monster compares himself to Adam and Victor to God when he says, “Remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.”(Shelley 66), this quote is an example of Shelley relating religion and science. During the period of Enlightenment science...
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...Feminism within the Novel and the Creation of Frankenstein In “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, one can undoubtedly see how the female characters have less importance than the male characters. The reason these sex differences in status occurred because of the period that she wrote the novel. Shelley, during the first half of the nineteenth century, was writing in a time in which a woman “was conditioned to think she needed a man’s help” (Smith 275). In “Frankenstein”, Mary Shelley devotes three male characters to narrate the story, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and Frankenstein’s creation. No woman throughout the entire novel speaks directly as the three narrators do. Mary Shelley also constructs the story to follow the main character,...
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...Throughout the novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein proposes the parallel between monster and man, and the raises the question as who is the real monster; Victor Frankenstein or the monster he created. In passage A, Mary Shelley conveys that man and monster are not entirely different and rather the real monster is essentially mankind. In this case, Shelley uses specific word choices, along with character development and parallels to demonstrate that man and monster are indistinguishable. In the following passage, Mary Shelley’s choice of words and characterization indicates that man and monster are along the same spectrum. Robert Walton writes, “My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree. How can I see so noble a creature destroyed by misery without feeling the most poignant grief?” (Shelley 12-13). The idea that Walton addresses Victor Frankenstein as a “noble creature” is crucial in identifying as to what is considered to be human. He addresses Victor as a creature with understanding, and “gentle, yet so wise; his mind cultivated…” (Shelley 13). Mary Shelley associates man as creature; creature with intelligence, feelings, and innocence. This pinpoints to the idea that man is monster. In addition, the passage sets up the scene for the telling of Victor’s narrative. Mary Shelley uses Walton’s character as an introduction whose story parallels that of Frankenstein’s. In the second letter, Walton addresses...
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...Khizer Awan AP LIT Frankenstein Literary Analysis I Must Know More Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is a romantic era novel based on the theme of knowledge. The word “knowledge” reoccurred many times throughout Frankenstein and forced the reader to understand the definition of it. According to Webster’s Dictionary, knowledge is defined as “Knowledge: n. Understanding gained by actual experience; range of information; clear perception of truth; something learned and kept in the mind.” The word knowledge is very simple, but has different meanings to all of us. Knowledge is the tool we use in making proper judgement. Knowledge is an extremely powerful thing and it must be used wisely and properly. Carelessly using knowledge can cause terrible consequences. The novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a novel that has many comparisons of powers in life. It pertains to many themes in society today. Frankenstein contrasts science, technology, life and death, and most importantly knowledge and ignorance. It shows the consequences of knowledge in both negative and positive ways. In Frankenstein, three characters searched for one thing - knowledge. Unfortunately the results of their search differed from what they had anticipated. Walton, blinded by ambition, believed that search for knowledge on the route to the North Pole would bring fame to his name, but he quickly learned that he ended up only with the danger to the lives of his crew. Frankenstein, driven by passion...
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...In the Beginning There Was Frankenstein Many have said that love makes the world go around but we are left with the question of who creates love? What would life be like if we had not experienced love and, ultimately, what would each of us be like without experiencing love? The Holy Bible provides numerous examples of a perfect love from the Creator and explains that people have been created to love. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, creates questions about the responsibility of a creator, and what can happen when some basic responsibilities of a creator are ignored. The novel describes a monster and his actions due to his creator abandoning him. Throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, there is the question of who really is the monster? Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, can easily be compared to the Judeo-Christian God and the story of creation found in the book of Genesis. The God referred to as the creator of all mankind is driven by love for his creation, but Victor Frankenstein is driven to create by his own personal ideas of grandiosity and ego. The Holy Bible is the account of the Judeo-Christian God’s action in the world and his purpose for all creation. The writing of the Holy Bible took place over sixteen centuries, and is the work of over forty human authors. There are sixty-six books that provide various lessons for living and moral conduct, examples of love from a Creator, and a starting point for creation. In Genesis, the...
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...As a myth about procreation, the maternal imagery in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is clear, evident, pervasive. Yet, while the novel suffers no shortage of mother figures, Shelley’s interpretation of the maternal archetype in her seminal work is unique in its focus. The theme of the maternal finds itself in a paradox wherein its absence becomes evidence for its ubiquity; it is everywhere in that it is nowhere. One can therefore conclude that the concept of motherhood in Frankenstein does not require a mother, but only demands the notion that there was once a maternal presence where there is now none. By promptly abandoning his role as his monster’s creator, Victor seems to have perfectly complied with Shelley’s aforementioned definition of the maternal archetype. Still, some argue that the fact of Victor’s sex precludes him from ever fulfilling the theme of motherhood in Frankenstein. Victor is a man; the evident conclusion would be to declare Victor a paternal force in his creation’s...
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...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title · Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...
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...The Real Monster Science is a broad field which covers many aspects of everyday life and existence. Some areas of science include the study of the universe, the environment, dinosaurs, animals, and insects. Another popular science is the study of people and how they function. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is an inspiring scientist that studies the dead. He wants to be the first person to give life to a dead human being. He spends all of his time concentrating on this goal, and gives up his family and friends. When he finally accomplishes this, everything falls apart. So, Victor Frankenstein is to blame for the tragedy, not the monster he has created, because he is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and he is supposed to have everything under control, working properly as a good scientist should do. Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that follow the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being. This is obviously something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All...
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...In Mary Shelley's book ¨Frankenstein,¨ Victor creates a monster whose appearance is put off as dangerous. Even though the monster tries so hard to make a friend, he is consecutively being rejected by every human he comes in contact with besides a blind man from the DeLacey family. In society your physical appearance is being judge by someone everyday. Who is too fat, who is too thin? Who wears too much makeup, who doesn't wear any at all? Who is too tall, who is too short? Everyone is not being judged just in our time period but the same thing was happening in the time period of Mary Shelley's book ¨Frankenstein.¨ Throughout the monsters multiple denials of acceptance by society and Victor, Mary Shelley shows that social rejection alters negative...
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...2014 Mary Shelley’s story “Frankenstein” is a story of a young man obsessed with the creation of mankind. We are introduced to Victor Frankenstein a man that uses all his education and resources to create a new human. With good intentions Victor creates not a human but a monster too terrible to even look at. Victor’s new creation provokes him fear causing him to abandon his own creation. This creature abandon by his creator becomes Victor’s Frankenstein’s nightmare and becomes the monster of Mary Shelley’s story. The following will show how Shelley’s intentions were meant for Victor’s creation to be seen as the true monster in the story. Victor Frankenstein wanted to create a human to improve humankind. He made is creation out of various parts of human corpses. Victor then realizes that his creation is hideous. The creation is a monster; he is larger than any human about eight feet tall, with yellow skin and scary eyes. The appearance of the creation is one of the first signs that he is a monster. His own creator becomes fearful of him and due to the monsters appearance he is unable to have any type of human interaction. People who see him fear and perceive him as a monster. The creation has now been perceived as a monster. He has been rejected by his creator and now by all humankind. Causing Victor’s creation to feel anger towards all humans especially Victor. On the discussion board, Allison Mascivecchino defends the idea that the creation has turned into a monster by making...
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...“anonymous” author, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus has inspired numerous adaptations, remakes and parodies across different literary genres. Reprinted again in 1831, this time with an introduction written by Mary Shelley acknowledging her authorship, Frankenstein through its discrediting of science and the omnipotence of nature, confirms ands challenges our own habitual understandings of the world around us. The habitual understanding I will be focusing on is western hegemonic rationalism and the dominance of science as the ruler and explainer of my universe in comparison to the earlier more romantic ideology of Shelley’s time. Frankenstein also carries a warning about ambition. In a society that believes ambition to be a good thing, Shelley attempts to revel catastrophic consequences for humans over come with the quest for glory and science’s obsessive and overly ambitious nature. Western hegemonic ideal is the cultural identity that has conditioned me, becoming habitual, normal and routine. However, Shelley was privileged as she was writing at the beginning of the scientific enlightenment era, and could therefore identify what would be lost if science and technology were to usurp the position of God, nature and fate. Art, emotions, passion, suffering, humility etc were to be restricted into liminal spaces, creating a world not unlike Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World. Romantic philosophies have been endorsed in Frankenstein through the downfall of Victor due to scientific...
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