An Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein '

Every work is a product of its time. Indeed, we see that in Frankenstein, like in the world which produced its author, race, or the outward appearances on which that construct is based, determines much of the treatment received by those at all levels of its hierarchy. Within the work, Mary Shelley, its author, not only presents a racialized view of its characters, but further establishes and enforces the racial hierarchy present and known to her in her own world. For the few non-European characters, their appearance, and thus their standing in its related hierarchy, defines their entrances into the narrative. For the Creature, this occurs on the ices of the Artic, when, “atop a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile;” Walton and his men perceived, “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature.” (Shelley 13) Shelley clarifies, even this early in her novel, the race of its principal Other as soon after the intrepid adventurers rescue its namesake, Victor Frankenstein, who, Shelley clarifies, “was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European.” (Shelley 14) Later, closer examination of the Creature reveals a visage and figure of near unimaginable disfigurement, with a “shrivelled complexion,” and yellow skin which “scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.” (Shelley 35) This could be contrasted directly

Alienation is a product of society’s inherently discriminatory bias, catalyzed by our fear of the unknown in the realm of interpersonal conduct. Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, dissects society’s unmerited demonization of individuals who defy—voluntarily or involuntarily—conventional norms. Furthermore, through her detailed parallel development of Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley personifies the tendency to alienate on the basis of physical deformity, thereby illustrating the role of the visual in the obfuscation of morality.

Shelley addresses romantic conventions in Victor to convey his loss of identity. Victor is impatient and restless when constructing the creation, so much, that he does not think about it’s future repercussions. One of the great paradoxes that Shelley’s novel depicts is giving the monster more human attributes than to it’s creator [p. 6 - Interpretations]. This is true as the monster seeks an emotional bond, but Victor is terrified of it’s existence. The monster later reveals, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurred at and kicked and trampled on [Shelley, p. 224].” Victor’s lack of compassion is rooted from the inability to cope with his reality. He distances himself from others and is induced with fainting spells [Shelley, p. 59]. From this, the nameless creature exemplifies Victor’s attempt to abandon his creation to escape his responsibilities. His creation is described as, ‘wretched devil’ and ‘abhorred monster,’ eliciting that the unobtainable, pitied identity [Shelley, p. 102]. The act of not naming the creature reveals Victor as hateful, and unnaturally disconnected to his own created victim.

In Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, the creation, made from scraps of corpses, was built by Victor Frankenstein, a man fascinated and obsessed with the knowledge of life. Following the creation’s rouse, Victor immediately abandons him with no desire on keeping or teaching his new being. Because of his lack of nourishment and direction “growing up”, the creation goes through a process of self-deception. He endures a period of deceit by believing that he is a normal human being like everyone around him. But as time progresses, he learns to accept how he is alone in this world and disconnected with everyone. Because of the creation’s lack of guidance and isolation, he grows up feeling unwanted.

Man changes all the time. His emotions, state in life, body figure and even peace of mind can change in a matter of moments. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, one of the themes expressed repeatedly is the mutability of the state of man. Victor Frankenstein emotions and states of life change many times in this novel. Mary Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein to show the audience that the only thing that does not change is the fact that human beings are always changing. Some of these changes come by impulse other changes may come by changes in the surrounding environment.

As written in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, knowledge can be seen as dangerous power. This pursuit of wanting to know more can be seen throughout the story including Victor Frankenstein’s view of science and trying to create a human being. Also, his creature’s need to know more about the world around him and his thirst for a companion. This knowledge learned from their personal experiences can then be helpful in guiding Robert Walton with his path of danger as well. All of these factors play a part in discovering why knowledge when misused can be a dangerous tool.

The following essay is a book review of Frankenstein, which summarizes and evaluates the story. The purpose of this essay is to describe the two important qualities, which are the overview of the plot (including the characters of the book), and the book’s strengths as well as weaknesses. Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and is about a young man named Victor who creates his own human through multiple types of science. The novel is about the monster’s journey in understanding where he came from and seeking revenge towards his creator. The main characters involved are Victor, the creator, the monster, Victor’s family members, etc. There are many strengths and weaknesses of the story, some involving what lessons the novel may teach its readers while demonstrating a sense of revenge that is considered “acceptable”.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein begins with a series of letters Captain Robert Walton has written to his sister Margaret Saville. The letters express Walton’s aspirations for his upcoming voyage to the North Pole. Throughout four messages, Walton describes his frustrations and triumphs leading to his impending journey. His most heart wrenching grievance is his inability to find companionship. In each letter, Walton is progressively farther along in his journey, and, in the fourth and final letter, Walton and his men have been trapped in ice for several days when they encounter a stranger stranded at sea. The men welcome the stranger aboard the ship, and Walton personally sees to the man’s recovery. As the two men spend time together, Walton

Modern society values the pursuit of passion; it is generally regarded as worthwhile and beneficial. However, a fine line separates passion from obsession. “Passion” is an extravagant desire for something. By contrast, “obsession” carries more sinister connotations. Particularly, it occurs when a persistent desire dominates an individual’s reason. An impassioned mind easily becomes obsessive when the desire grows into an uncontrollable ambition. Moreover, absolute obsession can be dangerous; specifically, the fixation on a single idea can lead to impaired moral judgement. Victor Frankenstein kindles a passion for natural philosophy, devoting hours to study the works of famous alchemists. As the years pass, Victor’s curiosity in natural science becomes a seeming obsession, setting the stage for the disastrous outcomes in the novel. The tragedies that transpire in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are direct consequences of Victor’s obsessive pursuit in science, as demonstrated through his self-imposed isolation from society, the creature’s countless rejection, and the demise of Victor and his family. Therefore, Victor’s unbridled scientific ambition clearly illustrates the dangers of an obsessive mind and the horror it can bring upon.

In her nineteenth century novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the characteristics of humanity, illuminates societal influences on development, and challenges the traditional biological definition of human through character developments and interactions. Particularly, she focuses on the characterization of the creature and his creator, pitting an ugly, malformed giant against an educated, dedicated scientist to establish a surprising conclusion. While the creature becomes fallen and corrupted through society, he retains the desire for companionship and emotional sensibility that he is born with; his duality makes him more human than Victor, who is born more monstrous.

1. Explain a character 's problem and then offer your character advice on how to solve his/her problem.

The classic works of Emily Bronte and Mary Shelley are both classified as gothic era fiction novels. Before reading them, the two novels seem to be polar opposites. While there are many differences, there are also a handful of similarities throughout both novels. Bronte and Shelley both use setting, revenge, and the role of women to highlight gothic elements of the era.

As Gayatri Spivak has taught us to read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in terms of colonizer and colonized, we can also adapt it to further our understanding of Catherine’s position in the novel in relation to the men who are dominate. In Frankenstein, the creature will always be defined in terms of Dr. Frankenstein because of his origins and the narrative perspective of the novel (Spivak 849). Similarly, Catherine allows herself to be defined by the men in her life. The only backstory we have regarding Catherine is about her previous relationship. In both prevalent relationships, Catherine has as history of submission. She is willing to give up her own needs and desires in order to please a man. Catherine does not exist outside of a romantic relationship, whether that is with Henry or her dead fiancé. Catherine has no problem being defined by these relationships. In chapter XVIII, Catherine says to Henry, “‘I want what you want. There isn’t any me anymore. Just what you want.’” (Hemingway 106). This rejection of self continues to set Catherine up as a subordinating object at the feet of Henry. To further her abandonment of personal identity, when speaking of marriage, Catherine tells Henry, “You are my religion. You’re all I’ve got.’” (Hemingway 116). To maintain their relationship, Catherine must give up everything while Henry gives up nothing. She is stripped of the very core of her existence. Without Henry, she would have no identity.

Giving life to an inanimate or deceased body may sound like an old witch tale or plain nonsense. Through Victor Frankenstein’s struggle to create a “monster,” he revealed something deeper and through curiosity he pushed the limits too far to come back. Some limits are set for a reason, but still the temptation to take one more step remains. Mary Shelley gives the reader an inside look to pertinent and sublime human nature in the novel Frankenstein.

Intertextuality is a literary technique that weaves together and creates a relationship between two texts, enriching the reader of the primary text with a look into history, and the ability to further interpret what they are reading. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED Online) “intertext” is defined as “A text considered in the light of its relation to other texts;” (“intertext” def. 1), meaning that intertext is when a text is better understood by having knowledge of the text that it alludes to. In Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell uses intertextuality to further demonstrate key concepts present in the text by alluding to works of other famous authors, well known biblical passages, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. By doing this, she effectively shows how the relationship between the working class and the middle to upper class must be compassionate and understanding of their shared connection in order to be successful.