Comparing the Creation Scene in James Whale's 1931 Frankenstein and Kenneth Brannagh's 1994 Frankenstein

In Mary Shelly’s epistolary Frankenstein and Franz Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis,” the authors explore the dangerous impact of society and rejection. Both creatures are rejected and isolated by their families have been defined as monsters. But, the authors force the reader to look past physical appearance to uncover who the real monster is, society; it defines what make us human. Society defines others solely based on what they see, disregarding any humane characteristics they may possess.

There are evident similarities between Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Both Frankenstein and his creation share a love for nature, a longing for knowledge, and a desire for companionship.

The novel Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley in 1818. This gothic romance novel tells the story of a philosopher who discovered how to create life, without the full knowledge that his actions could cause grave consequences. Universal Studios made the film version of this novel in 1931. Unfortunately, the film version of Frankenstein has more differences than similarities to the novel. In the novel, Victor’s mental obsession seems to be more severe than in the film. The character of Victor Frankenstein was portrayed in both the novel and the film as a veriphobe, or one who is afraid of the truth, in this case, the truth of his actions. He

In many movie adaptations of a novel, the film doesn’t do the book justice in its story telling. Movie versions generally do not focus on the characters’ emotions or thoughts like the books do. They also do not develop the characters as well as the original story, giving the viewer little to no knowledge of a certain person. This is the case in Frankenstein. While there are some similarities between the original written version and the one on screen, the movie doesn’t delve into the lives of the main characters: Victor and the creature. The loss of characterization and focus on their lives takes away the audience’s take on consequences.

Analysis of the Creation Scene from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 Film Version

While reading the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly and the excerpt “Problems of Perception” by Anne K. Mellor, I came quick to notice that most of characters in the novel judge the creature by his outward appearance and never gave him a chance to show himself good. As we all know, the creature turns out to be a vicious killer of the ones that are dear to his creator. I believe the creature is this way because he is always criticized and rejected by everyone and has never been accepted in mainstream society.

I can compare Frankenstein to the movie I saw by Tim Burton, Frankenweenie. They are similar but instead of a human body, it was a dog and the mad scientist was a young boy named Victor Frankenstein. The young Victor Frankenstein brings his dog back to life after being hit by a car for a science fair project while the real Victor Frankenstein wanted to create a real life human. Just like the real Frankenstein monster, the dog brings trouble. In the book, the mad scientist, denies the monster but in Frankenweenie, the young boy convinces his family and friends to like his creation. Some of his classmates had known the young Victor Frankenstein creation and was intrigued to do the same experiment like his but it went out of the standards of

Frankenstein and Edward Scissorhand are both about two different creators creating their own kind of creatures, and the journey through the whole process and the life after creation. In both the novel and film we are able to compare different aspects of both the novel and film. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Tim Burton’s film Edward Scissorhands have many similarities and differences starting from the desire of wanting to feel love, to the cause of all the violence. A few of the similarities and differences visible throughout the novel and film are: quest for knowledge, companionship, and their creators.

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, contains two different, but remarkably similar characters. Victor Frankenstein was a man who desired family and knowledge. He adored science so profoundly that he created a creature out of parts that he gathered from charnel houses and graveyards. The creature and Victor both share the same desires and other similarities. As the novel goes on, the two show just how similar they truly are.

The horror/ comedy film The Bride of Frankenstein Directed by James Whale, was released in April, 1935. The film is about a very lonely, misunderstood monster that was originally created by the character Henry, trying to find his place in the world. Frankenstein is constantly being rejected throughout society and in the end lashes out due to neglect and causes complete chaos.

The 1931 film, Frankenstein, which was directed by James Whale changed the mad-scientist/horror movie scene permanently. Although it is almost a century old, people are still reenacting it and discussing it. This film is about a young man named Henry Frankenstein. Henry has an obsession with creating life. Fritz, Henry’s assistant, helped collect body parts from recently deceased corpses. The two men got to work, binding the parts together, to create a whole human body. Using electricity from a thunderstorm, they managed to bring the body to life. The assistant was messing around in the lab and switched the brain they were using with a deceased criminal’s brain. Little did they know that the person they created with science would become a psycho killer.

Most Americans have some idea of who Frankenstein is, as a result of the many Frankenstein movies. Contrary to popular belief Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a scientist, not a monster. The "monster" is not the inarticulate, rage-driven criminal depicted in the 1994 film version of the novel. Shelley’s original Frankenstein was misrepresented by this Kenneth branagh film, most likely to send a different message to the movie audience than Shelley’s novel shows to its readers. The conflicting messages of technologies deserve being dependent on its creator (address by Shelley) and poetic justice, or triumph over evil (showed by the movie) is best represented by the

Mary W. Shelley’s brilliant gothic story, Frankenstein, is one that emits the prevalent theme of light versus dark, in which possesses obvious characteristics of a novel written during the romantic era. The novel tells the account of the overambitious Victor Frankenstein, who created a monster in hopes that he’d be known for crafting something human from the body parts of corpses with physical and mental advantages in society, basically playing the part of God on Earth, but through the auspices of science. Instead of creating a “normal” human, his creation ended up being a disfigured creature who he then neglects. Upon his abandonment, the monster seeks revenge on Victor after being cast away by society due to harsh physiognomy in which

“Horror and science fiction tend to present radically opposite interpretations of what may look like comparable situations.” (Kawin, 1981.) Bruce Kawin helps the reader to understand how a story in the genre of science fiction could be adapted, or bastardized if you like, into a horror. This is similar to the film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both “Frankenstein” (1931) and “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) portrayed characters and events differently than Shelley would have desired. Her novel had many deeper implications than the movie portrayed.

as a son. Whereas in the 1957 film he is in a box full of water, and