Frankenstein: Allusions

“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel...” Saying this the monster tells Victor that he just wants to be Victors beloved creation that he is proud of, but that the reality is that he is hated by Victor and all he wants is for the creature to be dead.

Romanticim "During this short voyage i saw the lightnings playing on the summit of Mount Blanc in the most beautiful figures" Through the use of imagery, the quote evokes the very image of lightning and the natural environment, representing nature's ability to capture the individual through the beauty of nature. "Vivid flashes of lightning dazzled my eyes, illuminating the lake, making it appear like a vast sheet of fire" Realising that the creature is the cause of Williams death, Frankenstein's emotions of rage are reflected within the quote as he compares the scene before him as "a vast sheet of fire". Fire connotes ideas of hell and rage, thus his mood if reflected by the quote. however the fact that even in this situation, he is 'dazzled'

The human consciousness is closely tied to the role of suffering, and one can even say it causes suffering. We can see that this is true in the creature’s case because his suffering first started when he was betrayed by his own creator. At this point, he was subconsciously aware of the rejection, however the creature still had hope that he will one day be accepted. His pain was further intensified when the cottager’s chased him away with a stick. This was the climax of the creature’s story because he was able to come to the realization that he was different. “From my earliest remembrance I had been as I then was in height and proportion. I had never yet seen a being resembling me, or who claimed any intercourse with me. What was I? The question

The creature feels abandoned by his creator, Victor, and proclaims to him: “Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel” (Shelley 87). Shelley refers to the creature as being abandoned by Victor just as God abandoned angel Lucifer after he committed terrible sin. The reference to Adam in the Bible is a reoccurring theme which reflects how Victor’s abandonment of the creature caused him to do harm. Victor brings his monster into the world as an innocent creature, or so the creature believes. However, society rejects the creature because of his appearance and he is corrupted to a life of misery, thus losing his innocence. Shelley uses this allusion to prove that as humans (or creatures of similar nature, in this case) experience the corruption that exists in the world, their innocence is lost.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has several literary devices- such as structure, imagery, and many intricate details. She perfectly places words and puts them in such a way that the passage has a dual tone. Shelley begins with establishing the monster’s nature as being peaceful, because he wanted to reason with Victor. Him wanting to reason shows the importance of his decision to meet with Victor and shows that even though he has been through a great deal, he is still respectable to others. The audience gets to see the creature’s humble nature and makes the audience feel sympathetic towards him. This creates a peaceful tone to the passage. The monster wants to be loved by “any being and if they showed benevolence to me, I would return them hundred an hundred fold” (Shelley 148). The creature’s begging makes it sound like Victor will answer his plea. Using a broad term like “being”, demonstrates the monster’s need to be loved, putting him in a position with the audience again feeling empathetic towards him. Eventually, Victor’s compassion begins to fluctuate. The desperation the creature has looks like the desperation a human might have. This only gives the readers another reason to relate to him which leads to the other tone, impossible. Victor’s unreasonableness heightens this shared discontent as not only has the build up of the creature’s wistful nature made him an utmost identifiable character, but our views are adjusted in such as way that Frankenstein is seen

Just as Satan and Adam both fall from God 's grace, the monster appears to fall from the grace of his God and his creator as well, Victor. Because the stories are so similar, it 's almost as if the monster is living the epic poem Paradise Lost!

Victor announces in chapter one that, “whose future it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me” pg. 38. Victor feels that he does not owe anyone anything, but people owe him. He thinks that if he creates the creature we would receive accolades by the creature and others. Mary Shelly gives the spiritual message on entitlement. God created men to love others and to aim to act more like Jesus did. Entitlement leads to spiritual laziness and laziness in general. Mankind is called to go out and help others by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, attending mass, praising God, and putting others before themselves. God does not anyone anything. God sent down his only son to die for mankind’s sins. Entitlement damages not only a relationship with God but others. God created mankind to work hard and have faith. Entitlement prohibits individuals from using their God given talents and caring for Gods people because the person feels everyone owes them something. In chapter five Victor describes his creator as tall, powerful, muscular and, “his features as beautiful…his hair was of lustrous black and flowing: his teeth of pearly whiteness” pg. 75. Victor sees himself in the creature, and a reflection of how he sees himself. A walking monument. People need to bow down to him and praise him. Victor sees

Frankenstein was first published in 1818 which was two years after she got the idea. In Mary’s life she went to Switzerland to carry on with her life but a year later she gave birth to a child which unfortunately passed away. This period in her life then haunted her for the rest of her life until one year later used it as a story in a contest. In this book Shelly used a literary technique called Foreshadowing; foreshadowing are small indications of what is going to happen in the book for example ““One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race,” which foreshadows what the price Frankenstein will actually

Mary Shelley alludes to literary text, intellectual history, and her personal life in order to deliver the theme with literary style, to develop the characters’ background, and to emphasize the universality of the story. Literary texts such as Paradise Lost, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and the myth of Prometheus induces a sense of how commonplace the story of Frankenstein could be. Intellectual history adds to that effect by emphasizing the story with logic. Similarities to her personal life such as her childhood and marriage exemplifies her point. The external references in the novel serve to represent the Gothic and Romantic Movements and to encourage the readers to relate the situation to their own lives.

Miller's book, My Hideous Progeny, talks mostly of Shelley's relationship with her family, especially her father. Miller took a chapter to specifically discuss the parallels between Shelley's familial relationships and her novel, Frankenstein. Miller argues that Shelley combined her father, William Godwin, and her husband, Percy Shelley, into the character of Victor. She talks of how Shelley explores the concept of incest by this combination of her father and husband into one character. She also shows incest through Victor's dream of kissing Elizabeth and having her turn into his dead mother. "Frankenstein's

In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley weaves an intricate web of allusions through her characters’ expedient desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his monster allude to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Book eight of Milton’s story relates the tale of Satan’s temptation and Eve’s fateful hunger for knowledge. The infamous Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously pristine world. With one swift motion sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving pain and malevolence in its wake. The troubles of Victor Frankenstein begin with his quest for knowledge, and end where all end: death. The characters in Frankenstein are a conglomeration of those

As Victors brother was killed by the creature he created, the remourse victor and his father have towards his death show weakness. Men in society are conditioned to be brought up as brave and protective. While Victors father is letting the death of

The lack of an origin causes the monster to exhibit characteristics of Satan. While talking to Victor the Monster states, “Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel”(81). The monster demonstrates feelings of betrayal and abandonment as he is seen by Victor as a lesser being due to his “fallen angel”(81) status. A continuous reference to Adam demonstrates the Monsters desire to be loved by Victor for being a successful creation. However, the Monster faces reality in that he was abandoned, since Victor was “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created”(44). The Monster’s expulsion from Victor’s life fuels his insecurities as he begins to “considered Satan as the fitter emblem of [his] condition”(110). Victor’s abandonment parallels to the story of Satan as he was cast out of heaven by God, similarly to how the Monster was cast out of Victor’s life. Not only, does the Monster take on the name of Satan, but also a few of the

Literary devices have many uses in literature. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the author uses rhetorical questions, imagery, and similes to create meaning for her readers. For example, Elizabeth asks the rhetorical question,“Victor, when falsehood can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness?” (Shelley 63). This portrays Elizabeth’s uncertain and hopeless attitude in her current situation.