Frankenstein: Comparing The Book And Movie

Do not judge a book by its cover. Those are the words of a famous American proverb that says a person’s character cannot be judged based on their appearance. This proverb is very fitting in regards to the monster from Frankenstein. On the outside, he has a terrible appearance, and as a result is victimized and made to suffer by those who cannot see past his looks. Yet he has a kind soul and is simply looking for happiness and a little compassion from others. Both the book and the play present him as a sufferer in a cruel world but ultimately the book does a better job portraying his pain and eliciting empathy from the reader. The monster in the book details his suffering in greater detail, is more eloquent and persuasive and also

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 reading the book Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and watching the by the same title, I discovered several large differences. Primarily, the edited and modified parts were changed to make the movie more interesting.

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.

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 Blade Runner both explore ideas that are universally alike, however are impacted by their form, context and values. The texts explore similar ideas about man’s place in nature and progression of society, but do so within the conventions and context of their creation. Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ both draw ideas from their rapidly changing periods to contextually explore and analyse mankind’s thirst for forbidden knowledge which destroys one’s morality. With the progress of man, many aspire to achieve power, and morality is devalued.

“The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race” (Don Marquis). The acquirement of knowledge, and the subsequent progress of technology devoid of ethical and moral influence, destructively impact upon humanity’s core. This innate yearning to excel has led to the evolution of technology and the subsequent devolution of humanity. Inevitably, the threat of technology exceeding humanity has provoked a sense of apprehension within certain composers who, while subject to their surrounding context, effectively explore the elements which constitute humanity and convey similar warnings regarding the future of mankind through the use of representations within varying forms of texts. The novel Frankenstein (F) by Mary Shelly

Fictionally, the greatest-written villains in history possess attributes that give them cause for their behavior, with the most universal and essential of these core traits being a deep, personal backstory behind their acts. For instance, in classic stories like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Monster presents thorough reason to its Creator in terms of why it has turned to wickedness. The Monster does not kill purely for the sake of being evil, its actions are resulted from its desire to be loved by man, yet failing at every attempt to achieve it. Motivation behind monstrous acts is necessary in works of fiction because non-fictionally, people labeled as monsters by society possesses motivation behind their actions as well, whether it be

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

A Comparison of Film and Novel Versions of Frankenstein The nature of horror stories gives the reader/audience a feeling of intense fear, shock or disgust. It creates an atmosphere of tension for the reader/audience. Horror stories are designed to entertain people by causing enjoyable feelings of horror.

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

In general, I noticed that Bride of Frankenstein changes many elements from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, such as the characters and plot in order to give the story a more dramatic and horrific vib. For example Frankenstein and his monster die in the original story but the film takes a different approach and brings both of them back to life. Frankenstein is portrayed throughout the entire film as a clumsy, unintelligent being despite the novel depicting him to be very articulate and quite astute. One of the most interesting differences between Bride of Frankenstein and the 1819 version of Frankenstein would be the different approaches that both use to tell the story. In Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein narrates his whole story but,

Many directors have different factors that play into their vision for their production. Set, lights and sound, costume design, dialogue, and acting play important roles into how the director makes the audience feel a certain way. The directors have a certain message they want to get across to the audience and they communicate that message in multiple ways. In the production Frankenstein, the quest for finding life in the dead results in unleashing a monster that is more powerful than they would have imagined. I know the story line of Frankenstein but have not seen an actual play or movie about it until this production.