Essay Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley was a young, well-educated woman from England. She was born on August 30th 1797, in London. Her mother Mary Wollstonecraft, was the author of “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”. She died giving birth to Mary, leaving her daughter in the care of her husband, William Godwin. The atmosphere that Mary Shelley grew up in exposed her to cutting-edge ideas, which are shown all throughout the novel. Mary Shelley’s lover, Percy Shelley was a young poet, and as he was already married, her relationship with him wasn’t the smoothest.

Frankenstein fulfilled his destiny and made his creation despite his suffering and misfortunes. However, his influence on Walton is paradoxical. One moment, Frankenstein exhorts Walton’s almost-mutinous men to not stray from their path courageously, regardless of danger. The next, he serves as an abject example of the dangers of heedless scientific ambition. Walton serves as a foil to Victor, either not obsessive enough to risk almost-certain death or not courageous enough to allow his passion to drive him. Walton ultimately draws back from his treacherous mission and returns to England, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for knowledge can be.

This novel reflects Shelley’s own childhood, which consisted of her feeling obligated to rebel against her own father’s wishes and his choice for her marriage. Frankenstein is a way for Shelley to tell her own experiences with parental conflict and how she feels she was affected by her demanding father and the environment she grew up in, by comparing herself to Victor’s monster. Shelley analyzed her own characteristics, and the characteristics of her father, and placed them within Victor and the

Frankenstein’s first appearance in the novel is when he is brought on board by Robert Walton after Frankenstein was stranded on the ice. Frankenstein tells his story of how he creates the monster, including in great detail how the monster murdered his brother William, subsequently caused the death of his maid/family friend Justine, murdered his friend Henry Clerval, and killed Victor’s wife Elizabeth. As

The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley involves the complex issues with the creation of life through an inanimate life. Shelley uses these character archetypes to develop a deeper meaning of the characters intentions. Shelley does an excellent job at allowing the reader to have a peak at the characters inner thoughts and feelings. The archetypes presented in Frankenstein allow readers to identify with the character's role and purpose.

The entire story is told through the letters of Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville. Walton’s letters start and end the novel, which sets up the framework for Frankenstein. Walton shares a few similarities with the characters of Victor and the monster. For instance, much like Victor’s character, Walton has an inquisitive nature and he loves to explore. In his first letter he writes, “I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited” (Shelley 16). While Victor has a deep interest in new sciences, Walton has an interest in exploring new places. This curiosity drives both men to take their interests to the limits. Walton’s character also shares some similarities with the

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley mostly revolves around Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, and the plot focuses on his creation of the monster, the antagonist, and the tragic consequences that arise from his actions. As the main focuses of the novel, both Victor and the monster are dynamic characters, and throughout the story, their actions reveal moral dilemmas. Walton, a ship captain, saves Victor in the North and while he is absent during most of the narration, Walton still makes significant appearances at the beginning and the end of the novel. He is a developed character that serves to contrast Victor’s. The minor characters include Elizabeth, Justine, William, Alphonse, and Henry, and while they make sporadic appearances in the novel, they are still significant. As close friends and family to the protagonist, their unwavering concern for Victor’s well-being ultimately influences some of his decisions. However, due to Victor’s guilt-induced isolation from society, their characters are not focused on or explored in depth. Most notably, they function to add to Victor’s misery, and their unfortunate deaths contribute to the novel’s depressing tone.

The novel Frankenstein is written by author Mary Shelley which begins with the journey of captain Walton who is the narrator in the first phase of the story. As a captain, he was traveling towards the North Pole for his research when he rescues Victor Frankenstein who was in frozen condition. He found a great companion for his journey when he needed one the most. In the text, Victor creates a monster and becomes his mother. The novel is divided into parts where Victor narrates his life from his birth to how he made a monster which backfired his life.

Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley didn’t know when she began it that her “ghost story” would become an enduring part of classic literature. Frankenstein is an admirable work simply for its captivating plot. To the careful reader, however, Shelley’s tale offers complex insights into human experience. The reader identifies with all of the major characters and is left to heed or ignore the cautions that their situations provide. Shelley uses the second person narrative style, allusions both to Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and the legend of Prometheus, and the symbols of both light and fire to warn against the destructive thirst for forbidden knowledge.

Exposition: Robert Walton is the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole. He writes letters back to Margaret, his sister in England, telling her of his journey. The ship gets stuck in ice, and then they happen upon Victor Frankenstein, who was on a dog sled. He begins to tell Walton of his past, and Walton takes notes on his story to include in letters back to Margaret. Victor grew up in Geneva, Switzerland and was the oldest child of Alphonse and Caroline Beaufort. He came from a wealthy family who adopt Elizabeth into their family. He was interesting in learning, only to find out he had been studying outdated text when he went to the University of Ingolstadt.

Frankenstein begins with Robert Walton, an explorer, writing letters to his sister about his journey to Russia and finding a path from the Pacific Ocean, as he came across an unexpected encounter. He and his crew find a man, Victor Frankenstein, nearing death on a nearby ice flow. The first sign of gothic literature appears when Victor’s Mother Caroline dies from the scarlet fever. In his years at his university he becomes very involved in his studies for around two or so years. He comes up with a plan to obtain a dead body and attempt to bring it back to life.

The story opens and ends with the letters of an explorer named Robert Walton, who is searching for the source of magnetism in the northern polar regions. There he finds and rescues Dr. Victor Frankenstein from certain death in the icy ocean. While he is recovering, Frankenstein tells Walton the story of his life. Set within Frankenstein’s narrative and Walton’s letters is the first-person story told by the creature Frankenstein created. Frankenstein, a young man from a happy family in Geneva, Switzerland, becomes obsessed with the idea of bestowing life on inanimate matter. He studies chemistry and new theories of electricity at a German university. With this knowledge and with body parts from corpses, Frankenstein creates a large manlike being and brings it to life with an electric spark. Finding the creature grotesquely ugly when it is animated, Frankenstein runs away from it. The creature quickly disappears. For months afterward, Frankenstein suffers from what he calls a “nervous fever” in which hallucinations of the creature torment him. After his recovery, Frankenstein learns that his young brother William has been murdered near the family home in Switzerland. A young woman who lived with the Frankenstein family is unjustly accused and hanged for the child’s murder. On his trip home, Frankenstein sees the creature and realizes that he killed the child. Frankenstein seeks solitude high in the Alps, and

The plot of Frankenstein begins when Robert Walton the captain of a ship going to the North Pole encounters Victor Frankenstein who has been weakened by the cold and needs nursing back to health. While Frankenstein is being nursed back to health he tells Walton about the tale of the monster he created. Frankenstein begins the story by talking about his life in Geneva as a child.At the end of his childhood Frankenstein attends the University of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and chemistry. He is consumed by his studies and is convinced after several years of studying that he has found the secret of life. Frankenstein spends months creating a creature out of old body parts. One night in his apartment he brings the creature to life, but is horrified by the sight of the creature.

In 1797 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in london. Her father ,William Godwin, a political philosopher and Mary Wollstone, her mother, a journalist, who died shortly after a month Mary was born. Mary Wollstone shelley was raised by her father and provided her a rich education. Her father encourage her and her writing style became strong in vocabulary. After a short time of period after her mother passed away his father remarried. Mary jane clairmont became her stepmother along with half siblings. While in Frankenstein, Victor also has a half family of two brothers and then Elizabeth was adopted. Mary was a creative person who would spent most of her time reading books. “As a child, I scribbled; and my favorite pastime, during the hours was given me for recreation, was to ‘write stories.'” In her book Mary applied it into Victor's life, he would be studious person too.“ In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations, and so worthy of my consideration (Shelley 38).” Mary reflects some of her life in how Victor's family was like.

His ship gets stranded for a few days when a sheet of ice forms all around it. To his amazement, he and his crew see a gigantic man about 8 feet tall driving a dog sledge across the ice until it disappears in the distance. A little later he sees a normal man chasing the first one. This man is almost dead from exhaustion so they take him on board. The man is victor Frankenstein. Walton becomes friends with him. While Frankenstein is recovering, he tells Walton his story. Frankenstein grew in Geneva. His father had been an important figure in the government and they were well off. Frankenstein went to a famous university where he became very good at science. He figured out scientifically how to bring something to life and eventually succeeded by using body parts from graveyard mixed with strange chemicals and gave it a Human form. On a rainy night in November he brings it to life. He is so horrified by this creature that he runs away. The next day his friend Henry arrived at university to begin his studies but Frankenstein became ill. Henry spends all winter nursing him. Just as he was getting better in spring, he got a letter telling him his little brother William was murdered so he heads home. After some time, one day Victor went on mountain climbing alone. The monster appeared to him and made him sit down and listen to his story. Then the tale follows a tragedy with story of treachery, love, revenge and finally