Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein Essay

such a friend ought to be - do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak

When we first meet the creature (truly meet him, that is), he shows his intelligence through speech. One must certainly expect him to be a drooling, dumb and violent creature, but he is, in fact, quite the opposite. He is violent, yes, but he does not show his violent physical side unless provoked to anger. More often than not the creature is full of self pity, cursing his existence and his creator for

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley introduces Victor Frankenstein’s creation known as the Creature. The Creature is portrayed as a morally ambiguous character, exhibited as neither purely malicious nor benevolent as his actions truly are malevolent yet his intentions and reasons can be understood to say the least. The Creature’s moral ambiguity is significant to the text as a whole as it emphasizes the theme that humans are neither purely evil nor good and our evil impulses are typically driven by the damage done to us.

A monster is often perceived as an innately evil and ugly creature or human that is sinful and malicious. In “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley the creature created and brought to life by Victor Frankenstein is labeled as the villain and antagonist of the plot at first glance, but upon further inspection things are not always what they seem; appearances can be deceptive. Despite his appearance, Frankenstein’s creature was not born a wicked beast but was treated as such. After perpetually being seen as a demon along with rejection and mistreatment the creature eventually became what others could only see him to be.

In Kenneth Branaghs film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the director, Kenneth Branagh sticks to the major themes of the original book with minute changes. There are many similarities and differences between the book and Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of the book. I believe Mary Shelley wanted readers to catch the themes of child abandonment, presented in Victor abandoning his creature. She also wanted readers to have compassion and sympathy for the abandoned creature that Victor created out of dead body parts. Shelley wanted the creature to be similar to Victor in many ways. Shelley wanted to show the relation between life and death, and the unbreakable laws of nature. Shelley wanted readers to realize that we need to

Chapter Four of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The novel, 'Frankenstein' written in 1816 approaches many key issues, which were as relevant then as they are today. At the time there were many scientists who were experimenting in the area of making life, and Shelley addresses this as the main point of her novel. The novel is still as popular as it was in 1818 (when it was first published) due to the way it discusses issues, such as prejudice and parent/child relationships, which are still relevant to modern society.

Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, is a writer who was greatly influenced by the Romantic era in which she lived. In fact, she moved among the greatest talents of the English Romantic writers including her poet/husband Percy Shelley and their poet/friend Lord Byron. Her writing was also influenced by the other great Romantic poets Wordsworth and Coleridge, whose ideas she either directly quotes or paraphrases in Frankenstein. Since Mary Shelley was so intimate with these great talents of the Romantic movement, it is quite natural that her most famous work Frankenstein reflects many of the Romantic trends and devices.

The true monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is not clearly defined. An argument can be made for each individual to be labeled the monster. I am going to theorize that all three are the actual monster in their own magnificent way. Victor Frankenstein is the monster: Through his absolute desire at playing God, he created life from non-living matter.

In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, the creature is portrayed as being a horrid, evil monster. Although the creature behaves viciously and murders several people, he is not inherently evil or malicious. Victor isolated the monster, and other members of society followed in Victor’s example and also treated him as so; which made the creature’s actions monstrous.

In modern usage, the term “monster” is described as an ‘imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening.’ At the time of Frankenstein’s writing, it was described as ‘someone or something to be shown.’ Shelley uses both definitions in order to blur the line between what is considered monstrous and what is humane. Frankenstein states “No mortal could endure the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous of that wretch.” While the creation has physical flaws that make him inhumane looking, the creature is benevolent at heart. The way Victor deserted his own work had a huge impact on how the creature acted in the course of the novel. Frankenstein states “...I sought to flee the wretch. I did not dare return to the apartment I inhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on..” Before even encountering his creature, Frankenstein fled. Abandoning a newborn at birth is to defy a very important element in human nature. This action shows that Frankenstein is actually inhumane and monstrous in his ideals. This inner evil is reflected in the creations appearance, and it appeals the theme that Frankenstein is the monster’s double.

It is amazing how words on a page take a life of their own once they are written. An author 's story can take readers away on a magic carpet ride, to a magical castle that anything can happen in Britain, even through a wardrobe to a land far away and draft them in the battle of a lifetime. But what is even more fascinating is that unlike humans, the words on the page never changes. From this moment to 200 years from now, the words on this page will always be the same, it is only the reader and the world around them that changes. Take for example Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In 1818, Shelley had a nightmare that lead her to write her novel as a personification of the Victorian Culture’s fascination of science and death. In 1934, director James Whale adapted the material into “ The Bride of Frankenstein” film, and was an allegory for pre-WWII unity, then in 1997, someone interpreted the film as a homosexual allegory for the 1990’s. This paper will examine how Mary Shelley adapted her nightmare into an allegory for her Victorian era audience, how James Whale used her original text to turn “ The Bride of Frankenstein” into a message of unity for a pre-WWII audience, as well as how Garry Morris uses Whale’s film to create a pro same sex marriage message out of the text in 1997.

Throughout the novel Marry Shelley goes into topics such as ability to have free will, family, compassion, science etc. Each topic provokes the reader to rethink their ideals on such topics. The creation of a “monster” allows the author to relate topics in a fictional manner. Since Frankenstein’s creation isn’t technically a human the reader is forced to think about the novel in a way that traditionally wouldn’t. The gothic genre of the novel thrives on questioning the reader’s traditional beliefs.

Majority of the world believes the creature assembled with various organism parts and shocked to life is named Frankenstein. However, that is not the case in the original book “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. As my classmate said, “Frankenstein” is not only an ionic book, but also ironic considering that the theme of Frankenstein is people being misunderstood when the book itself has misconceptions over the true meaning thanks to the movie that changed the views people had over Frankenstein. Today there are several viewpoints over the works of “Frankenstein”. Some people consider the creature to a victim of the wretched demonic hands of Frankenstein considering he was brought to life by someone who played with fire, and left his own

Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein in a time of wonder. A main wonder was whether you could put life back into the dead. Close to the topic of bringing life back into the dead was whether you could create your own being, like selective breeding however with more power. Perhaps she chose to write this story opposing to one of a Ghost as she felt it was more relevant to her era and wanted to voice her own opinions and concerns to what the future may hold.

Shelley uses the creature to express her feeling of isolation from society and her father. When Victor finally finishes making his creature, the psychological horror of what he has done drives “him into the streets pacing them with quick steps, as if [he] sought to avoid” the creature whom he feared (Shelley 36). Victor’s initial abandonment of the creature correlates to Wollstonecraft’s death because of the shock at birth or creation that causes emotional turmoil. Even though Victor’s abandonment of his progeny is different to Wollstonecraft’s, the emotional damage relates to each other. When Victor again denies his creation for a second time three years later, it is a direct correlation to Godwin’s withdrawal from the household after remarrying. It is no coincidence that Victor’s first denial of the creature happens only three years before the creature approaches him a second time, the same amount of years before Shelley’s father remarried. Shelley emotionally lost her mother and father. She uses her emotional turmoil in the creature to express social isolation. The creature is abandoned at birth and rejected by its creator just as Shelley was. Victor “detests and spurn[s him, his creature,] to whom thou art bound