Personal Narrative: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The shore near, the scent of home far, but I clung on. The rough bark of the log chafed against my bare chest, and my hands were weary from holding on. I inhaled, praying that my body can push toward the sand, and I felt my strength bitterly rise for a last stand. I heaved my futile body on the dry sea of sand and quietly allowed the light to dance one last time in the sunset of my existence.

Common rules create common fools. A society where everyone acted the same, abiding identically by some universal principles seems immediately enticing. It would be a world of no crime, where every individual acted in exactly the way that maximized pleasure for every other individual. In short, it would be a perfect utilitarian state. Yet, such a society would be rigid and boring, lacking all the qualities of unbounded life. Beauty comes from tragedy. Meaning is derived from misfortune. Some argue that happiness itself cannot truly exist without its counterpart, misery. Without uniquely acting individuals, life is meaningless. Mary Shelley would certainly have agreed with this statement. Indeed, in her novel Frankenstein, Shelley recognizes

How can such disparate characters, that are even resentful towards one another, be so consubstantial? Though Victor and the monster do not share the same physical or social traits, they have many of the same personality traits. Victor and the monster are analogous with their desire for knowledge, relationships with nature, and with desires for family. The author uses complex diction, symbolism, and syntax to emphasize these similarities. Throughout the plot, these similarities become more apparent and as this occurs their relationship worsens.

In the novel, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly, there are three different narrators throughout the whole book. This is important because we get 3 different looks into the same story.  The three perspectives allow us to form our own opinions about the story. Having three perspectives helps the reader understand everything a whole lot more because they get everyone’s story and side. Shelly also uses three different narrators for the reader to be able to step in each character’s shoes. Throughout the book, the reader is able to take sides with a certain character because the author used a unique writing style.

Early one morning I was very hungry waterso, I went looking for food. When suddenly I saw something strange above the Waters point so I jumped right into the action and said you go up to the top of the water when it started attacking me with spears and oars obviously I attacked back I mean I was scared and that's when two of the boats sank and most of the humans drowned. But, one of them escaped so i just let

The characterization of Victor’s creature, the monster, in the movie although somewhat dramatically different from Mary Shelley’s portrayal in the novel Frankenstein also had its similarities. Shelley’s views of the monster were to make him seem like a human being, while the movie made the monster out to be a hideous creation. The creature’s appearance and personality are two aspects that differ between the novel and movie while his intellectual and tender sides were portrayed the same.

Throughout the novel, “Frankenstein,” the “monster” was seen as hideous. As a result, many including the creator himself did not give the “monster” a chance and portrayed him as evil. Rather than looking at his personality, they looked at his outward appearance, which scared them off and made them assume he was a “monster.” When readers, including myself, read this story, we feel disappointed about how during this time everything revolved based upon looks and not on what really mattered like charisma. Overall he is portrayed as an evil, scary creature. When Victor describes him he is so harsh and cruel it makes him seem to be a monster. “He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” (Shelley 59) this phrase proves how when Victor describes the monster he did not care to think about what the monster was trying to say because he was too scared of his horrible looks.

The creation of life is an extraordinary event which humanity usually attributes to the work of a higher being. Because of this common belief, Mary Shelley’s: Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus often triggers mixed feelings when human Victor Frankenstein experiments and creates the creature known as Frankenstein or Frankenstein’s monster. While it cannot be denied that this accomplishment is impressive, Victor’s right to form life, being a mortal himself, often is debated. Even the title of Shelley’s work causes readers to evaluate Victor’s actions within the context of the Greek God Prometheus, who has been credited with the creation of mankind and the gift of fire to them. Through analysis of Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus as well as older works such as Theogony, and Prometheus: Bound, a comparison and interchangeability between Victor and Prometheus can be made, showing many correlations in the actions of both characters, despite the fact that Prometheus was often honored while Victor was sometimes scorned. While the actions and traits of both creators have countless parallels, ultimately Victor’s rejection and abandonment of his monster highlights his irresponsibility toward humanity and undeniably separates Victor Frankenstein from the honorable Prometheus.

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.

Each person reacts differently to a mirror. Some prefer to primp and tidy their face while others take a quick glance and carry on. However, there are others who continuously stare into the eyes of their alternate-self. These people wonder, “What do I see?” They are the kind of people who desperately seek answers for their existence, and will not rest until their questions are resolved. The alternate-self is the true being. Although it remains as a reflection of the physical body it is also who we see on the inside. What one sees in his or her reflection equals the truth of their nature. For some we see an innate good, but for others it is the innate evil and horror of humanity. Victor Frankenstein may claim to be such a

    In any novel the author is free to create and shape their characters in whatever way they see fit. In Frankenstein, Shelley does an excellent job of shaping her characters, be it however minute their part in the story, so that the reader gets a clear picture of Shelley's creations. It seems that each character in Shelley's Frankenstein is created by Shelley to give the reader a certain impression of the character. By doing this Shelley creates the characters the way she wants us to see them. She tells us certain things about them and gives them certain traits so that they will fit into the story the way she wants them to. In particular I will examine the characters of the

The above quote by Bloom is an explanation of the view that all the gothic novels are interpretation of psychological and social factors and this is especially true in the case of Mary Shelley. Shelley began her novel at the age of 18 when the most prominent materials in the consciousness and unconsciousness of Shelley were concerned with the conflicts stemming from the death of her mother. Frankenstein is the outcome of Shelley’s unresolved grief for the death of her mother which was the crisis she needed to work through to forget her own adult identity.

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.

The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, is a story about how important having a family is to some, but also judging someone based on their appearance. Victor Frankenstein starts the novel by describing his childhood with his loving and supportive family. Family is very important to him because he did not have many friends growing up. While Frankenstein is away at school he starts to become very depressed and you see his attitude towards his family and his life change. Being away at school, he creates a “monster” by using different pieces of corpses and that becomes the only thing that matters to him until he sees how hideous it is. He immediately hates his creation just because of how he looks. Frankenstein begins to abandon everyone and thing in his life because of his obsession with the idea of glory and science, causing the novel to go from Romanticism to Gothic. The “monster” finds a family living in a cottage, by watching all winter he learns how a family should love and accept others. By seeing this, Frankenstein’s creations understand what was taken from him, and will do whatever he has to do to have a family of his own.

In the gothic novel Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley offers an ominous tale of science gone terribly wrong using the theme of the father and son relationship that also goes terribly wrong. Though Victor Frankenstein does not give birth per se to the Monster, Frankenstein is for all intents and purposes the Monster's father as he brings him to life via his scientific knowledge. Once the Monster is alive he looks to Frankenstein to protect him as a father would, but Frankenstein who is mortified by his creation shuns him. The longer the Monster lives without Frankenstein's love and the more he discovers what he is missing, the angrier he gets and he sets out on a mission to destroy Victor Frankenstein. In Frankenstein, Shelley's purpose is to reveal what happens to society at large when individuals fail in their duties as parents.