Frankenstein Literary Analysis: Frankenstein And The Monster

Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear. Judgement has always been a part of the world, many people judge others for their appearance or for simply being different than they are. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is based on a scientist’s successful experiment of bringing a dead body back to life. Once the scientist succeeds, he is left frightened at his creation and abandons it . The scientist Victor Frankenstein calls his creation a “wretch” and assumes that it is evil solely based on it's appearance.

Frankenstein wants to explore knowledge further, but his professor shares his doubts about whether Frankenstein could deliver results or not. Victor could only think about, “one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” (33). Shelley uses visual imagery to depict Frankenstein’s future. Frankenstein claims he will “pioneer a new way,” and discover “the deepest mysteries of creation.”

“It’s alive! It’s alive!” When people think of Frankenstein, they usually jump immediately to the scene of creation and think of two things: 1) a big green monster with bolts screwed into his head and 2) Dr. Frankenstein’s exaltation and genuine excitement over creating his perfect masterpiece. However, in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the “infamous” scene of creation appears in only one paragraph and Frankenstein feels something more akin to anguish rather than joy. In this way, Mary Shelley exemplifies how creation is actually an act of suffering.

With this in mind, isolation and companionship is a very important motif in the story of Frankenstein. Shelley utilizes this theme, in correspondence with the knowledge and ignorance motif, throughout the entire novel which emphasizes the importance of a companion. In the novel whenever a companion is involved there are no problems, until isolation occurs. Hence why when Victor left his creation isolated it resulted in the murders of his loved ones. To clarify, Victor's creation went down a dark path of destruction, even though he learned the difference between right and wrong on his own.

The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley says a person is responsible for their actions if they do not weigh the possible consequences of their actions before making their final decision. Throughout the novel, Mary Shelley shows the consequences of actions that are done without proper thought beforehand. Victor Frankenstein wants to create life, he wants to be god, and his lust for this goal overtakes his common sense. Victor rushes into making his creature and then makes rash decisions which also contributes to his demise and the death of several of his close friends and family. The monster should be held responsible for his actions to a certain extent, however, his actions are influenced by Victor’s initial impetuous decisions.

Frankenstein and his monster do seem to be very similar, like a father and a son. Technically, they could be considered as such since Frankenstein is his creator. Even without that reasoning, it is clear that they share similarities. I consider them to be alike because they are both dramatic with violent tempers, they are obsessive, and they can be unreasonable. I disagree that they share the exact same personality, though.

In a Society Full of Hatred, Good Turns Evil John Ortberg once said, “Art is built on the deepest themes of human meaning: good and evil, beauty and ugliness, life and death, love and hate. No other story has incarnated those themes more than the story of Jesus.” However, the story of Frankenstein comes in at a close second to these themes of “human meaning” (Ortberg). The creation is heroic, as well as, a monster, he has an appalling appearance, and he wants love but receives animosity. The creation was born good and made evil.

The Monster and Exile Every person in life is created with a strong sense of belonging. Whether the belonging is to a person, a place, or a moment in time, they still feel connected and influenced by it. Exile is an action that separates a person from this connected belonging, and can suffer great consequences, but can also enrich their lifestyle. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the creature creaked by Victor Frankenstein is forced, from the very beginning of his existence, away from his creator and society as a whole. This type of exile turned the creature into what he is, shaping his ideas and mentalities.

However, the Romantics saw a hero in Prometheus. A figure who does not give up, and helps mankind, even with the knowledge of having to face consequences. The relationship between the myth and Frankenstein however, is ambivalent. Certainly, just like the myth it can be read as a tale of caution, like Mary Shelley already said in her ‘waking dream’ Frankenstein’s creation would be horrifying because “supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world.”

Initially, the most prevalent theme within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is way the environment modifies one’s identity. In the story, society refers to Victor’s invention as a monster both physically and psychologically. Even though the creature’s physical characteristics are that of a monster, it is not until he is repeatedly rejected that he adopts the personality of one.