Frankenstein is the story of an eccentric scientist whose masterful creation, a monster composed of sown together appendages of dead bodies, escapes and is now loose in the country. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly’s diction enhances fear-provoking imagery in order to induce apprehension and suspense on the reader. Throughout this horrifying account, the reader is almost ‘told’ how to feel – generally a feeling of uneasiness or fright. The author’s diction makes the images throughout the story more vivid and dramatic, so dramatic that it can almost make you shudder. A clear example of the use of diction to provoke fear is seen in Chapter IV. Mary Shelley uses words such as “wretch”, “yellow skin”, “horrid”, “white sockets” and “shriveled” to describe the monster, thus making our stomachs churn. Later on, she uses words such as “livid”, “grave-worms”, “crawling”, “dim” and “convulsed” to describe a terrifying nightmare Victor Frankenstein, the main character, had had the night his monster came to life. Mary Shelley carefully picked which words to use when describing a certain object, place, or situation. She obviously knew what words would arouse our trepidation and make us quiver at the thought of such a horrifying description. Whether it’s because of the way the word fits in the sentence or because of the sound of it, words like “disturbed” and “chattered” simply make us feel uneasy. When the author was describing the petrifying appearance of the creature, she made sure to use words that would make us sick to our stomachs in order to get a really good idea across about how simply disgusting this now-animate creature was. She does this by explaining to us how the creature’s “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath”. The thought of seeing something so sickening even makes us make a wry face and try to get the image out of our heads – and that’s exactly the reaction the author is hoping to see from us. This also helps us know how Mr.
I find little room to doubt that Shelley is trying to instill some sense of fear in her reader. For not only does Victor Frankenstein loathe his own creation -- and let us not be mistaken, the work of the doctor is without question a symbol for the larger body of work of all Enlightenment scientists, seeking knowledge they do not understand in order to perform tasks previously thought impossible -- but the creation curses himself as well, speaking of the grotesqueness of his appearance and admitting freely to having willfully done evil.
in Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical Edition.
Masculine identity has been constructed and represented in numerous ways in literature throughout the Western literary canon. The representations change based on a plethora of reasons, such as when the text has been written, the audience or the message the author is trying to convey. Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein differ in many ways such as narrator frame, tone and writing style. However, they are both narrated from the perspective of men with grand ambitions. In this essay, I will be comparing the construction and representation of masculine identity by analysing the narration, tone and the use of plain direct language vs. figurative language of the texts in reference
Mary Shelly’s purpose in this excerpt is to convey a sorrowful tone through the use of figurative language that exemplifies that anguish that Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth feel after the conviction of Justine. Shelly describes Elizabeth’s innocent nature during her mourning with the use of simile that details her demeanor to be “like a cloud” that transverses the moon without altering its brightness. This simile adds to the tone because Elizabeth’s sorrow masks her usual radiant appearance. Through the use of personification, Frankenstein’s emotions were “penetrated” by “anguish and despair.” Shelly characterizes Frankenstein as being depressed by providing a description of how negative feelings overpowering all other emotions. The influx
Throughout the literature Frankenstein, the author, Mary Shelley, uses the role of nature to create a better understanding of the novel. The author uses imagery of nature to create a mood in order for the readers to get a better understanding of not only the novel, but of the characters. For example, in the second letter written by the character of Robert Walton, the author uses phrases such as, “the land of mist and snow” and “the dangerous mysteries of ocean,” to create an unnatural feeling and to add to the suspense of the journey that sir Robert Walton is going through. Shelley also uses personification to create imagery as well. For example in chapter 9, it says, “Immense glaciers approached the road”, “Mont Blanc, the supreme and magnificent
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, unconsciously adopted a major role in creating a precedent for future monsters. This story has fascinated readers throughout many years. Although now we see Frankenstein as a “classic”, it wasn’t always this way. The novel first introduced the genre of science-fiction to literature. It has been declared as the pioneer of the genre. In modern times, the creature's continued omnipresence is still remarkable.
Many a time, we shy away from texts that rattle our thoughts and emotions. Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley in 1818 that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who is a young scientist that creates an ugly and distorted but wise creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Complex ideas of parental abandonment, people can be good without a God and that people should not attempt to switch gender roles as the consequences can be disastrous. These ideas are conveyed through the construction of Victor Frankenstein’s and the Monster’s characters, the use of multiple narrations, setting and language conventions. As a reader we experience many types of emotions from hope, anger, confusion,
In the literary works, the speakers frequently use desolate and haunting language and tone in order to describe nature's influences on the individual's miserable or regretful mood. This is shown through Mary Shelley's description of the eerie moment before Frankenstein's monster came alive:
Baldick, Chris. In Frankenstein's Shadow: Myth, Monstrosity, and Nineteenth-Century Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print.
Mary Shelley’s purpose in her novel, Frankenstein, is to portray mood through her use of selection of detail. Victor, who escaped to an island, is forced to live in one of the “three miserable huts.” The hut only contained two rooms, but Victor opinionated that it was enough to display the “miserable penury” associated with the hut. The hut is described as old and very poorly taken care of. The “thatch had fallen in” implying that the hut had been exposed to the elements for quite a while, the “walls were unplastered” shows the owners of the huts did not care for appearances, and the “door was off its hinges” is representative of the lack of support. Using selection of detail, Victor entails that his hut did not give a welcoming sense because
First, to illustrate the events of the story a writer uses particularly well thought out and descriptive vocabulary. This is done to help the reader visualize the image in the author's mind. But in Mary Shelly's, "Frankenstein", she has gone far beyond this, she not only paints a picture in the mind of the reader, but the words written actually place them in a state of mind. A great example of this is when she wrote, "I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs." As a result of passages like this, "Frankenstein" has captivated it's readers for roughly two centuries. In addition it has not only taken hold of the literary minds of the world, the story has also found itself on to the big screen. Mary Shelly's crowning achievement has inspired about fifty movies. Unfortunately, a vast quantity of the motion picture created does not follow the theme of the original story. They branched out from it and portrayed the creation as an inarticulate, rampaging monster when initially he was a confused and vengeful genius. What ever the form "Frankenstein has taken root in our society and its here to stay.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment.
Frankenstein ran away from his “beautiful” living obsession and was struck by great grief, “ … the commencement of a nervous fever which confined me for several months.” (47) Frankenstein kept encountering his creation which reminded him of the horrors he created and death tolls steadily rose, causing him to mentally self-destruct, “I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures such as no language can describe.” (77) Thoughts about suicide often raced through Frankenstein's mind, showing self-destruction on his mental state, “ often, I say, I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever.”
The words used make the situation horrifying. This of course is in Catherine’s mind, she wants to make the situations terrifying because she was influenced by the novels that she read.
Mary Shelley’s world renowned book, “Frankenstein”, is a narrative of how Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant chemist, succeeds in creating a living being. Although Frankenstein’s creation is benevolent to begin with, he soon turns murderous after being mistreated by humans. His anger turns towards Frankenstein, as he was the one who brought him into the world that shuns him. The Monster then spends the rest of the story trying to make his creator’s life as miserable as his own. This novel is an excellent example of the Gothic Romantic style of literature, as it features some core Gothic Romantic elements such as remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress.