Examples Of Parallelism In Frankenstein

Marys Shelley’s context portrays a society that is being industrially revolutionised in her novel ‘Frankenstein’. The character victor is consumed in science, and seeks to obtain more knowledge. This enlightenment thinking hinders his ability to make wise decisions when creating life. Shelley incorporates parallelism “my cheeks had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement” critically compares victor, who seems as though he is dying to create life, with a pregnant woman giving birth. Shelley suggests that victor is losing his humanity in his attempt to create it. The novel illustrates allusion, “How dare you sport thus with life” suggesting that victor treats life as a game, and the monster is questioning what gives victor the right to do so. Victors desire for enlightenment blinds his humanity leading him to forget what truly makes him human.

Shelley uses irony to challenge the reader to question who here is at fault, is it the monster?

Or the society that rejects him? Victor views the parallels between Walton and himself. He attempts to warn him, “Do you share my madness?”. The connotations that come from “madness” are ones that evoke images of someone out of control, who is consumed by something- in Walton and Victors case, the quest for personal glory. The declamatory tone in which victor speaks conveys that he is addressing the wider audience not only Walton. This structural form allows the audience to gain a perspective of the message that Shelley attempts to portray. Thus, both Shelley and Frost equally illustrate the importance of understanding the responsibilities in which one must abide to. In Shelley’s case, Victor should have been aware of the danger which he is striving for, frost outlines the duties which one must complete before ending their journey in life. Therefore, ‘Frankenstein’ is a valuable novel as it conveys a warning for the wider audience to be aware of the industrial revolutions in

society.

The novel “frank” is heavily based on Shelley’s context which influences the representation of the world in her novel. The theme of nature vs nurture is simply being questioned as it is being carried throughout the novel. Shelley successfully outlines this idea through the creatures’ character who is portrayed as having more human qualities than Victor. However, as society rejected him, his alienation lead him to become violent replicant killer. The narrator uses parallelism, “I also learnt the science of letters” emphasises on the notion that the creature is intelligent and perceptive, similar to victor. However, prior to understanding his circumstance, and being alienated by society, he was content and benevolent. When victor and the creature meet in the woods, victor greets him with extremely dehumanizing language, “devil…Begone! Vile insect”, this reflects victor’s rejection of the monster. When juxtaposed with the calm tone in which the monster responds, “Be calm! I entreat you to hear my story”. Through this it is clear that although it is the monster who killed William, it is in fact, Victor, the man whom tampered with science and alienated his creation, is at fault. Shelley incorporates emotive language, “Am I not shunned by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me in to pieces”, challenges the audience to shift their opinion to one of empathy for the hideous creature as he has turned into a spiteful being because no other way of living had been shown to him. Similarly, both Shelley and frost dwell on the concept that by devaluing nature we devalue humanity. Therefore, the theme of nature vs nurture allows for the reader to value the physicality of nature as well as the personal qualities of compassion, emotion and the acceptance in pertaining human nature.