Figurative Language In Frankenstein

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

As stated before Shelly uses figurative language in order to personify nature and the emotions of her narrators, but she also makes use of techniques such as similes. “For when I would account to myself for the birth of that passion, which afterwards ruled my destiny, I find it arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources; but, swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys" (Shelley, Chap. 2). This passage not only once again utilises nature to personify the emotions of Victor but also makes use of a simile in order to represent his emotions as well. This simile compares Victor’s captivation with reanimation to a mountain river. The river’s “forgotten sources” are in reference to the alchemy books he reads which are considered to be a dead form of science and his father’s disapproval with Victor’s continued research into the subject. His captivation is also “like a river” because he views it as the current that swept him up and pulled towards his destiny. The simile puts Victor’s rationality into question by drawing attention to his belief that reanimating a corpse is his destiny. Instead, the passage subtly says that Victor is ruled by his emotions by implying that he only wants to

Franklin constructs his narrator as truthful and sincere through the use of his first person narrator and plain direct language. Victor’s identity is represented as a man slowly losing his rationality as he becomes progressively more ruled by his emotions. Shelly represents this by the use of tone and figurative language in reference to nature. The argument could be made that Franklin is the representation of a wise older man who wants his readers to follow in his footsteps and make the most of their life. While Victor Frankenstein is a young man too caught up in his ego and emotions to realize that his “destiny” is not set in