Book report 2
Part 1:
Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Year it was first published: 1992
Place it was first published: Everyman’s library
Part 2:
Summary:
The story begins with Robert Walton, the captain of a ship, seeing Victor Frankenstein, weakened by the cold. Walton takes him aboard ship and hears the story of the monster that Frankenstein created.
First victor describes his childhood and tells us about the people around him. When Victor turns seventeen he enters the University of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and chemistry.
There, he discovers the secret of life. Victor spends a lot of time making a creature out of old body parts. One night he brings his creation to life. Victor gets horrified by his creation and gets
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You could really feel how lonely the monster is. ‘’cursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God in pity made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid from its resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and detested’’ (page 108)
A question asked a lot on the internet is: ’’who is the real monster in Frankenstein?’’
I think that victor and his creation both aren’t monsters. They both made big mistakes, for example victor shouldn’t had left his creation alone, he should have helped him live his new life. But I also understand why he did it, he was scared by his creation and didn’t know what to do.
His creation killed several people, which was a big mistake too, but he was lonely and hated his creator for giving him such a miserable life.
They both were put in difficult situations and because of this we can’t mark one of them as a monster.
Overall I liked the novel, but if I had to compare it with novels I read before this one, I would give it a 5/6 out of 10. This novel is a little less exciting and didn’t give me the feeling that I wanted to keep
Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature highlights Frankenstein as the work of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, published in 1818, and it brought into the Western world one of its best known monsters. Elements of gothic romance and science fiction help in telling the story of young Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein, as he creates a horrible monster by putting together limbs and veins, leading to destruction and his later regret. The creature is left alone in the world, even by his own creator, for his hideous appearance, and through watching humans he learns their ways of living. Haunting Victor due to his loneliness, he forcefully makes Victor agree to make him a female companion, but Victor’s regret and misery enables him to tear up his
A first impression of Walton would be to say that he is extremely ambitious. He desires to go to the North Pole to "accomplish some great purpose". He has his own theories on what should be there, and will not rest until he has proved them. This is somewhat a 'Godlike' ambition, in that he wishes to be praised for discovering something new which will benefit everyone else in the world. The language used is also very much like Old Testament, Biblical; "Heaven shower down blessings on you". The image of Walton being 'Godlike' is enhanced by this.
This impact of the change of narration gives us a better understanding of each person, and we see that the monster is not such a monster at all. We begin with Victor’s story, firstly of his past family life and then the build up to his immoral creation, his scientific motives. We see what drove him to this terrible crime, and we are given an insight into his ‘dangerous’ passion. He wanted to create life, to make a human being, and increase his knowledge of science.
Victor’s obsession with the genesis of life prevents him from thinking clearly. Initially, Victor has a strong interest in science. However, during his time at Ingolstadt, when he becomes interested in the cause of the generation of life, he decides to create and animate a human being. He completely neglects his family and friends because his sole focus is on his creation. Victor prioritizes the creation of his creature over his own health and happiness. Since he works in complete secrecy, there is nobody to help him stop his obsession. In addition, there is nobody who can monitor the aesthetic quality of his creation. He is so fixed on completing his project that he fails to notice how ugly it is. As soon as the creature comes to life, Victor is so horrified and disgusted with it that he runs away. He feels like “the beauty of [his] dream [va...
Victor Frankenstein is a complex character that we have come to learn more about while reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He is a man that seems to have this fervent desire to do what suits him best without regard to what others may think. Victor’s brother William has been murdered and a childhood friend is to pay the price of his death. After sighting what is assumed as the creature created by Victor, Victor is panged with guilt that these events are his fault. If he is correct, then he would be justified in feeling this way because Victor is selfish, stubborn, and lacks compassion for others around him. Victors actions all lead up to the demise of William and Justine.
Everything starts to change once Victors ambitions become his life. He leaves to study at Ingolstadt, where his destiny begins to unfold. This is when Victor’s isolation begins. The search for the secrets of life consumes him for many years until he thinks he has found it. For months, he assembles what he needs for his creation to come alive.
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. Throughout the novel, Shelley investigates the idea of monstrosity. She makes the point that a monster does not have to be genuinely evil in order to be considered monstrous.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are introduced early in the story to one of the main characters Victor Frankenstein and subsequently to his creation referred to as the monster. The monster comes to life after being constructed by Victor using body parts from corpses. As gruesome as this sounds initially we are soon caught up in the tale of the living monster. Victor the creator becomes immediately remorseful of his decision to bring the monstrous creation to life and abandons the borne creature. Victor describes his emotions and physical description of his creation as follows:
The monster of the novel is often misattributed with the name, “Frankenstein.” However, Victor Frankenstein can ultimately be considered the true monster of this tale. His obsession would lead to the corruption of his soul and the creation of two monsters—one himself, and the other, the creature. In attempting to take on the role of God, nature would become a monster to Victor and destroy his life. These elements of monstrosity in Frankenstein drive the meaning of its story.
The first part of the novel brings us into the life of Victor Frankenstein, who was born to a rich Geneva family, with two other siblings Victor and Ernest. Further into the book we also come to know Elizabeth, who was adopted by Victor’s parents, when Victor was four. As the story goes on Victor soon falls in love with Elizabeth and his mother’s dying wish is that he marries her someday. Victor spends the first part of the novel presenting his childhood and later years, up until the time he was to leave for college. While attending the University of Ingolstadt, Victor begins to exceed extremely well at chemistry and many of the other science classes that he attends. While attending the college and taking all the science classes he learns how to put dead tissue back together and bring something back to life. This new found knowledge that Victor has, brings us to our first effect, because he has learned how to bring things back to life. He begins to formulate a plan to build a body by using dead tissue. When he begins to take action on his plan, and ...
The two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he builds, both seek, and occasionally find, solace in nature. At first, Victor believes himself superior to nature, and he builds a creature to prove his dominance. After gathering the information and materials needed to create life, Victor begins to fantasize about what he is about to do. He sees “life and death [as] ideal bounds, which [he] should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into [their] dark world.
At first, The Monster is very kind and sympathetic. He has a good heart, as shown when he collected firewood for the family on the brink of poverty. Like every other human creation, he was not born a murderer. All the Monster wanted was to be accepted and loved by Victor Frankenstein and the other humans but instead he was judged by his appearance and considered to be dangerous. The Monster says, “like Adam, I was created apparently united by no link to any other being in existence…many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (page 105). This line is an important part of the novel because the Monster lets it be known how like Adam he was created into this world completely abandoned and like Satan he is angry with those people who have found contentment and satisfaction in their lives. The rejection and unwelcome feeling he is faced with, is the main reason the Monster becomes a killer. Watching another family show love towards each other made the Monster realize how alienated he truly was. He did not know how to deal with his pain and emotions so he murders as
Monsters can come in various physical forms, but all monsters share the same evil mentality. A Monster is a being that harms and puts fear within people. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of how appearance does not determine whether a creature is a monster or not. In the story, Victor Frankenstein tries to change nature by creating a super human being. The being appears to be a monster. Victor becomes so obsessed with his creation and then rejects it. Victor is the real monster because of his desire for power, lack of respect for nature, and his stubbornness.
Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the monster in the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. He was an ambitious man who had high hopes and dreams. Even as a child, he was very intelligent, studying the sciences and scientists of the past. But, as ambition caused the downfall of Julius Caesar, it caused the downfall of Victor Frankenstein. As the creator of his monster, he had responsibilities as a mother has towards her child. Out of pride, he ignored his responsibilities. Even after his ambitious mistake, had he acknowledged his responsibilities, he could have saved himself from destruction. He made significant mistakes out of pride and ambition that brought unhappiness and destruction to himself and his loved ones.
Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist and the narrator of the main story in Frankenstein. Raised by doting parents, Victor confesses: “I was their plaything and their idol, and something better-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me.” (35) This statement condemns his later reckless and arrogant behavior. Victor was obsessed from an early age with natural philosophy and the ultimate knowledge of life. He sought answers to the many questions that puzzled great minds before him. Motivated by ambition and an insatiable quest to be God like and create life, Victor dedicated himself to this one pursuit for nearly two years. The creature, which was made out of old body parts stolen from the cemetery, strange chemicals, and a mysterious spark, convulsed to life. In this moment, Victor becomes a creator of a human life, the “God” to a being that was deserving of the attention and love of its creator.