James Whale's Frankenstein

1358 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in mary shelleys frankenstein

Paradoxically, the creation does not result in progress but manages to destroy more than what it was made from, in turn, causing more conflict and damage. Whale’s cynical view towards the war was especially exposed in “Bride of Frankenstein” which was made three years after Hitler came into authority. The technology used within this film was beyond its time as was the gender reversal and concept of re-animation after death. This could symbolize the people’s resistance to evolve and improve. The community and people who make it such are also part of the symbolic battlefield that is Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. It is in this community of regression that the re-born creature is thrust into and immediately rejected. Similarly the returning wounded soldier is not taken in by the community; rather he is shunned and unwelcomed as if he has been de-humanized by the war. The people of the community do not see the soldier as “re-born”, they see him more as an abnormality that was supposed to die in the war. Although many in the community claimed they would rather see dead heroes happy in their afterlife they were often rejected when they returned home. This war that was referred to as “the war to end all wars” produced more hardship for populations. It was at this time that the re-birth from death of the creature undermined the meaning of death and obligation of those who had sacrificed all for their country. In the film “J’accuse” by Abel Gance the town folk flee from the “reborn” soldiers. They are not at all excited or grateful to see their deceased war heroes one last time. The villagers know that they have not shown appreciation for the soldiers sacrifices. They have been living petty civilian lives, taking advantage of soldiers’ bu...

... middle of paper ...

...rth was a combination of traumas that he had witnessed during his exposure to warfare in the trenches. This theme is exemplified throughout “Frankenstein” by suturing the sufferings of both World War One and the Great Depression. The creature and the villagers suffer equal destitutions of despair and desolation while the upper class citizens uphold their status within a fragmented economy. The wealthy members of society believed their control extended over all of mankind and its view on creation. James Whales’ concentration on the villagers and creature alike substantiate that the “re-animation” of the dead into a new and improved life generated the notion of normality and an absence of collective advancement. The traditions and status quo remained the unchanged throughout World War One, the Great Depression, and both Whales’ and Shelleys’ version of “Frankenstein”.

Show More
Related

  • Textual Irony In Frankenstein's Monologue Essay

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    The result of society’s resentment, Shelly’s cynical text unmasks the fact that Frankenstein’s creation was not produced as innately monstrous but instead learned to become a monster over time. Once again utilizing the literary element of irony, the monster’s exclamation “Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate being!”, demonstrates the monster’s resentment towards not only humans but also himself. Realizing biological inferiority to be the cause of his misfortune, the monster’s frustrations underline the novel’s central paradox of the natural versus the artificial. That is, because human beings exist within the natural order of society and therefore control the law, characters such as Victor, Felix, and even Walton’s carelessness remain protected. Meanwhile, Frankenstein’s creation, an artificial production, exists as mankind’s ostracized enemy regardless of the being’s emotional or intellectual superiority. Beyond envy, the monster’s monologue additionally reflects a sense of desperation. Utilizing the repetition of the word “injustice,” Shelly’s literary choice solidifies the perpetual denial of societies crimes against Frankenstein’s monster. Concluding his speech with the word “injustice”, Frankenstein’s monster testimony signifies the unavoidable truth the being’s presence never caused

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Annotated Bibliography

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Free Essays on Frankenstein: The Creature as a Foil to Frankenstein

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    Frankenstein, speaking of himself as a young man in his father’s home, points out that he is unlike Elizabeth, who would rather follow “the aerial creations of the poets”. Instead he pursues knowledge of the “world” though investigation. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word “world” is for Frankenstein, very much biased or limited. He thirsts for knowledge of the tangible world and if he perceives an idea to be as yet unrealised in the material world, he then attempts to work on the idea in order to give it, as it were, a worldly existence. Hence, he creates the creature that he rejects because its worldly form did not reflect the glory and magnificence of his original idea. Thrown, unaided and ignorant, into the world, the creature begins his own journey into the discovery of the strange and hidden meanings encoded in human language and society. In this essay, I will discuss how the creature can be regarded as a foil to Frankenstein through an examination of the schooling, formal and informal, that both of them go through. In some ways, the creature’s gain in knowledge can be seen to parallel Frankenstein’s, such as, when the creature begins to learn from books. Yet, in other ways, their experiences differ greatly, and one of the factors that contribute to these differences is a structured and systematic method of learning, based on philosophical tenets, that is available to Frankenstein but not to the creature.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Insecurity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein '

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, she addresses the challenges that arise in both the creation and life of a dead creature that has been brought back to life in hideous forms. The

    Read More

  • Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Ability to Create Sympathy for the Monster

    1840 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different. We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human than we think.

    Read More

  • Accountability of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.

    Read More

  • Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    in Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical Edition.

    Read More

  • James Whale's Frankenstein

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    During World War One, the amount of devastation was massive. The human welfare declined as well as progress in Europe. James Whale formed his surroundings during this time period into his personal adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. The monster created by Whale is symbolic of a wounded soldier who has been forgotten and cast out or pushed to the side by an economy in depression. This film is characteristic of the post war years with hopefulness of reconstruction, the deterioration of community as well as the individual, and the erection of destruction. This theme of re-animation is presented through the utilization of death in economic and procreative positions. Whale’s creation of the Dr. Frankenstein character and his generative role in a dark underground laboratory can be seen in an emblematic arena that is analogous to the fighting on a battlefield. When one thinks of a battlefield, death is almost certainly the first thing. What is generally overlooked is the potential of battle and death being the first strides on the way to a new existence. The comparison between the laboratory of Frankenstein and the battlefield should both be of death leading to new life and a new beginning. However, in the 1931 film of Frankenstein, it is found that any fulfillment of this new existence simply returns the community to a harsher reality of unforgiving modes.

    Read More

  • Victor Frankenstein as the True Monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    The fact that Frankenstein’s creation turns on him and murders innocent people is never overlooked; it has been the subject of virtually every popularization of the novel. What is not often acknowledged is the fact that Frankenstein himself embodies some of the worst traits of humankind. He is self-centered, with little real love for those who care about him; he is prejudiced, inflexible and cannot forgive, even in death. While some of these traits could be forgivable, to own and flaunt them all should be enough to remind a careful reader that there are two "monsters" in Frankenstein.

    Read More

  • Comparing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most Americans have some idea of who Frankenstein is, as a result of the many Frankenstein movies. Contrary to popular belief Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a scientist, not a monster. The "monster" is not the inarticulate, rage-driven criminal depicted in the 1994 film version of the novel. Shelley’s original Frankenstein was misrepresented by this Kenneth branagh film, most likely to send a different message to the movie audience than Shelley’s novel shows to its readers. The conflicting messages of technologies deserve being dependent on its creator (address by Shelley) and poetic justice, or triumph over evil (showed by the movie) is best represented by the scene immediately preceding Frankenstein’s monster’s death.

    Read More

  • Humanity In Frankenstein Essay

    2530 Words  | 6 Pages

    “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly explores the concept of the body, life, ‘the self’ and most of importantly humanity, which is repeatedly questioned throughout the novel. The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane or in other words someone that can feel or possess compassion. Despite all the facts against the “monster” in “Frankenstein” he is indeed what one would consider being human. Humanity isn’t just about ones physical appearance but also includes intellect and emotion. Some people argue that the “monster” is not a human for he was not a creature that was born from “God” or from a human body. That being said, the “monster” is not only able to speak different languages, he can also show empathy - one of many distinct traits that set humans apart from the animals. Both the “monster” and his creator, Victor, hold anger and feel a sense of suffering throughout the novel. Victor is a good person with good intentions just like most individuals, but makes the mistake of getting swept up into his passion of science and without thinking of the consequences he creates a “monster”. After completing his science project, he attempts to move forward with his life, however his past – i.e., the “monster” continues to follow and someone haunt him. While one shouldn’t fault or place blame on Frankenstein for his mistakes, you also can’t help but feel somewhat sympathetic for the creature. Frankenstein just wants to feel accepted and loved, he can’t help the way he treats people for he’s only mimicking how people have treated him, which in most cases solely based on his appearance. Unlike most of the monsters we are exposed to in films past and present, the character of the “monster” ...

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frankenstien Many punishments for crimes are often given to innocent people. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, there are several instances in which the punishment is given to an innocent person. Justine, a maid at the Frankenstein residence, was killed for a crime she did not commit. Felix, a character the Monster encounters, was exiled from his country, for helping an innocent man escape from jail. Lastly, Victor himself was jailed for a murder, which he did not commit.

    Read More

  • Who Is the Real Monster in Frankenstein?

    1708 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. 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.

    Read More

  • Monstrosity in Frankenstein

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a truly famous novel that has been revisited by many, as well as revised by the author in the many years since its original publication. Within this novel Shelley conveys the tragic fictional story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster that he thoughtlessly brought to life, as well as the lives of those affected by his hideous creation. Throughout the novel it is made quite apparent that the monster was not inherently evil, in fact the monster was quite benign, however through its interactions with society the monster is slowly shaped into a being that can truly be called just that, a monster. All of the aforementioned change to the monster are brought about in part by the societal standards of the time period

    Read More

More about James Whale's Frankenstein

Open Document