Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Frankenstein begins aboard a boat with a stranger named Victor Frankenstein telling his story to man named Walton. After the death of Victor’s mother, Victor goes to a university where he secretly learns the secret to making new life. He creates a new creature, but he is horrified by its appearance. The monster runs away. Victor finds out his brother was murdered and believes his monster is responsible. Later, Victor encounters his monster. The monster tells Victor his story. He tells how humans run from him in fear and how he became attached to a human family that he secretly watched, but the family rejected him. He tells how he decided to get revenge on the human race and Frankenstein’s family, so he killed Victor’s brother. He then asks Victor to make him a mate so that he is not lonely, and Victor agrees. When Victor decides he cannot make another creature, the monster kills a friend of Victor and kills Victor’s wife on his wedding day. Victor devotes the rest of his life to trying to kill the monster. The reader finds out that Victor dies aboard the ship, and Walton finds the monster crying over Victor. The monster says he too is ready to die now and leaves.

The protagonist of the novel is Victor Frankenstein. Victor has a hard time coping with life after the death of his mother. His inability to cope only gets worse with the creation of his monster. He constantly becomes ill and lives in solitude. His life is a sad story. His mother died when he was young. He creates monster that is responsible for the death of his good friend and his beloved wife. Because of the horrible news of the death of Victor’s wife, Victor’s father dies. Another important character is the monster. The monster’s life is also sad. Because of his appalling appearance, humans are afraid of him, so he is forced to be alone. When he finds a family that he believes will accept him, the family forces him to leave. However, the monster is also evil because he murders several people. Another important character is Alphonse Frankenstein, Victor’s father. Alphonse is a good father. He does what he can to console Victor and helps him become a happier person.