Metaphors In Frankenstein

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Recommended: Literary criticism of Frankenstein

How would you feel if you were abandoned as a newborn in a forest with no one to guide you or take care of you through the most vulnerable stages of life? In Frankenstein, a horrific, gothic science fiction written by Mary Shelley, a scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein abandons his creation of life who now must try to survive and learn about the world around him on his own. Through the use of various literary techniques, Mary Shelley is able to convey the impression of the creature as a baby just learning about life and his world.
Through the use of extended metaphors, Frankenstein’s creature is compared to as a newborn baby. When he first woke up, he stated that he felt, “a strange multiplicity of sensations seized [him], and …show more content…

While isolated in the forest, the creature has no idea what to do with his life and has nothing to guide him like a parent would. However, the creature soon felt an amazing “sensation of pleasure… and beheld a radiant form rise from the trees…” which “enlightened [his] path…”(Lines 39-43). That amazing sensation he felt was the sun which symbolizes a parent who would guide him on through life. Parents usually enlighten the paths of their children and the same would go for the sun to the creature. During the night, the creature “could distinguish… the bright moon… with pleasure.”(Lines 51-52). The moon can also be a symbol for a parent to the creature because of its similarities to the sun and it brightens up the creature’s world with familiarity and the sensation of pleasure, like a parent would to their child. The creature was also “delighted when [he] first discovered that a pleasant sound, which often saluted [his] ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had often intercepted the light from [his] eyes.”(Lines 58-61). Through the use of imagery, Mary Shelley characterizes the creature as a young baby experiencing the wonders of nature and learning new facts about the

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