Monster Theory
The unexplainable creatures with human like features in the stories Frankenstein and Dracula are sadistic beings who cause devastation and distress for the main characters until the time of their downfall. These two classic horror monsters have similar character types which dissimilarity in many ways. Each story includes a hero and villain that draw the reader in to wanting to understand the monster and Dracula more. In Frankenstein, the monster was never given a name by Victor Frankenstein who was his creator. Victor created him for selfish reasoning without thinking of the consequences. When Victor achieved the creation of the monster he took one great look at him; he was disappointed and horrified of what was before him.
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The monster was neglected by his creator and others he came in contact with because of his horrifying appearance. Feeling the rejection and hopelessness increased the monster’s urge to go on a murderous rampage seeking revenge on his creator Victor. The story of Dracula is not as simple as the monster in Frankenstein. Count Dracula is a vampire from Transylvania, from the novel he is always hungry for being able to have power over weak-minded people. The goal of his is to turn regular people into foul creatures like himself. With the monster and Dracula there is reason behind the madness, both have strength but characteristics of physical appearance are different, both do evil tasks but the motives behind the evil task are independent, and the morals of the two beings are evil but for dissimilar evils. One of the major differences in these two characters is their physical appearance. The monster seems to have more human like features than Dracula, which cause the reader not to feel so frightened by the Frankenstein. The monster is a lot different than Dracula, “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! -- Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips.” (Shelley 35). The writer shows how Dracula appearance is lot scary than Frankenstein’s monster: The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiar sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years.
For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin. (Stoker 15).
The monster is a creation that is horribly ugly and has superhuman strength. Because of his appearance, people are frightened by him, despite the fact that he is actually quite subdued and gentle at times. His appearance repels people, but there is also great interest in him. Dracula is also a frightening and intimidating figure, but in a different way. He is more human in appearance, but is surrounded by mystery.
Their appearance is not only thing different, their motives were also different. Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula had two very different motives for their destructive behaviors. The monster just wanted to be loved and accepted by people. He wanted people to see beyond his looks and like him for who he was. The monster’s motive for being destructive, thus, was simply because it had been overcome by constant rejection, without having been given a chance to be accepted. Rejection for most people is hard, so one can understand why the monster felt the way he did. He could not handle peoples’ judgment of
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him. These thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language. My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the ass and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration. (page 81) The monster’s reasons that his internal nature should be the source for people’s judgment of him, rather than his uncouth but not dangerous outer features.
He relies on an empathy that is in attendance only in himself. He tried to be friends with some of the people who hated him, and even saved a young girl from drowning; nevertheless he was still treated without a degree of respect. “There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No; from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery” (Shelley 137-138). He even tried to be friends with some of the people who hated him. This flawed assumption sets him up for disillusionment. On the other hand, Dracula’s motives were different. Dracula had completely different reasons for being wicked. He was evil for his pleasure. Dracula was a monster from the beginning, seeking out the perfect victims for selfish reasons. “My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already, and through them you and others shall yet be mine – creatures, to do my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed,” (Stoker 263). Dracula would suck the blood from helpless human beings for his reconstruction. Dracula’s motives were to gain power over other people. He did not have a heart, did not care
who he kill or how many. Even though the monster and Dracula both did evil things, one should have less pity for Dracula do to his clearly selfish objectives. Both the monster and Dracula were evil, but both don’t evoke the same emotions on me as the reader. I felt compelled to feel sorry for the monster, he was only and only waited to be love and like by people. He didn’t want to simply be judged by the way he looked on the outside. He persistently displayed longing to be accepted and to contest loneliness. His crime of hurting people was a cry for help. With Dracula I felt no such pity for a horrible creature like him because unlike the monster who was truly a victim of his circumstances and started off good; Dracula was evil from the beginning with an evil goal not caring who he destroyed in the process. To understand Frankenstein and Dracula more, one have to understand what these two characters both represent. The stories Frankenstein and Dracula have different story lines, though they both include parallel character types. They both represent evil, but they were evil for different reasons. Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula both instigate irretrievable damage, but have relatively disparate motives for their behaviors. The monster’s reason for being destructive, thus, was simply because it had been conquered by invariable rejection, without having been given a chance to be accepted. On the other hand, Dracula had completely different reasons for being evil. Dracula was evil from the beginning, seeking out the perfect victims for selfish reason. Both characters represent evil, but Frankenstein’s monster was not intended to be evil. The moral of the story for me in regards to the monster, do not judge a book by its cover. Give everyone a chance. Just because someone might not look, talk, or act alike doesn’t mean something is wrong with them or they don’t have something great to offer. Also sometimes we can be affected by our circumstances but it does not mean we have to be the victim too. In the matter of Dracula the moral of this story is simple gaining that power and control by any means necessary can drive people to become evil. The monster and Dracula story should be required by all junior high school students to read because the Frankenstein story will teach children what can happen if someone is treated different simply because of his looks. Frankenstein was bully and Dracula was the bully. Both stories have great life lessons in them.
Life is a cruel. It, will attempt to take one down; it will humble one; it will attempt to break many down. In moments one may not know what to do, instead he/she must a find a way to use what they have around them as an advantage to defeat the problems that stands their way. Throughout dark fiction, authors utilise different elements as a tool to defeating the antagonist. the story Dracula uses completely different approaches in taking down the mighty Dracula. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker effectively employs the different elements that are used to defeat Dracula. Stoker effectively demonstrates the elements that are used to destroy Dracula through act of Religion, the aspect of Science and the setting.
Through out the novel we are under the assumption that the demon in the novel is the man who is disfigured and hideous on the outside. While we view Victor Frankenstein as the handsome and caring victim, even though sometimes a monster cannot be seen but heard. Looks can be deceiving but actions are always true.
Since the original novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, to the multiple movie adaptations, the monster is almost always predicted as the monster of the story. It may be his physical appearance, from his tall, broad frame, to the signature screws in his neck. It may also be his unnatural upbringing and interpreted evil characteristics. We have grown to fear the monster, which ultimately, has masked the true monster, Dr. Frankenstein. With each coming movie, the good side of the monster is brought to light, while the real monster shows his true colors.
The purpose of Dracula’s physical description is to place him against humanity and see how he stacks up. He has various features which obviously make him a vampire, such as a set of sharp teeth. But there are other peculiarities to his description which mark him as being an outsider. For instance, when Jonathon Harker, and by extension the reader, first meets Dracula, he describes him as being “a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot” (Stoker 15). At this point, he is a regular looking man, or at least normal enough that nothing elicits a reaction in Jonathon. Later, however, the aberrant constitution of Dracula co...
People’s impression of the Creature has become so twisted and turned by time and decades of false film posters and article titles that most use the name “Frankenstein” to refer to the Creature itself, rather than the scientist who created him! It’s a shame, he said! An understanding of literary history is a necessity to comprehend the truth of the Creature’s tragic history and how decades of film adaptations changed him into the hulking beast most people know him as today. Illustration from the frontispiece of the 1831 edition of Shelley’s Frankenstein novel by Theodor von Holst. First of all, Mary Shelley describes the Creature as "yellow skin scarcely covering the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was luxurious black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight Despite his appearance of a "monster" the original Creature portrayal is that of a sensitive, intelligent being rather than a nonspeaking idiot and killing machine.
While studying the diabolical figures in the devil, the idea of presenting Dracula came to mind. Dracula represents the devil in many similar ways. Dracula remains as a character in many diabolical movies and films. For instance, Van Helsing provides a good interpret of how Dracula remains noticed in the past and in present day. Although Dracula’s character obtains different views in every movie and film, he plays an important role in Stephen Sommers Van Helsing movie. In the movie, he acts as many different things. Demonstrating both the kind and evil inside, Dracula portrays his character as a mystery. Different views of Dracula throughout the movie include harsh, strong, powerful, evil, the devil, and unstoppable. The studies of Dracula
Bram Stoker took the legend of Vlad Tepes and used it as an idea for Dracula. He was the ruler of an old country called Wallachia. He is most famous for impaling his enemies on sticks around his castle. He taught himself how to miss vital organs in the body, causing the victim to die a slow painful death. This is why people consider him an ancient vampire. What people don’t know about him is that the rich loved him, but the poor hated him. To anyone that didn’t have to seal to make it by he was great. But to the poor people who couldn’t buy food, they were always in fear of him. He was abused as a child, and this is what is thought to have caused his behavior. (Melton 1053)
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. Shelley presents two characteristics of mankind in order to prove her case. The first example is Frankenstein’s creation. Upon first being introduced to his creation, the reader initially labels him as a monster because of his physical appearance. He is portrayed as a man with “…yellow skin scarcely cover[ing] the work of muscles and arteries beneath…watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set…shrivelled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 58). Not only does the reader view him as...
Examine the Concept of Monsters and the Monstrous in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Miss Hutton “Frankenstein” has a variety of monsters and monstrous things/incidents within it, however I am jus going to focus on some main aspects of the monsters and monstrous. Shelley got the idea for “Frankenstein” whilst she was on holiday. AS well as being challenged by Lord Byron to produce a horror novel, she was also influenced death many times; she was abandoned and had a literacy upbringing. Shelley relates her story to fears which were carried by many humans at that time.
A monster is usually viewed to be a supernatural creature that humans judge based on looks and not necessarily on personality. In the novel, Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the monster is a creature Victor creates but abandons immediately because he is horrified by his own creation. Due to the monster’s appearance, society does not give the creature a chance to show his true self. Therefore, the monster faces an external conflict because of Frankenstein’s and society's rejection, making it difficult for him to blend into his new life. Victor creates the monster because of his unusual compulsion of aspiring to be like God. However, Victor does not know how to treat or be responsible for his creature. Victor Frankenstein is the true monster
In the novel, Frankenstein, a doctor named Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Victor’s monster was created using old human parts, chemicals, and a “spark.” Victor wanted to create this monster in order to benefit mankind, and for the purpose of playing God. Victor thought his creation would turn out great, but in all actuality, his monster ended up terribly wrong (Shelley, 145). The monster was a deformed man, standing eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, black hair, black lips, and skin that did not conceal his internal features (Shelley, 144-145). Even though the monster was very grown, he had the mind of a newborn child, and he was very kind and gentle (Shelley, 327). The monster’s appearance terrified Victor, and he immediately abandoned it. Dr. Victor Frankenstein also never named his creation because he disliked it that much. The monster was longing for love, and since no one loved him, he became very violent. He ended up killing Victor’s brother and best friend out of pure revenge (Shelley, 193). Anytime the monster tried to help people, he was bea...
In the book, Dracula by Bram Stoker there are many characters that display qualities of good verse evil. The Count Dracula is a mysterious character who appears as an odd gentleman but the longer the story goes on Dracula shows his true self. Dracula started infiltrating the lives of anyone who crossed his path and he was not stopping his destruction of others’ lives. Many people were affect by Dracula’s actions but there were two people that Dracula caused an impact on during his rampage. Dracula is an evil, cunning, and selfish character who harms the life of a young man and ruins the future of an innocent woman.
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.
The first part of Dracula's insanity to address is his devious planning throughout the novel. Even at the start of the book, he holds Jonathan Harker hostage inside Castle Dracula. For example, he has no care for Jonathan when he is staying at his castle. He replies to the vampires saying, “Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will. Now go! Go! I must awaken him, for there is work to be done" (Stoker 105). This shows Jonathan as just a part of Dracula's plans. This is what makes Dracula ...
Frankenstein shows that what looks like a monster in appearance my not be and what looks normal on appearance may be a monster. While a scary ugly creature may look like a monster a true monster is formed from within and is scene through actions. Along with this knowledge is power and power has the ability to make monsters. The pursuit to know more is a never ending road that leads to lies, secretes, and monstrosity. “How much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow,” while knowledge is boundless and beautiful an excess of anything can create a monster.