The Significance of Chapter 5 in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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The Significance of Chapter 5 in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelly in 1816 and has become perhaps

one of the most famous novels in the gothic, horror genre. Shelley was

brought up in the 19th century where there were a lot of medical and

scientific breakthroughs. These have influenced the novel because

during the 19th century people had just discovered new information

about the body and that electrical impulses were send via the body to

the brain. This has influenced events in the novel because

Frankenstein used electrical pulses to bring the monster he creates

become alive.

One of the social and historical backgrounds of Mary Shelly’s life is

religion and the power of God compared to man. In them days people

were very religious and the thought of having the same power as God

was astonishing. This influenced the novel because the whole story is

about being able to create life thorough electrical impulse, Victor

(the main character) being God.

The novel has much to do with death as it does with life as many of

the characters die in the story. This is relevant with Shelly because

during her life time she experienced death in several ways. Firstly,

Shelly’s mother died when she was young and she was sent to live with

her family in Scotland. Secondly, after Shelly fell in love she had a

child but unfortunately died at birth. This links into the novel as

many people close to Frankenstein die.

Chapter 5 is a turning point in the novel as two crucial events occur;

one of them is when the monster is bought to life for the first time.

This is an important event because for the first time the reader ...

... middle of paper ...

...eality.

This theme runs through out the novel and is also shown when the

monster meets the blind man. The blind man cannot see the monster so

does not judge him by what he looks like. He gets to know the monster

and comes to the term that he is not a bad creation.

After reading the novel and particularly concentrating on chapter 5 I

have come to the conclusion the 19th century prose is different to

todays. The use of old English language really gives the effect of

age, and era of when it was written. I do believe it has a good effect

on the reader to if it was written in today’s time. Some of the plot

and events would still occur but be replaced with more modern ones.

The techniques that were used then would be effective now because they

are not used now so people because more interested in how things were

done.

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