Thesis Statement For Frankenstein

English II Name: Jake Silver

Building the Creatures

Write a paragraph in which you compare and contrast Victor’s feelings about building the two creatures in order to explain what Mary Shelley is arguing through these two scenes. Analyze two quotations in your response, one about the building the creature and one about building the female.
As always, you must provide necessary context, effectively embed, and properly cite your quotations.
Your insightful argument statement must “get outside” of the book (it CANNOT mention character names; must apply to life in general, not just the novel). Avoid the obvious -- move beyond the simplicity of Victor being happy the first time and unhappy the second time.
Find quotes that go beyond plot.

Your must analyze specific images, denotations/connotations of specific words, or stylistic devices (similes, metaphors, symbols, etc.)
In your analysis you must quote the quote as you answer why?

how? so what?
Remember, it is through answering those three questions that you support your argument statement.

Jake Silver
Same Same But Different
In Volume 1 and 3 of Frankenstein, Victor’s reason for creating the “monster” changes drastically; however, ultimately leading to the same consequence of suffering and depression. Through this change in Victor, Shelley argues that all humans have an instinctive notation of right from wrong and learn from their mistakes. Victor left his friends and family to go to college; when there, he had no friends and social life. His top and only priority was his schoolwork; he read all he can about the sciences, especially chemistry and anatomy. When finished with his studies, Victor is ready to start his creation when he confirms his proceedings aloud, “Winter, spring, and summer, passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves-sights which before always yielded me supreme delight, so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation. The leaves of that year had withered before my work drew near to a close; and now every day shewed me more plainly how well I had succeeded.

But my enthusiasm was checked by my anxiety, and I appeared rather like one doomed by slavery to toil in the mines, or any other unwholesome trade, than an artist occupied by his favourite employment” (Shelley 38). In the passage, Shelley uses imagery to reveal how Victor is missing so much in his life causing him to feel anxiety and depression when he says, “Winter, spring, and summer...

did not watch the blossom.” Shelley illustrates to the reader how beautiful the “blossom” of the flowers are and how much Victor is missing out of by dedicating all of his time to making the “monster”. This is one factor of Victor’s suffering and depression, the act of missing out on the true meanings of life. Shelley wanted to make this a very personal matter to the reader and Victor because most people have a personal connection to seeing the flowers bloom in spring, which then lets the reader connect their own experience and back with Victors. Shelley also uses that same “blossom” reference as a symbol for Victor’s own intellectual blooming and expanding just as the flowers are expanding his horizon. Even though Victor “did not watch the blossom,” this gave him more time to “succeeded” with his making of the “monster”. There is an evident change in Victor's passion to create the “monster” when Victor says, “enthusiasm was check by my anxiety.” Here, Victors animal instinct of sensing fear is present. He knows that making life artificially is very risky and it gives him “anxiety” even though his intentions were originally pure and out of the passion for science. He subconsciously (instinctively) knows that

creating life from dead corpses is wrong, so his animal instinct makes him feel bad to cause Victor to stop. Shelley uses a simile to emphasize the change when she writes, “I appeared rather like one doomed by slavery to toil in the mines, or any other unwholesome trade, than an artist occupied by his favourite employment.” She compares past passionate Victor (artist) and the creation of the “monster” (favourite employment) to the now present anxious Victor (slave) and the work to create life (mines). This passion is now lost on Victor since it's not about scientific discovery any more, but is about finishing what was started even though he knows finishing the “monster” is ethically wrong. People do this all time; knowing that something is wrong from instinct but sticking with it because people are lazy. Then there is cognitive dissonance, when beliefs don't coincide with actions, and the main person will feel depressed. Victor has cognitive dissonance because he sticks with his creation (actions) even though he knows and his instinct is telling him, that it is ethically wrong (beliefs).
Victor destroyed the half made female monster while the creature was watching in agony. Then Victor received a letter from Henry Clerval urging him to come back to London to begin planning a journey to India. Victor rushes to leave his island within two days, once he dismantles the laboratory and hides the remains when he utters to himself in relief, “I had before regarded my promise with a gloomy despair, as a thing that, with whatever consequences, must be fulfilled; but I now felt as if a film had been taken from before my eyes, and that I, for the first time, saw clearly. The idea of renewing my labours did not for one instant occur to me… ” (Shelley 143). Shelley makes clear that Victors instinctive for knowing when something is wrong was present with the promise Victor made. She writes, “before regarded my promise with gloomy despair.” Here, Victor says how he felt “despair” when he made the promise. This was his instinct telling him that doing something this unethical was morally wrong. Victor knew that “whatever consequences” must happen so that all people are same. His intrinsic knew better which then Victor knew to stop the creation. Shelley wants to contrast the Victor before and after the promise when she says, “for the first time, saw clearly.” Here, Shelley shows how Victor is now at peace since his beliefs (instinct) and actions now coincide.
All people have a moral sense of right and wrong since all people have animal instincts which are directly related to one another. This animal instinct drives out actions and beliefs but sometimes they are not related and this causes suffering and depression. Society must learn how to align these two aspect of life to live happily and healthy.