1. Walton’s letters at the beginning of the story serve many purposes. By having a character that introduces the story of Victor Frankenstein and his “monster”, Shelley keeps Frankenstein’s fate a secret. Otherwise, Frankenstein’s narration would be cut off and that would ruin an essence of the novel. In addition, Walton serves as a character that Frankenstein is similar and can relate to. This character parallelism provides a means of connection throughout the novel and pulls the book together.
2. Ultimately, Frankenstein’s main goal was the advancement of science. Additionally, he was desperate for a comrade like him. These intense passions and desires led him to make his mistake of bestowing life upon a monster and later, his downfall.
3. Both Walton and Frankenstein are high-minded and well-educated scientists. They are both reasonable in respect to the monster. They both have strong bonds with the females in their lives (Walton to Margaret and Frankenstein to Elizabeth). Finally, both men are utterly
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alone (emotionally) and seek the company of an equal comrade. 4. Like aforementioned, the parallelisms between the characters throughout the novel help centre the story. They reinforce the book’s main themes and ideas and make the character’s feelings and actions more realistic and expected rather than irrational or atypical. In addition, since the story starts near the end of Frankenstein’s story, it puts the reader into the book. This type of storytelling/writing allows the reader to completely understand the plot first and then the reader gets to experience the story play by play. 5.
Robert Walton served as the sole person that Frankenstein could completely open up to. Walton was also a man that was very similar to Frankenstein in character, providing means of paralleling throughout the story. Henry Clerval was the hopelessly ignored but entirely loyal friend of Frankenstein. Clerval was one that Frankenstein could depend on. He sacrificed his own happiness and responsibilities for that of his friends. Sadly, Frankenstein often took Clerval for granted and, therefore he did not influence Frankenstein decisions very much. It can be hypothesized that if Frankenstein did not leave Geneva and pursued something mundane (and safe) like Clerval’s dad wanted of him, he would not have made the grave error that lead to his tragic downfall. Elizabeth Lavenza served as not only a familial bond but also a female version of Frankenstein, In fact, I Elizabeth proved to be stronger, more clear-minded, and more emotionally stable than Victor had
been. 6. Prometheus made the willful decision to steal from the god of all gods and give fire to mankind. Similarly, Frankenstein made the willful decision to defy scientific laws of nature to give breath to a once inanimate being. Prometheus love for mankind resulted in his punishment and, later, a punishment for all of mankind (Pandora). Alike, Frankenstein’s passions for science and desperate need for a companion was punished with an inescapable, evil monster. Funny enough, while one story’s punishment is the creation of a female, the other story’s solution is the creation of a female. Shelley subtitled her novel “The Modern Prometheus” because of the distinct similarities between the two tragic heroes. 7. In comparison to Adam and Eve, Victor plays the role of God. Conversely, his creature is Adam. In the same was that Adam (and Eve) deliberately disobeyed God, the monster refuses to comply with Frankenstein’s demands. 8. Mary Shelley writes in a way that is very profound and philosophical. She criticizes humanity and challenges the writing norms of the tine. She appeals to emotion as well as all five of the senses, thus putting the reader directly into the novel. She also challenges the patriarchal norms of the 19th century. The female characters in the novel all proved to be honest, virtuous, intelligent, and hard working. As a female writer, choosing to incorporate feminism into a Gothic novel was an anomaly. 9. One eminent element of romanticism was the revolt against political and social structure. In the novel, the monster’s “protectors” are the product of exactly that. They withstood the government’s wrath, as humans should. Romanticism originated in Germany and this novel takes some place in Germany, heavily influencing Shelley’s writing. Another distinguishable feature of the Romantic Movement was the quest of acquiring knowledge. This theme is constantly underlined with characters Walton, Frankenstein and his monster. Walton sought out geographical discovery. Frankenstein pursued scientific advancement. The monster, craved to know him and to understand humanity. 10. Some common elements of gothic novels are a gloomy setting, a supernatural change, and many deaths. Shelley easily incorporates all of those elements into the novel. She uses barren, precipitous landscapes and a large part of the story takes place at night. Frankenstein’s creation of the monster is the sole supernatural Shelley need to continue the Gothic essence of the novel. Finally, with the deaths of William, and Elizabeth (among others) fit the Gothic archetype perfectly. 11. Some themes and aspects of the novel that affirm its inception are as follows: treatment of women, familial, practices and general mindsets. While Shelley worked diligently to empower the female characters of the novel, their roles as either mothers, wives, sisters or brides parallels that of the 19th century. Generally, a common mindset in this period was to acquire knowledge and pursue it to its furthest extent (which Frankenstein and Walton both clearly do). Lastly, the use of fireplaces, letters, and general diction all fit the time in which the books were written.
The purpose of this suddenly close relationship is to bring credibility to the narrative of Frankenstein and ultimately bring credibility to the narrative of the monster. This is done be enveloping Walton’s letters around both these narratives. These layers sustain the relationship through the novel and allow the reader to be outside of the story, physically in another location as Walton’s sister is, but to be close and credible.
After Walton and his crew get stuck in some ice, they notice a gigantic man in the distance. Just a couple hours later, Victor Frankenstein washes up to their boat on a sheet of ice. Walton welcomes him onto his ship, and Victor tells the story of this thing in the distance, which is his creation. In the first four chapters, Victor talks about his family and how they came to be. He also talks about his education, and what made him create this monster. Walton and Frankenstein are similar because they both switched what they wanted to do before pursing their current occupation. “I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated. You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore the disappointment”(Shelley 2). This shows how much Robert Walton desired to be a poet and also how distraught he was after his failure. Walton also reveals how he was not well educated, even though he loved reading. So after he failed at trying to become educated, and becoming a poet, he inherited his cousins fortune, and became a sea captain. Like Walton, Frankenstein did not do
Frankenstein was born in the family of the most eminent citizens of Geneva. His father married the daughter of his friend Carolina Beaufort, and became the father "in his old age." Victor was their favorite and long-awaited first-born, but Carolina would like to have a daughter. One day relaxing on the shores of Lake Como, the woman went to the poor hut and saw a lovely blonde girl, is very different from the other kids, black-eyed and dark-haired. She was a child of the Italian patriot and Germans. Her mother died in childbirth, his father was sent to prison, and she remained in the family nurse. Frankenstein persuaded farmers to give them the girl and adopted her. In the future, Elizabeth was to become the wife of Victor.
Robert Walton, an explorer who nourishes Frankenstein back to health and tells the narrative through a series of letters to his sister back in England, also possesses similar traits as Frankenstein, because he is persistent to seek ultimate knowledge at all costs. The monster, who is driven with rage from the betrayal of his creator, is considered the antagonist of the novel, because he kills innocent civilians and takes the lives of Frankenstein’s loved ones as revenge for Frankenstein abandoning him. Apart from these central characters are: Henry Clerval, Elizabeth Lavenza, William Frankenstein, Alphonse Frankenstein, and Justine Moritz. These characters also play a crucial role that alludes to the element of betrayal in the novel, because they either influence Frankenstein and the monster or are killed which drives this element. Shelley’s perspective and opinion about the effects of betrayal are transpired throughout the novel, beginning from Frankenstein’s childhood and transitioning into the monster’s remorse over his
As I have shown through this analysis, the use of Walton's letters to begin and end Frankenstein is not a matter of chance. Shelley used the letters to provide more depth to the novel. With the parallels between characters, we can consider the different voices of the same story shedding different perspectives. Each perspective influences the telling of the story based on that of the respective characters. Walton's letters complete Victor's tale because the reader encounters every theme in the varying voices presented in the novel. In other words, Walton's letters are not a lost part of the story, but are integral to the structure of Frankenstein.
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
The two characters introduced during the letters section in the book are Robert Walton and the stranger who came onto his crew. Robert Walton is sending letters to his sister, which indicate he is on a voyage to the North Pole and how ambitious he is to be the first to sail there. During his journey, an unknown man boards his ship. My initial reaction to Walton was that he seemed to be very ambitious, but also a clear example of a romantic character. Additionally, he searches for someone who is in able to share his ambitions and romantic characteristics. My reaction to the stranger who boards the ship was that he seemed helpless at first until he was in a less fragile
...s a European who then comes abroad the ship. It’s soon discovered that the European is in pursuit of the first man that Walton saw. This tells us that somehow the story will end with Frankenstein on the ice hunting for the monster. There are many points of foreshadowing in the story another example is at the end of chapter 2.
After Frankenstein discovered the source of human life, he became wholly absorbed in his experimental creation of a human being. Victor's unlimited ambition, his desire to succeed in his efforts to create life, led him to find devastation and misery. "...now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished..." (Shelley 51). Victor's ambition blinded him to see the real dangers of his project. This is because ambition is like a madness, which blinds one self to see the dangers of his actions. The monster after realizing what a horror he was demanded that victor create him a partner. "I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was like torture..." (Shelley 169). Victor's raw ambition, his search for glory, has left him. His eyes have been opened to see his horrible actions, and what have and could become of his creations. As a result, Victor has realized that he is creating a monster, which could lead to the downfall of mankind. His choice is simple, save his own life or save man.
Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the monster in the book. He was an ambitious man who had high hopes and dreams for himself, but this characteristic was the cause of his downfall. He had a ruthless desire to obtain forbidden knowledge- a knowledge that only God was worthy of having. This lead him to lock himself in his laboratory, disregarding his family, friends, and health. His one purpose was to create life. In his quest to create a human being and bestow the power of life, Victor eventually did create a creature, but this lead to a situation
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. 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.
These words can stir up only bitterness, and inflict spiritual wounds. We cannot read what she writes in reply to Robert Walton'... ... middle of paper ... ... nd the images of Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the fiend supplement each other. If we take one of them away, Frankenstein's plot will be different.
... is misrepresentation of the entire story based on whose point of view it is being told from. Despite Frankenstein and his monster being the core of the story, they are tainted by their own emotions as well as their own backstories. Through their animosity towards one another, they skew the story and are not capable of showing the tale in a light that is completely unbiased. Therefore they cannot encompass all of the themes of the novel because they are not able to show the truth of their own narrations. Walton on the other hand, is only there to bring to light the true themes of the novel therefore making him the most reliable of the three. He shows Shelley’s themes of religion, science, and nature all too well by retelling the story which Victor dies telling him and his lack of previous knowledge to the situation at hand makes him the least skewed of all three.
...ry. The loneliness of Frankenstein and the monster drove them miserable for most their lives, and in the end, to death. Walton on the other had, turns back to civilization, perhaps learning something from the story of Victor Frankenstein. In the book Frankenstein, there were many moments of glory for Victor Frankenstein, but in the end he only ending up destroying many of his family, himself, and the monster after suffering through loneliness and grief for a big part of his life.
Victor Frankenstein is originally a happy character that loves to learn and read a large variety of books. He was a fiery individual who sought to understand all knowledge; regardless of how practical the information was. Evidence of this is when his father tells him not to worry about fictional writers like Cornelius Agrippa. Yet, Frankenstein states, “But here were books, and here were men who had penetrated deeper and knew more. I took their word for all that they averred, and I became their disciple” (21). Frankenstein embodies the movement in science to understand everything, and that is not necessarily a good thing (Storment 2). Frankenstein only understands that this train of thought is bad when he reaches the pinnacle of knowledge and produces the creature. The fruits of Frankenstein’s labor end up costing him the lives of his friends and family, as well as his own sanity. The feeling of guilt thrives in Frankenstein because he knows his work was the direct cause of the chaos in his life. In Frankenstein’s case, his goal of total enlightenment led to his pitiful demise. Frankenstein’s creature was not originally a monster. He is born with good intentions and is a gentle- although atrocious looking- being until he learns of the sins of the human race. The ultimate factor in the creature’s progression from harmless to