Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley about a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein and his escapades in science that led to the creation of a monster. Many historians and experts in the literature consider Frankenstein as the first novel of science fiction, despite it containing elements of Romantic Movement and Gothic characteristics. Due to its unique and fantastic style, Frankenstein has influenced various contemporary works of art, ranging from plays, comic books, and movies. It is an impressive piece of imagination authored by a teenager. The story is told in an explorer’s ship who was stuck in ice will on a quest for knowledge. Frankenstein, on the other hand, had reached a climax of his endeavors in seeking knowledge.
The human pursuit of knowledge takes precedence as one of the key themes in the novel. As the story unfolds, Robert Walton attempts to reach the North Pole while Victor Frankenstein struggles to tame a monster he created. Through various situations highlighted in the novel, it is evident that excessive thirst for knowledge is dangerous and harmful. Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the monster leads to multiple deaths and destruction of property. Most of Victor’s close friends and family members die by the hand of the beast. After learning about Victor’s rendezvous, Walton decides to pull back from his planned mission. From his surrender, readers deduce that the search for knowledge should not supersede humanity and compassion.
Victor secretly makes an eight-foot monster that is so ugly and frightening. The author insists on how misshapen and frightening the beast is to the extent that it scared its creator. Immediately after getting it to life, Victor is so frightened that he runs away from his apartment. In various other parts of the story, ordinary people detested the monster. Only a blind older man was able to accommodate its presence because he could not see the monster’s grotesque appearances. The process of creating the monster is also creepy since Victor assembled parts stolen from graveyards. Victor himself also sounds monstrous for the fact that he conceived and actualized a plan to develop strange beings. He secretly collected body parts from the dead and assembled a monster in his apartment alone. Normal humans cannot do such activities. Dark Science and a heart full of hatred for his creation illuminate Frankenstein as a monster, capable of committing the acts of his subject.
There are multiple texts within Frankenstein’s narrative that highlights the emotions and attitudes of various characters. Some of the texts are either quoted, alluded, or read by characters. For instance, Walton writes the entire story of Frankenstein in a letter to his sister back home. Moreover, the monster develops communication structure by reading notes from Victor’s journals. He also learns reading and writing by watching the peasants at a distance. There are some other famous books mentioned to be used and read by characters within the novel. The use of text within the story enriches diversity.
There is a stark illustration of conflict in the novel. Victor fails to comprehend the repercussions of his action as a result of creating the monster. He is consumed at making his heinous plan come true and forgets about his family and close friends. Works by the monster vividly remind him about his recklessness and single-mindedness in struggling to achieve personal goals at the expense of those around him. Victor neglects to protect his brother, friend, and fiancée and solely to concentrate on his creation. Even when he knew the murderer, Victor fails to take responsibility for his invention by allowing an innocent woman to be executed. The monster highlights the conflict between the creator and the creation. It quotes about the fallout between Satan and God. Through these conflicts, readers understand an essential concept of the effects of humans playing God.