Frankenstein

The story is called Frankenstein, written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Frankenstein turns to forbidden sciences and discovers how to bring the dead back to life. When he does, he believes that he has created a monster and flees. The monster chases him and demands that he creates a mate for him. Frankenstein almost does, but he winds up refusing to do so. The monster kills everyone close to him before turning on Frankenstein and murdering him. At the end of the story, a sailor finds Frankenstein’s notes and tries to continue the quest.

The protagonist of the story is Victor Frankenstein, a man who has an obsession of bringing the dead back to life. Studying in Ingolstadt, Victor discovers the secret of life and creates a monster that he recoils from in horror. Victor keeps this creation a secret; his feeling of guilt and shame increase as he realizes he is helpless to stop the monster from ruining others’ lives, including his. Another main character is the monster, Victor’s eight-foot-tall, hideous creation. The monster is abandoned by his creator, and rejected by all those he comes into contact with; his feeling of abandonment compels him to root for revenge against Victor. Other characters in the story include the De Lacey family consisting of an elderly blind father, his two grown children, Agatha and Felix, and Felix’s wife. It is through observing the De Lacey family that the monster learns all that he knows about society and emotions as well as reading and speech. Henry Clerval, Victor’s best friend, nurses Victor back to health when he falls ill after the disappearance of the monster.  Henry becomes one of the monster’s victims, and Frankenstein is accused of his best friend’s murder. Another character is Elizabeth Lavenza, an orphan a few years younger than Victor, whom the Frankenstein’s adopt. William, Victor’s youngest brother and the darling of the Frankenstein family, ends up being strangled by the monster in the woods outside Geneva.

The setting of the novel ranges all over Europe in the eighteenth century. The tale begins and ends in the Arctic with the explorer Robert Walton seeking a northwest passage. On his journey he first meets Victor Frankenstein and then the monster himself. The arctic atmosphere itself is a fitting symbol for the scientific journey on which Frankenstein has begun and Walton is beginning.

The conflict in the story would have to be man vs. self. Victor is apparently appalled at his own creation which could be said to be a part of him. After all, he did create the monster. One can obviously see that Victor is tearing himself apart throughout the novel due to his creation. The people that the monster killed in the story, including Elizabeth, William, Clerval, Justine, Victor's father and Victor himself, would all be alive and well if this monster had not been created. It is because of this that Victor cannot stand himself, initiating his outright depression and self-loathing. Another conflict that can be seen is the effort of the monster to extract love from his creator.  When he doesn’t receive love, he turns to murder instead.

The theme of the story is dangerous knowledge. One can understand this theme as Victor attempts to go beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life. This access would allow Victor and other scientists to create humankind. The knowledge of creationism would not only make Victor famous, but rich beyond the human imagination. Life could be prolonged and duplicated. Duplication could allow criminals to go free, while their innocent counter-parts are locked away.

There is symbolism all throughout the novel. The windows and shutters are the borderlines that the creature could not cross until the moment when he reached into Victor's life and took Elizabeth from him. Yellow is the color of evil, the monster’s eyes, and the moonlight. Lightning represents the moment of life when energy filled the monster. In the story, the lake symbolized the book’s potential. The way the lake is portrayed mimics the tone of the story. For example, it’s peaceful when Victor is young and innocent, but when Victor is depressed after hearing of William's murder and is returning home, the lake reflects his mood. "Vivid flashes of lightning dazzled my eyes, illuminating the lake, making it appear like a vast sheet of fire."

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a love for science, science fiction, and/or fantasy. I think that this specific book is geared toward upper middle and high school students. The mind-set for this story requires some level of maturity as it is necessary to understand the monster’s feelings and his need for love and acceptance. The graphic nature of the story makes me feel that it is written for an older audience. Even though young children can understand a need for love and acceptance, maturity is needed to fully comprehend why the monster acts cruelly toward those who refuse to love him.