Bryan Yu

Waldron
AP Literature
17 August 2016
Frankenstein

Mary Shelley prefaces with "The event on which this fiction is founded has be
supposed...as not of impossible occurrence. This statement immediately sets the
mood and frightens the reader. The book now starts with a sense of mystery.
Dr. Darwin- surprised, confused
Victor starts off his story with an ideal description of his upbringing and
family background, believing his family is one of the "most distinguished in the
republic" (29). He paints a picture of happiness and prosperity. As you keep reading,
however, the reader realizes this description in the early chapters is foreshadows
the destruction that will soon ensue. Frankenstein even notes in the end of Chapter
2 that Destiny's "immutable had decreed my utter and terrible destruction" (44).
Shelley utilizes a simile in Chapter 4, comparing how "No one can conceive
the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first
enthusiasm of success" (61). By comparing her motivating feelings to a hurricane,
Mary Shelley is able emphasize the magnitude and sheer strength of those feelings.
Victor's unwillingness to admit fault for the death of his family members and
explain the truth teaches lessons about the consequences of secrecy. The internal
dilemma and suffering Victor is under is due to not telling his family that he created
the monster. If only Victor could not be afraid and lower his self-pride and admit his
wrong doing, the unjust prosecution of Justine could have been prevented. Victor's

inner turmoil can be seen to cause his eventual depression and demise. It has
become apparent that Mary Shelley purposefully crafts beautiful and quaint scenery
to help Victor escape his nightmares and sadness. For instance, after the death of
Justine, as "a weight of despair and remorse pressed on [Victor's] heart..." (112).
However, the serenity of the nature would "close over [him] and [his] calamities
forever..." (115).
Considering the book is already a flashback, Shelley continues to use frame stories
to advance the plot. In addition she also incorporates letters into the story. The
author utilizes these techniques to make the ghost story seem more believable and
authentic.
At the end of Chapter 10, the narration now switches from Victor's to the monster's
perspective, as the "[monster] thus began his tale" (130).
The monster alludes to Paradise Lost by comparing himself to Adam as well
as Satan, perceiving himself "like Adam... united by no link to any other being in
existence" (170). Later on, the monster asks for a female companion, paralleling
Adam's request for a female partner. Not only is the allusion between Adam and the
monster, it's also between Satan and the monster. After finishing his comparison to
Adam, the monster goes on to consider "Satan as the fitter emblem of [his]
condition..." (170).
It was shocking to find how easy it was to convince Victor to create a
companion of the monster. When Victor first saw his creation, he was completely
horrified and filled with an immense amount after the monster killed his closest
family members. It puzzles me how Victor was able to overcome this grief and
anger towards the monster so easily and feel so sympathetic that he would agree to
create a second creature he so feared.

A reoccurring pattern is that Victor falls ill immediately after a encounter with
the monster. This may prove the deterioration of his physical and even physiological
health.
The monster's last words "I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an
abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on" (301) are quite profound.
These words are a cry of desperation, revealing the monster's feelings of neglect
and loneness. His cry is targeted is at society and how throughout the whole novel
he was never accepted into society. This quote gives the reader insight on the
motivations behind the monster's killings.
The ending of Frankenstein comes back full circle, as the story is back on the ship,
where it originally started. The end of the novel signaled the end of Victor's agony
and suffering. Throughout the whole novel, Victor watched his family and closest
friends be murdered one after the other, the whole time feeling responsible for their
deaths. He was unable to talk to someone about how he felt, as he couldn't reveal
his secret. The death of his last closest companion, his father, was the last thing
Victor had. The death of the monster ended Victor's torment.
Robert Colton and monster comparison