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Walton And Frankenstein Comparison

Decent Essays

Joy Koo
Mrs. Jacobs
Honors British Literature
11/6/14
Option 1 Essay The structure of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley makes a great difference for the readers. Frankenstein is a novel that follows the story of Victor who creates a monster, which is eventually abandoned. It then follows the story of the lonely creature and its life with the cottagers. Also in the novel is Robert Walton is a man who nurses Victor Frankenstein back to help and listens to the story of the creation of the creature. The different points of views help contribute to the overall effect of Frankenstein and lets the readers understand the characters on a deeper level. With the various points of views, the similarities between Victor, the creature, and Robert …show more content…

Rather than having just one narrator, having multiple lets us feel more for each of them. While Victor was creating his creature he admitted that his “enthusiasm was checked by [his] anxiety” (54). This was just one of many times where Victor expressed his unhealthiness, both physically and mentally. If it were, for example, narrated by Robert Walton or the creature, the readers wouldn’t be able to see Victor’s struggles when creating, and thus the struggle for glory. The readers are able to understand Victor’s deepest thoughts, which in this case is excessive greed for glory, and decipher what their feelings are to him. Most can say that he is frustrating and agitating and there is a definite opinion towards him. Without his point of view, it would be impossible to form such a strong opinion about him. For Robert Walton, the readers can form a sense of respect. He learned what is limits were and gave up, which took courage. In the case for the monster, when he is narrating his time with the cottagers he says that he “longed to join them” (109). He’s expressed his longing to be human and his loneliness many times when he is narrating. Without this segment in the book, there would be no feelings of empathy and pity for the creature. If Victor had narrated this part instead of the creature, it would be biased and the readers would feel the same way Victor does towards the creature-hatred and disgust. These three narrators are crucial to this novel in order for the readers to fully understand

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