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
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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
Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton’s creation holds the intention to make them almost the exact same person. Both men search for fame, yet refer to it as a, “quest for knowledge.” Unfortunately the need for fame leads to an over-dedication to research, obsessive tendencies, and injuring those who surround the men. Walton speaks of his ongoing journey to Frankenstein and says he would, “...sacrifice [his] fortune, [his] existence, [ his] every hope to the furtherance of [his] enterprise. One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of knowledge which [he] sought…”(22) Also, Frankenstein admits his studies took priority when he says, “my cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement… [it] caused me to forget those friends who were so many miles absent”(44) While Walton chose his expedition over his crew, Frankenstein chose his creature over himself and his family. Frankenstein’s decisions ruin his life, and if Walton kept his expedition on the intended course he would have an extremely high chance of ruining his life as well. The men’s similarities help the reader understand Walton truly does have the potential to destroy his life just like Frankenstein does. If not for Frankenstein’s cautionary tale Walton would have continued on even if it meant the potential danger of running into many more complications. Shelley decides to make the men extremely similar to let the few differences between them shine
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein published in 1818, was the crucial influence of the 1994 Frankenstein movie directed by Kenneth Branagh. Kenneth was extremely successful and had a lot of ambition to portray the real horror image Shelley wrote about in her novel. Before the 1994 movie, there were numerous vague interpretations based on the novel. I believe the 1994 film's intent to be the most relative to the novel than any other film produced. The movie did a considerable job following the schematics of the novel. Although the film's storyline is similar, there are varying scenarios within the movie, and this makes a difference towards the plot. To begin, the novel starts off with Robert Walton writing to his beloved sister about his
The quest of power can change the way a person perceives things in life. It can completely change and influence the way someone behaves and their faculty on life. Power can lead to corruption of the mind and insanity in the wrong hands. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, there was a character that had desired power and knowledge but had taken his curiosity too far in an attempt to change the world. He had created something that he would regret forever. There are many characters that seek to free themselves from the power of others and desire to gain power over others. Shelley uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of work on those certain people with their determination. A great amount of strength and power of a person can lead to thoughts
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’ written in 1817, the author of the novel, Mary Shelley, uses narrative structure to engage and focus readers. She effectively uses an epistolary style of frame narrative and tells the story from three different perspectives in order to maintain interest in readers.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, an epistolary novel that structure a diverse narration enable through letters and dialogue. During the story, he author goes back and forth from writing from Victor’s point of view and other character’s perspective in the letters. The diction used to capture the feeling of abandonment, sorrow, and loss of identity that the monster felt. Victor also endured the feeling of sorrow because the very thing he created destroyed his entire family. The diction allowed the audience to connect to the characters, feel the pain and agony one’s faces after making a wrong decision that affects the rest of one’s life.
I believe that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein starting with the letters of Robert Walton because she wanted to allow the story to have reliable character who would be able to guide the audience through the experiences of Victor. Walton is constantly writing to his sister complaining of loneliness and his desire for "the company of a man who could sympathize with him", showing his wish for connection from both his sister and those around him. The letters serve as a huge, almost shocking difference between the stories of Victor and his Creature, who have never quite been able to master the art of communication. In Victor's case, he rarely replies to the emotional letters he receives from his family, completely forgetting about the letters to
Life can be approached by different people, different ways especially in the novel Frankenstein it has different approaches towards life. This gets you thinking how you approach life how do you really cope with feelings that get thrown at you in life. “Mary Shelley was daughter of two philosophers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin”(Lunsford, pg 147). Which may have influenced Marry to write so many novels, articles and this book, a story that captivated so many people by making a connection about life and how the characters interactions with life and their feelings that each one felt.
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the story starts off with Robert Walton writing to his sister about his big journey to the North pole and his extreme doubts of being able to achieve his journey . In letter 1 he explain to her he is determined to go through this journey to get to the north pole but does doubt himself being able to make it he explain to her “My hopes fluctuate , and my spirits are often depressed . I am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage , the emergencies of which will demand all fortitude : I am not only to raise the spirits of others , but sometimes to sustain my own , when theirs are falling”(Shelley 3) . Robert clearly knows that during this journey he cannot let his doubt stop him from going and even when he
The novel Frankenstein is written by author Mary Shelley which begins with the journey of Captain Walton, who is the narrator in the first segment of the story. As a captain, he is traveling towards the North Pole for his research when he rescues Victor Frankenstein who seems to be in frozen condition. Luckily, he finds a great companion for rest of the journey. In the text, Victor creates a monster and be his mother. The novel is divided into portions where Victor narrates his life from his birth to the story of his creation and the creation backfiring his entire life. Victor eliminates the reproductive need for a female mate for himself as he creates a life on his own. He initiates a sensational life by forming a living being with the help
Many have heard of and read the classic novel Frankenstein in high school or maybe just for pleasure reading. Shelley was influenced to write Frankenstein by a discussion about the nature of life and the possibility of creating a creature between her husband and Lord Byron. Shelley used this idea to write a story for a ghost story contest. Frankenstein is full of themes in the novel shown in the character’s lives. Shelley uses the themes of appearances, communication, and secrecy throughout the novel.
Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly, is a fiction novel that talks about a story between a monster and its creator, Victor Frankenstein. The book discusses not only the human nature, but also many kinds of relationships among human beings, such as friendship and parent-child relationship. The monster is born to be neither good nor evil, and he is only a victim of Victor Frankenstein. The novel begins with four letters, which are all written by Robert Walton and are all to Robert’s sister, Margaret Saville.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley combines three separate stories involving three different characters--Walton, Victor, and Frankenstein's monster. Though the reader is hearing the stories through Walton's perspective, Walton strives for accuracy in relating the details, as he says, "I have resolved every night,...to record, as nearly as possible in his [Victor's] own words, what he has related during the day" (Shelley 37). Shelley's shift in point of view allows for direct comparison and contrast between the characters, as the reader hears their stories through the use of first person. As the reader compares the monster's circumstances to those of Victor and Walton, the reader's
*Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is a fiction novel published in 1818. Frankenstein illustrates the story of Victor Frankenstein creating a human being out of dead body parts. When Victor creates the monster, the monster goes against Victor’s wishes and expectations by demanding a companion. If Victor doesn’t follow the monster’s orders, the monster will murder Victor’s whole family. Frankenstein doesn’t heed to the normal, standard expectations of literature. Shelley’s intelligence goes beyond the ordinary by expanding her horizon on the capacity of humans. Shelley gives a human the qualifications to create life of which literature hasn’t expanded upon.
Shelley switches the point of view just a few times throughout the story but, the change helped the reader connect with the characters more. She also used a lot of imagery throughout the novel, which increase the attentiveness of the reader. The beginning of the novel contains letters 1-4 between Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Alphonse Frankenstein. The letters shift between first person and third person point of view, depending on if Victor is reading or if he is writing the letter. Shelley’s protagonist is Victor Frankenstein, he is the narrator of the story for the most part. Victor is very fascinated with life and science, when he combines the two his life takes a turn. Victor creates a monster, who becomes upset with
The novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is a classic monster story that endures in many different aspects. The main characters in the novel are Victor Frankenstein and his monster that goes by the name of Frankenstein. Frankenstein is a classic novel that is not only a gothic tale but a story of revenge and destruction. Throughout the novel we see the two main characters endure in many different ways.