Essays on Frankenstein

Essays on Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein frequently vacations and hikes through various natural environments where he finds peace in nature. He sees nature as a place where he can recover and finds pleasure by traveling to the same forests he used to play in as a child. Victor enjoys the fresh air and the marvelous views of the mountains. Victor Frankenstein claims, “I was capable of a more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge… The world to me was a secret that I had desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember” (Shelley, Chapter 2).

Nature frees Victor's mind from his inhuman memories which constantly haunt him. The natural environment reminds Victor of cheerful memories and continually revives him throughout the novel. Shelley believed that nature had a positive effect on individuals who took the time to enjoy the outdoors and explore the natural environment. After Victor read the letter that stated William’s death, his brother, during the time Victor is returning to Geneva to talk to his father he claims, “I contemplated the lake: the waters were placid; all around was calm, and snowy mountains the palaces of nature were not changed. By degrees the calm and heavenly scene restored me” (Shelley Chapter 7). Victor Frankenstein seems to find alleviation in the presence of the different sides of nature.

Frankenstein essay (100 words)

How can the creator make a creation that is more human than he is himself? If you are to make an animal out of clay, it seems impossible to make it more alive or have more human characteristics than yourself. Frankenstein creates his monster, which later is seen as more human than himself, as well as more realistic. Frankenstein does not mirror his own human beauty in his creation but makes him hideous to the human eye. For this reason, he is able to reject his own creation, along with everyone else. Comparing the creator to the creation, Frankenstein is less human than his monster, due to his choices and actions.

Frankenstein essay (350 words)

Frankenstein is strongly discouraged from reading into a certain type of philosophy by his father, but his decisions lead him to disregard his father's views and read all that he can. He states in his readings that “natural Philosophy is the Genius that had regulated by fate…” (Shelley, 34), which produces ideas about creating a replica of a human being. For this reason, Frankenstein does not choose to create his form of life to mirror a monster, but through his actions toward the monster, it becomes inhumane. Although many outsiders perceive a monster when they see Frankenstein’s ugly creation, they only perceive it by its outward appearance. No human being took time to give it a chance including his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein’s thoughts which occupied his mind, continued to sway him away from any ideas of his creation. He could only think about what his monster was doing, and that it always seemed to be watching him. Following this, he developed a deeper appreciation of nature which was brought into Frankenstein's life where he expressed, “I spent the following day roaming… and bade me be at peace” (Shelley, 86). Frankenstein did in fact have human characteristics since he was more human than the monster he created, but his actions expressed otherwise. The monster contemplated his existence and wanted everything that any other human wants.

When the monster first ran into the town and the people saw his hideous face, he was distraught at their reactions. No one wants to be rejected or have others running away screaming from you. As a result, the monster finds a place to hide and observe life, becoming enlightened as to how human beings live and thrive similarly to the way a parent observes their child growing up. The monster seems to go through the same stages a child would when growing up, but Frankenstein, on the other hand, seems to become unenlightened to the world around him. He rejects the thoughts of others such as his father's: which were that reading philosophy was not worth his time.

Frankenstein essay (400 words)

Frankenstein was born into love and greatness until it was corrupted. Just like Mary. Mary was born in 1797, which was the beginning of the Romantic Period in English literature. Yet, she chose more to focus on something different, the gothic component. This was the heart of her most famous novel, Frankenstein. Mary was fulfilled with ideas from her era in which she was born, along with her influences on her parents. The Enlightenment period also had an influence on Mary Shelley’s writing. These are some of the main ideas within her novel. Mary Shelley took in the ideas of the Enlightenment and transformed them into the impact she wanted her novel to have.
The major events in Frankenstein created an overview of Mary Shelley herself.
Victor Frankenstein was a young Swiss boy, who grew up in Geneva reading the works of the ancient alchemists. Mary Shelley grew up reading her mother and father's pieces. Victor learned about modern science. He became fascinated with the “secret of life.” Mary Shelley’s secret of life was to learn from each experience and change it into something useful (Powers). Mary had some similarities with Victor which is why she was so involved within her novel. Her connection with her characters in her writings allowed them to come to life. Frankenstein proceeds to kill Victor’s “youngest brother, best friend, and wife; he also indirectly causes the deaths of two other innocents, including Victor’s father” (Frankenstein). Mary Shelley had some common ground with Victor. Although Shelley did not directly kill anyone, she experienced the same amount of grief as Victor did. Shelley may believe she “killed” her father by upsetting him so much when she eloped and got pregnant. These events pertain to most of what happened in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Mary was heavily influenced by her home life growing up, her love life, and the world around her. She faced a lot of challenges in life, but she never failed to stay positive and continue writing. Her writing is what saved her in the end when she only had her child Percy left. Mary was a determined, courageous woman who went through a lot of hardships while creating the famous novel Frankenstein. She incorporated many of her own events and ideas into her novel, which allowed her to have a strong connection with it. All of Mary Shelley’s other novels expressed many of her other ideas, influences and allowed the world to know about her deep feelings.

Frankenstein essay (500 words)

Frankenstein was brought into the world as a being that was as innocent as a newborn infant. The monster had not been introduced to the harsh side of the world. Frankenstein was widely rejected in society because he was extremely different from everyone else he was surrounded by. Frankenstein was very interested in human society and interaction. Frankenstein watched a wealthy family live their lives in a hiding spot he found near the family’s cottage. Frankenstein learned to speak and even read by observing the family’s day-to-day interactions. He felt like he was a part of the family because of the long period of time he spied on the family. He was caught talking to a blind family member one day. He was immediately threatened and shunned from the home.
Frankenstein had not only been looked down upon by society and his creator, but he was also feared by a family that he thought of as his own. The constant rejections drove Frankenstein over the edge. Frankenstein was thirsty for revenge so he began to murder people that were very close to Victor.
The monster was trying to torment and get revenge on the victor. The monster murdered Elizabeth, William, and Victor’s younger brother. The murders of his loved ones filled Victor with rage and guilt. He felt that he was responsible for their deaths because he created this evil monster. Victor wanted to avenge these deaths and set things right. His main goal was to track down and remove the monster from the earth. He continuously trailed and tried to track the monster down but he was never successful. The monster even left clues for Victor. This shows how the monster and Victor dedicate their lives to one another. Whether it was good or bad, there is no denying that Victor and the monster shared a very strong bond.
One could argue that Victor is the protagonist of the novel and that Frankenstein is the antagonist, but i would personally disagree. Victor is just as responsible as the monster for all of the havoc and murder that has been caused. Victor brought the monster into the world and it was his job to care for Frankenstein. However, there is no excuse for murdering innocent people. The antagonists and protagonists in this novel are very hard to determine. The personalities of the characters change rapidly throughout the novel.
Throughout the novel, the relationship between Victor and the creature became stronger. The relationship does not get stronger in a better way, but a way that involves pure hatred. Both Victor and the monster want to get revenge on one another. Their unavoidable connection ruins both of their lives.
The monster has a desire for a family in the novel. Frankenstein asks Victor to build him a female companion so he is not lonely. Victor worked tirelessly to build the monster but he suddenly realized how dangerous it was to build the creature. He was afraid that the female monster would act just like Frankenstein and become a threat to society. Victor did not want to cause any more destruction than he had already caused.

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Elements of Gothic Literature

The gothic novel was invented almost single-handedly by Horace Walpole, whose The Castle of Otranto (1764) contains essentially all the elements that constitute the genre. Walpole’s novel was imitated not only in the eighteenth century and not only in the novel form, but it has …

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What is a Monster? Are We Monsters? Are Humans Monsters?

When we become envious of our friend’s belongings, vengeful toward those who hate, or selfish when we have plenty. Monsters strike fear within our hearts because they are giant, monstrous, ugly and uncontrollable beings. Humans strike fear in their peers because of their vengeance, race …

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A Literary Analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

This paper analyzes  the novel Frankenstein. It is subdivided into two parts. The first part is a thematic analysis of the novel and the second part is a discourse analysis of the novel. Specifically it seeks to answer the following: what are the major themes …

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Not My Best Side

How does the lanuage used create effects? The following paragraphs explore how language is used to create effects in the poem Not my Best Side by U. A. Fanthorpe, an ekphrastic poem that uses the free verse form arranged in three stanzas of nineteen lines …

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The Alternate Ending to the Monkeys Paw

The monkeys paw The old delusional lady snatched the paw away from his grasp, mumbling excitedly to herself she held the paw tight and said fiercely ‘I wish my son alive again. ’ She frequently repeated it over and over until it became a jumbled …

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How Is Chapter 5 Significant to the Noval as a Whole/ Frankenstein

How is chapter 5 significant to the novel as a whole? The significance of chapter 5 to the novel as a whole can be observed through the relevance of the writer’s use of language to describe the setting, character and what it shows about social …

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Monster Walter Dean Myers

Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is about a 16 year old Harlem boy named Steve Harmon. Steve gets tried for murder in a court of law because he supposedly was involved in the burglary/shooting of Mr. Nesbit, the convenience store clerk on December 22. Steve …

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How Does Mary Shelley Explore Suffering in Frankenstein

How does Shelley portray suffering in “Frakenstein”? Throughout the novel, suffering of not only an individual but also humanity, remains at the heart of the plot. Many critics today believe that this suffering comes from the troubled and tormented life Shelley had. For example from …

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Frankenstein: Nature vs Nurture

Twins are commonly used to study the effects of nature versus nurture. Ones immediate surroundings define who they become later on in life. The environment plays a huge role in the development of humanity through cultivating personality, character, beliefs, and many different aspects in a …

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Romantic Elements in Frankenstein and the Fall of the House of Usher

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, and Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, although published in different periods, on different continents, have in common many of the main ideas that stood behind the literary movement of Romanticism (the sublime, the Romantic …

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Revenge in Hamlet and Frankenstein

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein are both about revenge the enemy, while the two novels may seem Hamlet and Victor Frankenstein fight for the people they loved. But important contrast in the attitude of revenge, Hamlet is very confuse revenge or …

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Individualism in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is clearly a cautionary tale that spells the moral and sociological implications of the philosophy of the Enlightenment. There is a tendency to limit the theme of the novel to science, and thereby to ignore the underlying philosophy. But the scientist is …

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Frankenstein and Female Monster. Victor

Are you a made man? In Mary Shelley’s (1797-1851) Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus (1818), Victor Frankenstein creates a fiend out the dead body parts. Frankenstein, as a product of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution, is obsessed with advancing the cause of science, and …

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Who was the Real Monster? Frankenstein

The monster rose from the table. He stared at the creature whom he had created, then ran away in terror. He ran away because the monster looked nothing like anything he had ever seen before; it was monstrous and utterly terrifying. He thought it would …

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Essay On Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

In the novel Frankenstein By Mary Shelley, Shelley uses the theme of nature and weather throughout the book. Shelley uses these themes in the novel to express her message in a clear way to the readers. The impact of nature on mood is prominent all …

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Nature’s Role in Frankenstein

The writers of the Romantic period portrayed nature as a celestial source. In many Romantic works, nature’s beauty is praised with pantheistic, almost pagan, terms. To these writers, the natural world was a direct connection to god. Through appreciation for nature, one could achieve spiritual …

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Stream of consciousness for Frankenstein’s monster

One heart, was adequately strong to withstand the pain, the pressure, the grief. Inside hatred, vengeance, and long nights with only me, a candle and a bottle of wine. Alone again, you and l. Edited the way you enshrouded my companion, under your white sheets, …

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Frankenstein – the role of Safie in the novel

Written in 1816, when the writer M.Shelley was just nineteen her novel “Frankenstein”, a Sui Generis dramatized the potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. M.Shelley merges many forms of writing- the memoir, the journal, the letter novel, the picaresque to produce themes as …

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Frankenstein-Sympathy for Victor or the Monster

At the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein retells his story of how his experiment backfired and how the Monster is evil because it killed many people that were dear to Victor. At this point, the reader begins to sympathise with Victor entirely for two reasons, …

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Frankenstein: How To Read Literature Like Professor

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses symbolism and allegory to depict the actions of the main characters and what their actions truly mean. In How to Read Literature Like a professor, Thomas C. Foster asks his readers what you think a symbol stands for, Foster also …

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Blade Runner and Frankenstein: a comparison

Texts, in order to effectively convey a message, commonly reflect on social views, attitudes and contextual values. A comparison between Ridley Scott’s sci-fi thriller “Blade Runner: the Director’s Cut” and the Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel “Frankenstein” will reveal that there are elements of human …

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Frankenstein Important and Memorable Quotes

“His limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering. I never saw a man in so wretched a condition.” Letter4 Here Walton describes Frankenstein at first sight.  His body is thin and malnourished, he looks wretched, and overall is a …

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The Monster Inside Me

I had everything. Loving family, supportive friends, good grades, degree in ballet… etc. Not much, but there’s no shortage for anything. But life isn’t always perfect, especially when the monster inside you starts to show. I was at the dance studio half an hour earlier …

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Frankenstein Book Report

I. Author and Author Background 1. ) Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797, and died February 1, 1851, at the age of fifty-four. She was born into a family of literary celebrities. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and her father, William Godwin, were …

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Prometheus Unbound

In examining Asia’s speech, appearing in Act 2 of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Prometheus Unbound,’ it is evident that Shelley utilised a vast range of themes to create such a unique piece. Overall, the play draws chiefly from areas such as Philosophy, Romanticism, Mythology, Music and …

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The Ethics of Frankenstein

To say that Victor Frankenstein is an unethical person is an understatement. He totally doesn’t care about ethics. He only noticed that he was doing something very wrong only when he had already done it. If the people around Victor Frankenstein had known about what …

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The Monstrosity: a Common Trait in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Shelley’s Frankenstein

Through time, the theme of the monstrosity has been a prominent subject in many novels and plays. In the play “Macbeth,” Macbeth illustrates monstrous traits though his ambition as he strives to become the king of Scotland. Victor in Shelley’s Frankenstein also displays monstrous behaviors …

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The Downfall of Victor Frankenstein

He was cared for and loved by his parents, as Is shown when he says “They seemed to draw Inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love to bestow upon me” (Shelley 22). Victor also lived comfortably and without poverty, his parents even …

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Mary Shelley Frankenstein: Ugly Society

Frankenstein is full of horrible elements about human society. Mary Shelley shows many of the sides of human beings that are not necessarily positive attributes. She really gives a kind of critique on mankind’s judgement of others. In this novel, a major theme is that …

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Pages 3
The Tragic Hero Victor Frankenstein

Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literary theory titled Poetics. In it, he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose, and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries now. …

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Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.
Originally published

1818

Characters

Frankenstein 's monster, Victor Frankenstein , Captain Walton, Dr. Henry Clerval

Genre

Gothic novel, horror fiction, science fiction

Playwright

Mary Shelley

Page count

280

Information

Set in: England , Ireland , Italy , France, Scotland, Switzerland, Russia, Germany ; late 18th century

Frequently asked questions

What is the main message in Frankenstein essay?
Frankenstein is a novel about a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monster from dead human tissue. The monster is rejected by society and turns on its creator, leading to a series of tragic events. The novel raises questions about the nature of good and evil, and explores the idea that we are all responsible for our own actions. Frankenstein is also a cautionary tale about the dangers of science and technology.
What should I write my Frankenstein essay on?
There are a number of different potential topics that could be covered in a Frankenstein essay. One possibility is to explore the theme of ambition and its dangers, as exemplified by the character of Victor Frankenstein. Another possibility is to discuss the theme of appearance vs. reality, and how the monster is ultimately more innocent and misunderstood than he appears to be. Another possibility is to discuss the theme of nature vs. nurture, and how the monster is a product of his environment and not innately evil. Whatever topic is chosen, it is important to develop a clear thesis statement and to support it with evidence from the text.
What is the moral message of Frankenstein?
Frankenstein is a novel about the dangers of science and the potential for it to be used for evil. The novel's moral message is that science should be used for good, not for evil. The novel also warns against the dangers of playing God and creating life without understanding the consequences.
What is a good thesis statement for Frankenstein?
A thesis statement for Frankenstein could discuss the theme of nature versus nurture in the novel. For example, the Monster is born evil because of the way he is created, but he is also capable of goodness because he is able to learn and feel emotions. Another possible thesis statement could discuss the theme of rejection and abandonment. The Monster is rejected by his creator and is never able to find acceptance, leading to his eventual downfall.

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