‘Frankenstein’ was written around 1816 in a Swiss, mountain chalet. The novel arise when lord Byron and Percy Shelley decided to write a horror novel, but Mary Shelley decided to have ago her self, the thing was Mary Shelley’s novel, ‘Frankenstein’ won, beating both well known writers Byron and Percy. Weeks later Mary began to write her short horror story in to a fully written novel not to her knowing what her novel would arise to, becoming one of the most well known horror novels of all time.
After reading chapter 4 of ‘Frankenstein’ I have noticed that Mary’s use of language is that of someone (this someone being Dr. Frankenstein) telling someone else there story, discussing what has happened to this person in chronological order and describing what has happened to his life. Mary Shelley uses a good sentence structure, this being a flowing type, meaning that she uses many commas instead of full stops, making the sentences last longer making short and snappy phrases and making you keep reading just to get to the end of the sentence. Other literary devices that Mary Shelley uses to make a good horror effect are things like metaphors and similes making you read more into the text, to get a clear understanding of the novel, for example; ‘Darkness had no effect upon my fancy; and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life, which, from being the seat of beauty and strength, had become food for the worm’. This is a metaphor because there is no such thing as a ‘seat of beauty and strength’, this phrases has been used as a comparison of life.
In chapter five, Dr. Frankenstein realises the last few years of his life has been wasted, trying to create something humans should not tamper with, discovering that only God should have the right to create life, this is a factor of ‘romanticism’ one of Mary Shelley’s beliefs.
When the creature awakes Dr. Frankenstein is amazed that he has created life, but, after awhile the reality of it sets in, he has created a monster, nothing more nothing less. I can tell this from the text, ‘by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe,’ the night after this ‘catastrophe’ Dr. Frankenstein has a dream, in what, he sees Elizabeth his sister, at the delight of seeing her, he holds her, but on the first kiss, Elizabeth turns into victors dead mother, when victor awakes he sees his creation out side staring at him. In this chapter, Mary Shelley creates an extremely good atmosphere, by missing some details and skipping time.
The final, but what I believe is the best chapter we looked at was chapter nine. In this chapter, Dr. Frankenstein and his monster meet up in a mountain cave. Dr. Frankenstein is amazed that his creation can talk and listen, but most of all understand. Mary Shelley tries to create sympathy for Dr. Frankenstein’s monster via, curtain text, such as, ‘ you must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being.’ In this phrase all the Creation is asking for is a female so that he and she may live happily ever after, which isn’t much to ask for. This brings Dr. Frankenstein a dilemma, this being that he makes the creation a female friend and gets rid of the creation altogether, or doesn’t and has to lives with his mistakes forever.
The greatest part from this chapter is the dialogue between victor and his creation, how they will have half a conversation then it will go into what victor is thinking then go back to the dialogue again.
After taking all this information, from the past to pages, I have found an answer to the question, ‘who is the real monster, Dr. Frankenstein or his creation’? The answer being, Dr. Frankenstein, I believe this because his creation doesn’t decide what he will look like or if he’ll be loved, Dr. Frankenstein dose this, by choosing his body parts and rejecting him as a ‘child’ as to put it.
