Comparison of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelly to ‘The Doom Stone’ by Paul Zindel
Frankenstein's creation, having shown such anguish, must be understood to be more of a heroic creature, rather than a "wretched monster" as Victor continues to call it. The creature has been placed into a cold world, with monstrous features; however, a soul is not given to a creature through science. Calling this creature a monster is unacceptable, for the only thing which separates him from the rest of humankind is the fact that he is extremely tall and unattractive-even hideous. Such is the way Victor views his creation. Because it has such repulsing features, Victor believes that it also has inherent malice and is thus a monster. Victor is supposed to be the hero; the great scientist that creates new life from the dead-and he is a great scientist. But the true hero is his creature. For his creature overcomes the hardships of life on its own. One must imagine abandoning an infant. This infant, Frankenstein's creation, has developed the social skills that it must live by. How can one be shunned for not knowing better? Victor Frankenstein definitely knew better. He did grow up in a household; he had friendship, education, love, and values. However, he deviates from these values, for nobody would just abandon an infant as he did. Therefore, it is Victor who displays the more monstrous behavior and it is his creature who, although it did murder, has dominant heroic traits. For although these murders were committed, the driving force, and the explanations lie within society. The society of which Victor's creation was not permitted to be a part.
In the creature's account of his loneliness and fear, it becomes evident, that this being, although not human, is humane. He is left alone, to survive in a desolate state of anguish; to overcome and integrate into a society which he does not yet understand. He is astonished by the "cottagers" who he observes so diligently, attempting to learn from them as much as possible, "... [knowledge] clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock." More and more must the reader have sympathy with this poor, innocent creature, for " of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends...I was endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man"(85). How can he be expected to know the difference between right and wrong; good and evil?
In today's modern society, children are accustomed to the norms and values of life through their parents. Well, should this creature be held accountable for his actions, as such, having not 'grown up?' Should he be viewed as a little child who does not know better yet? It must be so, for it was not this individual's fault for having been left out of society. For all it's worth, he did try to learn; he did try to become more human; he did try to understand. But, nobody would allow him to "integrate". The closest he gets to ...
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In today's modern society, children are accustomed to the norms and values of life through their parents. Well, should this creature be held accountable for his actions, as such, having not 'grown up?' Should he be viewed as a little child who does not know better yet? It must be so, for it was not this individual's fault for having been left out of society. For all it's worth, he did try to learn; he did try to become more human; he did try to understand. But, nobody would allow him to "integrate". The closest he gets to this notion of "friendship" is the observation of the cottagers, whom he admires greatly. It is the longing for childhood, for companionship and for understanding, which leads this "wretch" to act in the evil ways he portrays. "Other lessons were impressed upon me even more deeply. I heard of the difference of sexes; and the birth and growth of children; how the father doted on the smiles of the infant, and the lively sallies of the older child; how all the life and cares of the mother were wrapped up in the precious charge; how the mind of youth expanded and gained knowledge; of brother, sister, and all the various relationships which binded one human being to another..."(86). "But where are my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses"(86). And he has no mate. He longs for someone to be there for him, someone "...whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being"(104). This creature needs another being who does not shun him or hate him for what he looks like. For, he is only a monster in the sense of appearance.
Victor's dismay and ensuing illness show his internalization of the fact that maybe he is a "monster" of sorts as well. He cannot escape from the continual mental horror of the realization that he is "the author of unalterable evils"(62). "I lived, " he says, " in daily fear lest the monster whom I had created should perpetrate some new wickedness"(61). He has a strong intuition that the creature will indeed commit additional "monstrosities." Victor reflects on all that has happened and realizes that because of his "crimes and malice...hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation"(75). It is in this passage that one clearly understands that Victor sees absolutely no good in the "monster." Rather than looking forward to meeting the monster and having a conversation with it, Victor is prepared to murder his creation. Moreover, it is when Victor is confronted by his creation in the mountains that one can see who the true monster is. Victor screams addressing it as "evil" and as a "vile insect"(68).
At this point, the monster utterly surprises the reader. Surprisingly, the creature does not savagely strike Victor, nor does he react with hate; instead he answers Victor in a philosophical sense: " All men hate the wretched; how then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living thing! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by the ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us...Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind" (68). He continues to discern that even his creator despises him. "How can I move thee? Will no intreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion?...I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me..."(69). Victor's creation engages a powerful argument in this passage. Could it be that this creature displays traits of heroism-even humane characteristics?
Although the creature was not 'born' and raised to understand society, he is formed by society. It is the society which he experiences that drives him to be the monster he is portrayed as. "...It is in your power to recompense me...let your compassions be moved, and do not disdain me. Listen to my talk: when you have heard that, abandon or commiserate me, as you shall judge that I deserve. But hear me"(69). He even alludes to the monstrous character his creator has when he states that, "You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature"(69). One clearly can see the metamorphosis Frankenstein is going through, especially when he "slips" and openly acknowledge that he is no better than his creature, for he sees the monster to belong to "... circumstances, of which I shudder to reflect, that I have been the miserable origin and author...cursed be the day, abhorred devil, in which you first saw light! Cursed (although I curse myself) be the hands that formed you. You have made me wretched beyond expression. You have left me no power to consider whether I am just to you, or not"(70).
"His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriance's only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes...his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips"(35). This is the description Victor Frankenstein gives of his hideous creation-his monster.
Plot:
'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelly was first published In 1818 and it has always been a best seller. This classic tale is about what happens when a medical doctor stitches together body parts from various corpses and re-animates it! Frankenstein disowns his creation because he thinks it's abnormal. It's just a newborn, however, and needs to be taught like any other newborn. Spying on a young family, he learns to read and write along with the children. Then realising Frankenstein has wronged him, he returns to wreak havoc on the doctor's life. Being frighteningly intelligent and stronger than a normal human, the monster creates a nightmare for Frankenstein.
End:
Victor Frankenstein created the nameless monster in Mary Shelly's novel. The hideous creature was Frankenstein's masterpiece until he turned evil because Victor refused to nurture him. The creature took revenge on Frankenstein for creating him by killing Victor's wife and brother. During the monsters adventures he traveled far and met a family he wanted to be a part of. The father of the family was blind therefore he took a liking to the monster, but as soon as his children saw the monster, they put a stop to his visits. Towards the end of the monsters life Frankenstein lured the monster to the North Pole where the both perished and were never seen again.
The Doom Stone.
'The Doom Stone' by Paul Zindel is a relatively recent book first published in 1996. Its plot is typical of a horror story. After 19 years of peace, a deadly predator has once again begun terrorising the plain on which Stonehenge lies. A visiting American, 15-year-old Jackson Cawley, is abruptly plunged into the hunt to find it before it kills again. The key to the power of the beast half human, half ape is in the ancient Doom Stone of Stonehenge, and Jackson must discover the secret and destroy the beast before it kills again. In the end Jackson Teaming up with Alma, a pretty, young girl who lives near the site, Jackson has several terrible encounters with the monster, solves the riddle of the doom stone that controls the creature, and discovers a clan of subterranean-dwelling creatures that are somehow linked to the monster.
Fifteen-year-old Jackson Cauley joins his aunt, an anthropologist, in England to seek out a vicious half-human predator roaming the plains near Stonehenge, where Jackson and a girl named Alma track the beast to its labyrinthine lair.
Driving past Stonehenge on his way to visit his anthropologist aunt, 15-year-old Jackson sees a creature mauling a young man. It turns out that his aunt is leading a team of scientists and military personnel who are investigating a series of mutilations in the area. The creature, an intelligent but bloodthirsty hominid, kills several people, leading Jackson on a hunt for the beast before it kills again
Jackson is thrilled to be visiting his aunt Sarah at her latest archaeological dig near Stonehenge. But before he even arrives at the site, he witnesses a brutal attack on a young man. Later that night, his aunt is attacked by the creature, and its "saliva" invades her body, creating a bizarre linkage that lets the creature control her mind and gain her knowledge. Teaming up with Alma, a pretty, young girl who lives near the site, Jackson has several terrible encounters with the monster, solves the riddle of the doom stone that controls the creature, and discovers a clan of subterranean-dwelling creatures that are somehow linked to the monster.
