Discuss, with reference to Frankenstein and the monster. How does Shelley present the monster? How sympathetic is the reader towards it?

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FRANKENSTEIN (The Modern Prometheus)

COURSEWORK

“Frankenstein” is a novel about what it means to be human. Discuss, with reference to Frankenstein and the monster. How does Shelley present the monster? How sympathetic is the reader towards it?

 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in 1797 in London and died in 1851 aged 54. Her mother was a feminist and died giving birth to her. She was then brought up by her father (the philosopher William Godwin) and her stepmother who despised her. Her stepsister was very depressed and later committed suicide and there was also a stepbrother and half-brother in the family. Mary would often get away from her surrounding and read by the side of her mother’s tomb. Then in 1812 she met Percy Bysshe Shelley who was only twenty-one years old but was already married but was unhappy with it. The two fell in love and then got married. They then moved abroad to Italy and had four children but only one lived very long. But then in 1822, Shelley drowned aged just thirty.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” or “The Modern Prometheus” in 1818 when she was just 18 years old. She wrote “Frankenstein” as a response challenge to see who could come up with the most horrific story. The challenge was between her and her husband Percy. Mary and Percy where visiting Byron in Switzerland when they decided to set a challenge, to create a horror story. Mary won the challenge. It is astonishing that someone aged only 18 years old can write a book of this nature. When Shelley wrote this novel the world was discovering new things daily, so I think her writings where very relevant and justified to the time.

Many scientists and explorers in the nineteenth century where trying to trying to discover new ideas and explore new places of the world. Such pursuits as Frankenstein’s where justified at the time because many people were attempting to make new discoveries in science such as natural philosophy and physics. Mary Shelley said “Frankenstein” was named after the American Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Benjamin Franklin was the founder of electricity as he used a kite to demonstrate the power of electricity during a storm. Although electricity is a natural occurrence Franklin could have founded it as he was the first person to use it power.

“Frankenstein” style is gothic and also romantic. “Frankenstein” is a gothic novel because it evokes horror in the reader and it also shows the dark side of human nature. It is the gothic science fiction genre. The style of gothic was becoming very popular at the time that this novel was written. A lot of people wanted to read gothic novels at this time so this maybe one of the reasons why “Frankenstein” was so successful. “Frankenstein” is also in the romantic genre. This genre was also very popular in the eighteenth century and nineteenth century. I think that because “Frankenstein” is in these genres it contributed to its huge success. The novel has achieved worldwide fame. It is still in print as it recently sold over quarter of a million copies in the paperback edition.

“Frankenstein” is a story about a doctor whose brilliant mind gets the better of him. It is one of the first and certainly most enduring Gothic novels of the English literary tradition. It allows the reader to hear the story not only from the viewpoint of the tragic Dr. Frankenstein, but also from that of his listener, Captain Walton, who has gone through similar fascinations in science. Victor Frankenstein is a doctor who seems discontent and achieves satisfaction by exploring the supernatural. Frankenstein is compared to Prometheus, as he thought his creation would benefit the human race. Prometheus was “the friend and benefactor of humanity”. This is a typical example of "hubris", where a character is doomed because he disobeys his limits and steps up against the authority. The mythological Prometheus rebelled against the Gods when he gave fire to humankind and Frankenstein is a rebel against nature when he tries not only to find the secret of life but also to remove life's imperfection. He tries to achieve human perfection.

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The novel has a unique structure as it has three narrative voices. These three narrative voices are Robert Walton, Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster. There are contradicting points of view that are expressed in the novel from Frankenstein and the Monster, whereas Walton's frame narrative basically supports Victor Frankenstein's point of view. Therefore the value of Mary Shelley's novel doesn’t present a clear moral but it is encouraging the reader to make up their own.

’s life story is at the heart of “Frankenstein”. He is a young Swiss boy and he grows up in Geneva reading the works ...

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