In Chapter Twelve the impression I get of the monster is of him being intelligent. I think this because when he was created he had no knowledge of language at all, but quickly picks up words and what they mean just by observing the family. 'I learned and applied the words fire, milk, bread and wood.' He is also compassionate, because he helps the family by collecting fire wood for them. Also when the monster says. 'I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity.' Show that the monster is insecure, he is also hoping for a better future. 'imagined that they were discussed, until, by my gentle demeanour and conciliating words, I should first win their favour and afterwards their love.' it shows this because he wants to live with the family and wants to be loved therefore having a better life than he does now. My response to the monster has changed, rather than a wretch I now feel sorry for the monster and am more sympathetic towards him. I think this because of a change In narrative standpoint, the monster is narrating instead of Frankenstein. The language is different in chapter five when describing the monster than in chapter twelve. In chapter five the monster is described as a 'wretch', 'catastrophe' and a 'demoniacal corpse'. which is very negative. But in chapter twelve the language is more positive with words like 'good spirit' and 'wonderful'. I think that Mary Shelley decided to start chapter five 'on a dreary night in November'. Because the winter time is a time for cold and death and this reflects the atmosphere of the scene and a bad time for the monster. She ended chapter twelve in 'the genial warmth of spring'. Because spring is a time of new beginning, hope and optimism for the year to come. This is reflected in the monsters life and is hoping to gain the friendship of the family that he has been watching and is probably the happiest time in the monster's life.
Winter is a negative time for the monster because the family he has been watching, helping and hoping to eventually gain friendship from have rejected him. All of his hopes are dashed. As a consequence instead of the love he was longing to feel, he experiences hatred and violence instead. At this point of the story I feel sympathy for the monster and am quite angry to society's reaction he is judged by his appearance rather than his personality. I can understand why Felix reacts how he does lets just look from his point of view. He walks into the house and sees a huge man at his father's knees and instinctively feels that his father is being threatened and in grave danger. So it was just natural to protect him.
In Chapter Sixteen the monster's behaviour changes quite a bit. At the start of the chapter the monster is angry after being rejected by the family. 'my feelings were those of rage and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and it's inhabitants.' He also began to despise man. 'from that moment on I declared everlasting war against the species.' Then his behaviour changed again and was being cheered up by the spring weather. 'the day, which was one of the first in spring, cheered even me by the loveliness of its sunshine and the balminess of its air. Then he saved a young girl from drowning in a stream only to be shot as a reward. For the monster this was the last straw as he. 'vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.' At this stage of the story I do feel sympathy for the monster. He managed to get over the sadness and the hatred after being rejected by the family. He actually saved a human being's life and In return he gets shot because of the human's inability to see past his physical appearance. But after the monster kills the child on page 137 I feel that from all the trauma he has gone through it has turned him into a mindless killer. 'I gazed upon my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph: clapping my hands I exclaimed,' I too can create desolation.'
The reasons Frankenstein decided not to create a mate for the monster are varied firstly he thinks she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate and delight for its own sake in murder and wretchedness, secondly they might hate each other. Thirdly she had not sworn to leave for the deserts as he had. Even if they did leave they might have children and a race of devils would fall upon earth and could make the very existence of man a living nightmare. He is not prepared to take any risks. Frankenstein's decision to destroy the monster's female companion could be perceived in one of two ways. You could either think that it was a sensible decision to make because like when he created the monster before he won't have a clue how it could turn out and he is risking his or his companions life in the process. Or you could think that Frankenstein is being cruel and heartless because he is depriving the monster of his only chance of happiness in life. On balance I believe it was a sensible decision to make because he could be jeopardising the future lives of men. My response to the character of Frankenstein at this stage of the story is that he is a scientist at the frontiers of human knowledge but is dominated by a huge ego. I think that the monster says to Frankenstein 'I shall be there on your wedding night.' because Frankenstein has denied the monster his wedding so the monster will be there on Frankenstein's wedding night to ruin the happiest day of his life.
Frankenstein is wrong to think that he is the monster's victim. He has made a serious misjudgement. The monster has had his female companion destroyed so in revenge the monster destroys Frankenstein's wife Elisabeth. This is an horrific symmetry in events. This shows that Frankenstein only thinks about himself and is self-centred and egotistical.
At the end of the novel I feel more sympathy for the monster than Frankenstein. This is because all of the misery and despair he has suffered he has brought upon himself. But in the case of the monster he was brought into this world and has had no choice in the matter. His whole existence has been one of rejection. Rejection from his father, the family and the whole of mankind and the only chance of him being happy in his life was taken away from him by his own father. I don't agree with Frankenstein's assessment of the monster that. 'He's soul is as hellish as his form, full of treachery and fiendlike malice' I would interpret him as intelligent, misunderstood and vulnerable. Giving the monster a name would give him an identity and therefore wouldn't have the same scary, mysterious effect on the reader. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818. I think that the book still appeals to a modern audience because prejudice still exists in our society so it's a universal theme. It deals with the danger of scientific advance which is still an issue today for example, genetically modified foods or human cloning. It is a well-written horror story. Horror is still a very popular genre in literature and film with the recent, 'Goosebumps' series for children and popular horror films like the 'Halloween' films and 'Hellraiser'.
