Frankenstein Ap Lit Analysis Essay

Frankenstein Lit Analysis Rough Draft Since the beginning of time, Man has always pursued knowledge, but this pursuit is always kept within certain boundaries, especially while searching for the truths behind the creation and origin of life. As this quest for knowledge continues, men can become consumed with the perilous thoughts and ponderings required to attain this wisdom. In her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explains how the pursuit of forbidden knowledge can become dangerous through symbolism, allusion, and foreshadowing proving each effectively to the reader. Employing symbolism as her first technique, Shelley uses this in the way many other enlightenment authors do. The strongest use of symbolism is prevalent while Victor is contemplating

Shelley uses words such as “fate” and “omen” throughout the novel to hint at the multiple tragic events to come. Robert Walton first foreshadows Victor’s passing in one letter to his sister when he states “One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought” (13). In the concluding paragraphs of the story, Victor dies soon after he informs Walton of his accounts of the details of his pursuit of knowledge relating to the creation of monster. When telling Walton of his and Henry Clerval’s journey throughout England, Victor constantly uses the past tense to describe Clerval, ultimately foreshadowing his death. Victor states “you, my friend, would be far more amused with the journal of Clerval, who observed the scenery with an eye of feeling and delight” (113). By utilizing the past tense the reader gains a sense that Clerval will eventually perish, which finally happens when the monster retaliates to Victor’s denial of creating a mate for him. Lastly, Victor dreams that “I felt the fiend’s grasp in my neck, and could not free myself from it” (136). Although the monster never kills Victor, Shelley implements this nightmare to foreshadow Victor’s eventual death. These three instances, all foreshadow that through Victor’s curiosity of the forbidden knowledge of creating life,