Frankenstein Literary Devices

Janel Dawson

Professor Gilmore

ENGL200

9 April 2023

Short Analytic Paper #2 No matter the medium in which a story is presented, the literary devices that it employs are still noticeable. Whether it be comic books, picture books, a classic novel, or more, these works typically rely on machines to convey most of the work. ‘My Favorite Thing Is Monsters’ is a story in young Karen’s notebook. It is told and meant to be read through in a comic-like manner making the devices it uses to tell this story tricker to point out. However, upon deep readings and discussions, these devices become easier to detect and connect to the story’s central conflict. Emil Ferris consistently includes comic covers to convey the stationary versus temporary

The book itself begins with Karen portrayed as a transforming werewolf that the Mean, Ordinary, and Boring are attacking. This is one of the first instances where monsters are introduced in the book. Throughout the novel, Karen is portrayed as a half monster half girl until Deeze forces her to see her true girl self. Karen even imagines some of her friends as monsters by drawing out their features to be more dramatic. For instance, the way that Karen pictures Franklin throughout the novel makes him appear as a reimagined Frankenstein. Sandy is also illustrated in this manner as she seems to look like a ghost. Karen even describes Sandy as “skin and bones!” and frequently notes her desire for candy. Outside of the characters pictured in Karen’s monster view, there are many instances in which Karen is seen calling on the monsters to bite her. Even though Karen imagines herself as a half-monster werewolf girl already, deep down, Karen knows that she is not truly a monster and will one day succumb to the M.O.B. unless a true monster bites her. Through the reading, I imagined that Karen believed in these monsters in the way that religious people believe in a God or Gods. At the beginning of the book, when Karen asks for the monsters to bite her, it is for her own sake. However, when Karen’s mother is dying, she asks for the monsters to bite her so that she can bite Deeze and her mom so that they can live forever. Karen goes so far as to blame the monsters for her mother’s death by saying, “You didn’t want me and my mama in your ‘club’ and now she’s dead… You’re going to have to answer for that…”. Therefore, this theme of monsters relate to how Karen’s monster view projects onto the people she interacts with, how she handles human interactions, her self-image, and circumstances like her mother’s