Reading Notes Chapter 5 • Frankenstein succeeded in bringing the creature to life • Pg. 43 “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…” – Frankenstein describes the appearance of the creature • Frankenstein becomes scared of what he created and immediately regrets what he did, and runs out of his apartment • While outside he runs into his best friend Henry Clerval, who had come to enroll at the university • They return back to the apartment to find the creature gone, Frankenstein is relieved and overjoyed hat it is gone and falls down. Henry nurses him back to health pg. 47 – Frankenstein asking for help • Henry urges Frankenstein
Mary Shelley lived during 1813, a time filled with many societal problems, including familial abandonment, violence, the French Revolution, and incredible gender discrepancies. Consequently, her first novel, Frankenstein, was rife with these issues, as Shelley took a stand for what she believed in. The novel predominantly focuses on women’s subordination and how unjust society as a whole was to the female gender. This injustice is most notably represented in the comparison of Safie and the Creature, for even though Safie is present in just three chapters of the novel, her impact is immense. This parallel between characters can be clearly seen as both Safie and the Creature share their “other” backgrounds, their motivations, and their learning
Ray Comfort once said, “Rhetoric, which is the use of language to inform or persuade, is very important in shaping public opinion. We are easily fooled by language and how it is used by others”. Comfort explained what rhetoric is and what it is used for, to inform or persuade the public opinion. In the Gothic novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, rhetoric is used both to inform and persuade in hopes of shaping the public’s opinion. Victor Frankenstein informs the general public of the Creature's actions, while the Creature persuades the readers that he is not as bad as everyone made him out to be.
In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s diction delineates a vivid description of the creature’s characteristics, hence evoking suspense and agitation in the audience. The horrid description of the creature endorses an unsettling feeling in the reader due to the negative connotation employed by the diction selected. For instances, victor emphasizes the creature’s physical appearance by stating “yellow skin… horrid contrast… white sockets… shrivelled complexion and straight black lips”, then later victor states “breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” concerning to the creature’s physical characteristics(35). She strategically manipulates diction to alter the audience perception of the creature and directs them into viewing said creature
Since most of the major plot points were hit and only a few small changes were made to the plot to make the story better suit a stage performance, Art-in-Relation’s 2014 production of Frankenstein - A New Musical, the book and lyrics by Jeffrey Jackson, remained very faithful to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein plot wise, but due to the excessive steampunk influences in the costumes and the immersion breaking casting decisions and set design, the musical’s visuals greatly departed from the descriptions in Shelley’s book, making watching the musical a very different experience from reading Shelley’s book. What few changes there were plot wise between the musical and Shelley’s book can typically be attributed to the change in the type of media. For example, in Shelley’s book,
Throughout Frankenstein, Shelley uses Victor to warn the reader of the dangers of aspiring to godliness, and the consequences one faces in the aftermath doing so, even going as far as to compare Victor to Satan, tempting the crew of Walton’s ship, in the book’s final pages. The Victor Shelley creates is very similar to the Satan created by Milton in his book, Paradise Lost, which explores the biblical tale of Adam and Eve. In Frankenstein, Victor speaks of his desire to create the Creature, saying, “I deemed it criminal to throw away in useless grief those talents that might be useful to my fellow-creatures.” (152). Shelley’s diction choices, such as the word “useless” exemplify Victor’s excessive hubris, portraying him as a man who creates his Creature for, in his mind, the good of society.
Author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley creates a perfect atmosphere of horror for her gothic novel. In this passage she focuses on using diction, syntax, imagery band tone to create her scene. Diction is one of the most prevalent literary devices Shelley use4s to make a horror scene. The first paragraph is full with descriptive words to create the setting such a “dreary”, “dismal” and “convulsive”.
Helen Keller went through her life without her sense of sight or hearing. She was barred from being able to look at the world around her, or hear the sounds of the world. However, she was able to overcome these differences and tell other blind and deaf people about her story. In the same way, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and Allegory of the Cave, by Plato, both give us insight on the ideas of knowledge and truth. By contrasting Frankenstein and “Allegory of the Cave”, we can find the idea of being hidden from the truth, the different forms of knowledge, and telling others about the truth.
1) According to the film, the standard metaphor for a corporation is that of an apple within a barrel where most apples are good and just a few bad. Several CEO’s offered alternative metaphors, such as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, a sports team, family unity, a telephone system, or an eagle. Less flattering metaphors are that of a devouring monster, a whale, or the Frankenstein monster. Are any of these metaphors more appropriate than others?
The passage on pages 43-44 in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein describe the events that occurred as Dr. Frankenstein brought his monster to life. She effectively uses her language and imagery to develop her tone, very dark and anguished. Her diction also helps to enforce the overall theme of the passage: don’t mess with the natural order of things. Immediately at the beginning of chapter five (p. 43), Shelley gives the reader an image of the day that the monster was born on: “It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.” (Shelley 43).
In the gothic science fiction novel, Frankenstein, Mary shelley describes the life of Victor Frankenstein, a natural philosopher who is fascinated by the realm of human anatomy, leading him to create a creature whom he praises before its creation. Composed of different appendages, Frankenstein’s monster gradually adapts and builds its vocabulary through studying others and is the character who both starts and ends the plot of the novel. “1812 Overture”, by Pyotr ilyich Tchaikovsky fits the scene where Victor first discovers the harnessing power of electricity in the swiss alps while a tree gets struck down by lighting, this song plays low chimes and that later become sounds of cannons, making it have ties to this scene. In chapter 2
Breathing deeply, I retched at the sickening smell of rotten flesh and pus. Looking around, I caught a brief glimpse of the creature that was stalking me. Noticing my stare upon it, the creature melted into the shadows as if it was never there. This wretched labyrinth was starting to get to me.
Frankenstein and his monster do seem to be very similar, like a father and a son. Technically, they could be considered as such since Frankenstein is his creator. Even without that reasoning, it is clear that they share similarities. I consider them to be alike because they are both dramatic with violent tempers, they are obsessive, and they can be unreasonable. I disagree that they share the exact same personality, though.
In order to further understand the person who is Victor Frankenstein, we will analyze two specific quotes in which he ponders the consequences of creating his monster. The first specific quote that shows Dr. Frankenstein pondering the consequences of his actions is when he states, “but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust fill my heart.” When Victor is initially building his creation, all he thinks of is the great science behind his work. However, he never once thinks of the consequences he may face once his creation becomes a reality.
In the beginning the sight of his creation petrified Victor Frankenstein. As the novel progresses the relationship and the similarities between the Creature and Dr. Frankenstein become extremely obvious. They possess a need for knowledge which leads to extreme curiosity; which then lead to the creation of the Creature. They also both use nature to their advantage in many situations throughout the novel. The biggest similarity throughout the novel comes from the unending need for revenge.
