Literary Analysis

E’Ana Bordon

Period Zero

Literary Analysis

Frankenstein

Mary Shelly

 

1.       A man named Walton is a sailor who gets trapped in ice while going to the North Pole. He meets a man who travels by dog-drawn sled named Victor Frankenstein and recounts to his sister through letters about the story of the creature he created.  As he grows up he attends and university where he consumed about the secret of life.  He makes a monster out of old body parts and brings him to life. He runs into and brings his friend back to his apartment to find that the monster had escaped.  He hears from home that his youngest brother was murdered but on his was home he finds the monster in the woods where the murder happens and is convinced that the monster killed his brother. He vacations to the woods and the monster finds him and tells him that he did kill his brother and to ask for forgiveness and make him a mate.  He ends up destroying the second creation and enraging the monster. He is the trialed for the murder of his friend but acquitted.  Then he goes back home to marry Elizabeth scared the monster will come back for him he sends her off. Later the monster killed Elizabeth and the soon after his father dies.  He vows to kill the creature he has created.  Victor then falls ill and dies.  Walton walks into the room to see the creature weeping over him and asks for forgiveness. He says that now his creator has died he can go die to and leaves to the northernmost ice to die.

 

2.       I think the theme of the story is about having dangerous knowledge, secrecy and betrayal.  When victor created the monster he was completely frightened by what he had done. Is he did not have this knowledge life for him would have continued on as normal. The secrecy aspect of it I think comes from the creature. He does have feelings although Victor thinks he doesn’t. The betrayal I believe comes from both Victor and the creature because throughout the whole story they continued to cause revenge on each other.

 

3.       The author’s tone is emotional and dark. It is emotional because it shows that the creature was able to love.   “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live…” It was also dark with all the murders that were involved. Especially when the creature decided to kill himself, “I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt….” Also when the creature expressed him feelings towards his creator, “Cursed, cursed creator!...my feeling of those of rage and revenge.”

 

4.       The point of view changes from Walton to Victor to the creature to show the feelings of all three characters.  The prologue set the tone and the setting of where the story is being told. The setting is mainly set on a boat in the Pacific Ocean from a point of where the story is being told. Throughout the story the setting talks place in various places but remains in the same time period. The story is also told from the past to the present.