Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper
Mary Shelly’s
Frankenstein
A gothic story is one of horror, supernatural, and mystery. The gothic
novel Frankenstein contains these elements, making it a well known story
around the world.
Summary of the Novel
The story begins with the narrator, Robert Walton, writing to his sister
about his preparations for a trip to the arctic regions. Later on, another
letter is sent stating that the expedition is stranded by enormous ice
blocks. While stranded, they see in the distance a strange figure of
gigantic proportions being puled by a dogsled. The next day, a starving man
is found outside of the expedition boat, and he is taken aboard and nursed
somewhat back to health.
After about a week, he tells Walton that he is Victor Frankenstein, and that
he was born into a wealthy family who were constantly looking out for those
less fortunate. When Victor was young his family adopted a girl named
Elizabeth, who was raised along with Victor.
As a young boy Victor was fascinated with the sciences, and while attending
the University of Ingolstadt he studied all of the natural sciences. He was
hoping to overcome death and decay. He began trying to design life in the
laboratory, and after many years he was able to collect the various parts of
corpses in order to create a giant creature. Upon bringing this creature to
life, Victor was horrified by the monstrosity of his creation and fled in
dismay. For a long time Victor was sick with brain fever, and was clueless
about the whereabouts of his creation. But, one day, as he was preparing to
return home, he received a letter which said that his younger brother had
been murdered. The girl who had been accused of the murder was a family
friend and Victor was positive that she was innocent. Victor immediately
knew that this murder was the work of his monster. Victor attempted to save
the accused girl, but she was hung for the murder. Consequently, Victor felt
responsible for two deaths.
So, seeking seclusion, he climbed into the mountains, where he suddenly saw
his creature approach him. The creature told Victor that after he was
created and then abandoned, having difficulty surviving, he found his way to
an old deserted shack. It was right next to the home of a family of poor
people, whom he observed daily through a crack in the wall. By doing this
he learned how to speak, read, and write. He later found a book in the
pocket of an old jacket, which turned out to be a journal of Victor’s
experiments. The creature had now sought out Victor to ask him to create for
him a companion, since he had been totally ostracized by society. The
creature vowed that if he had a companion, then he and his mate will abandon
the civilized world and never be heard of again. Victor reluctantly agreed
to make the creature a companion.
Victor soon moved to a small secluded village in Scotland where he began to
create his next creature. While he worked, he thought of all of the things
that could happen as a result of his work. He finally decided not to create
another creature, because of the great deal of harm that two of these
monsters could cause to man kind. As he is destroying his newly made work
the creature appeared and told Frankenstein that on his (Frankenstein,s)
wedding night, the creature would be there to torment him.
A short time later, Frankenstein discovered that his closest friend, Henry
Clerval, had been strangled to death. Frankenstein continued in his
preparations to marry Elizabeth, the girl who he was raised with. On their
wedding night, Frankenstein heard screaming coming from the bridal suite. By
the time he got there, he found his dead wife, and a vision of the creature
which faded into the darkness. Frankenstein vowed to follow the creature to
the ends of the earth, to find him and destroy him. This vow was what had
led Frankenstein to the arctic region.
After completing his story, Frankenstein dies, and the monster appears to
Walton, telling him of his plans to build a huge bonfire for the burial, in
which the creature would burn himself along with Frankenstein’s body. The
creature then jumps aboard an ice raft and, being carried along by the waves,
is lost in the distance.
Elements of a Gothic Story Represented in Frankenstein
Frankenstein is one of the most highest achievements in the literary
genre of gothic horror stories. A gothic story is one in which the author
(in this case Mary Shelly) emphasizes certain elements. These elements
include mystery (How was the monster created? How did it follow Frankenstein
around the world?), a desolate environment (the arctic region), the horrible
and/or unthinkable (the mass murders), the ghostly (the rainstorms and eerie
situations), and the disheartening fear that can be brought about in the
reader.
In a gothic story there is usually a setting that will be in some way
strange and unfamiliar, such as Ingolstadt. Frankenstein’s monster was
created in a weird laboratory where parts of the human body were collected.
Shelly uses every literary trick possible to give the reader such and eerie
sensation.
In addition to the basic gothic elements shown in Frankenstein, there are
other more specific ones:
1. A sense of remoteness and indefiniteness (we never told specifically
where the creature is created except that it is in a laboratory in
Ingolstadt.) The point here is that these stories take place in remote areas
which are to be unknown to large numbers of readers. The readers are then
removed from their everyday environments.
2. The creation of a single eerie and ghostly atmosphere, and to do so,
the story emphasizes the physical aspects of the various structures. Such
examples include, the weird, deep caverns, the bizarre laboratory where the
monster is created, or the desolated arctic expanses.
3. Having a monster that cannot function in the normal world.
Frankenstein’s monster is at first a super-sensitive hero, but, cannot
function in the normal world due to his physical appearance, therefore
leaving him constantly rejected.
4. The characters seem to posses some sort of psychic communication.
The creature, for example, seems to always know where the creator is.
5. The possibility of returning life after one is dead or inhabiting
one’s own corpse. For example, the monster is created from dead parts of
cadavers.
Novels such as Frankenstein utilize many aspects of the gothic and are
considered to be not just among the earliest examples of gothic horror, but
they are also considered to be some of the finest examples of the gothic
genre in all of literature.
Hallie Gerson
Mr. Murphy
English 10H-Pd. 2/3-2
May 31, 1998
Mary Shelly’s
Frankenstein
A gothic story is one of horror, supernatural, and mystery. The gothic
novel Frankenstein contains these elements, making it a well known story
around the world.
Summary of the Novel
The story begins with the narrator, Robert Walton, writing to his sister
about his preparations for a trip to the arctic regions. Later on, another
letter is sent stating that the expedition is stranded by enormous ice
blocks. While stranded, they see in the distance a strange figure of
gigantic proportions being puled by a dogsled. The next day, a starving man
is found outside of the expedition boat, and he is taken aboard and nursed
somewhat back to health.
After about a week, he tells Walton that he is Victor Frankenstein, and that
he was born into a wealthy family who were constantly looking out for those
less fortunate. When Victor was young his family adopted a girl named
Elizabeth, who was raised along with Victor.
As a young boy Victor was fascinated with the sciences, and while attending
the University of Ingolstadt he studied all of the natural sciences. He was
hoping to overcome death and decay. He began trying to design life in the
laboratory, and after many years he was able to collect the various parts of
corpses in order to create a giant creature. Upon bringing this creature to
life, Victor was horrified by the monstrosity of his creation and fled in
dismay. For a long time Victor was sick with brain fever, and was clueless
about the whereabouts of his creation. But, one day, as he was preparing to
return home, he received a letter which said that his younger brother had
been murdered. The girl who had been accused of the murder was a family
friend and Victor was positive that she was innocent. Victor immediately
knew that this murder was the work of his monster. Victor attempted to save
the accused girl, but she was hung for the murder. Consequently, Victor felt
responsible for two deaths.
So, seeking seclusion, he climbed into the mountains, where he suddenly saw
his creature approach him. The creature told Victor that after he was
created and then abandoned, having difficulty surviving, he found his way to
an old deserted shack. It was right next to the home of a family of poor
people, whom he observed daily through a crack in the wall. By doing this
he learned how to speak, read, and write. He later found a book in the
pocket of an old jacket, which turned out to be a journal of Victor’s
experiments. The creature had now sought out Victor to ask him to create for
him a companion, since he had been totally ostracized by society. The
creature vowed that if he had a companion, then he and his mate will abandon
the civilized world and never be heard of again. Victor reluctantly agreed
to make the creature a companion.
Victor soon moved to a small secluded village in Scotland where he began to
create his next creature. While he worked, he thought of all of the things
that could happen as a result of his work. He finally decided not to create
another creature, because of the great deal of harm that two of these
monsters could cause to man kind. As he is destroying his newly made work
the creature appeared and told Frankenstein that on his (Frankenstein,s)
wedding night, the creature would be there to torment him.
A short time later, Frankenstein discovered that his closest friend, Henry
Clerval, had been strangled to death. Frankenstein continued in his
preparations to marry Elizabeth, the girl who he was raised with. On their
wedding night, Frankenstein heard screaming coming from the bridal suite. By
the time he got there, he found his dead wife, and a vision of the creature
which faded into the darkness. Frankenstein vowed to follow the creature to
the ends of the earth, to find him and destroy him. This vow was what had
led Frankenstein to the arctic region.
After completing his story, Frankenstein dies, and the monster appears to
Walton, telling him of his plans to build a huge bonfire for the burial, in
which the creature would burn himself along with Frankenstein’s body. The
creature then jumps aboard an ice raft and, being carried along by the waves,
is lost in the distance.
Elements of a Gothic Story Represented in Frankenstein
Frankenstein is one of the most highest achievements in the literary
genre of gothic horror stories. A gothic story is one in which the author
(in this case Mary Shelly) emphasizes certain elements. These elements
include mystery (How was the monster created? How did it follow Frankenstein
around the world?), a desolate environment (the arctic region), the horrible
and/or unthinkable (the mass murders), the ghostly (the rainstorms and eerie
situations), and the disheartening fear that can be brought about in the
reader.
In a gothic story there is usually a setting that will be in some way
strange and unfamiliar, such as Ingolstadt. Frankenstein’s monster was
created in a weird laboratory where parts of the human body were collected.
Shelly uses every literary trick possible to give the reader such and eerie
sensation.
In addition to the basic gothic elements shown in Frankenstein, there are
other more specific ones:
1. A sense of remoteness and indefiniteness (we never told specifically
where the creature is created except that it is in a laboratory in
Ingolstadt.) The point here is that these stories take place in remote areas
which are to be unknown to large numbers of readers. The readers are then
removed from their everyday environments.
2. The creation of a single eerie and ghostly atmosphere, and to do so,
the story emphasizes the physical aspects of the various structures. Such
examples include, the weird, deep caverns, the bizarre laboratory where the
monster is created, or the desolated arctic expanses.
3. Having a monster that cannot function in the normal world.
Frankenstein’s monster is at first a super-sensitive hero, but, cannot
function in the normal world due to his physical appearance, therefore
leaving him constantly rejected.
4. The characters seem to posses some sort of psychic communication.
The creature, for example, seems to always know where the creator is.
5. The possibility of returning life after one is dead or inhabiting
one’s own corpse. For example, the monster is created from dead parts of
cadavers.
Novels such as Frankenstein utilize many aspects of the gothic and are
considered to be not just among the earliest examples of gothic horror, but
they are also considered to be some of the finest examples of the gothic
genre in all of literature.