Works Cited

"Frankenstein." 25 2009. N.p., Online Posting to Goodreads. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490.Frankenstein>.

"Frankenstein." 26 2009. N.p., Online Posting to Goodreads. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490.Frankenstein>.

Frankenstein 1931. 1931. Film. 11 Dec 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwdxY31249k>.

 "Frankenstein as a Gothic Novel." CliffsNotes. N.p.. Web. 11 Dec 2012. <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/frankenstein/critical-essays/as-a-gothic-novel.html>.

Reader Response

I went to look on Goodreads for some reviews on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The first review I came across was from a woman named Hannah. Hannah gave this book zero stars out of five saying that she read it for fun, as she listed off sarcastic ways to have fun- “watching paint dry fun.” She seemed to not be too impressed with the story and claimed that she “noted every single page number,” and counted down to when she’d be finished. I can see where she is coming from. I myself was confused about the entirety of the story and found most of it to be somewhat boring and dry. But, Hannah and I maybe should have read more carefully and analyzed what was really going on in the story. We both may have enjoyed it more.

                Michael, on the other hand, gave this book five stars saying, “In the end the story has no true villain or hero.” Which is true considering Victor and the monster were both considered villains and heroes at different parts of the book.  But what really struck me was when he said, “The story also leaves you wondering on how you treat others, do our actions end up turning people in a ‘monsters’?” I think Victor treating the monster badly made the monster angry and therefore he would always lash out.

Critical Context

The author of this critical essay believes that this book is considered gothic. I agree in many ways. When I think of the term gothic, I think of adjectives like dark, eerie, and frightening, all which would describe this book. Victor Frankenstein starts working on his monster by digging up graves late at night and getting random body parts to put together. The place he does this is in a castle with dungeons that can be considered very eerie. The author of this essay said, “Gothic novels also take place in gloomy places like old buildings (particularly castles or rooms with secret passageways), dungeons, or towers that serve as a backdrop for the mysterious circumstances.” The supernatural element is also a factor of gothic literature. Frankenstein was able to build a monster with his own hands out of stuff that was not living. I believe this book had a very prominent gothic theme.

Film Comparison

Between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the movie Frankenstein, directed by James Whale in 1931, there were many differences and similarities. Most of what happened in the movie was the same as parts in the book. For example, in both pieces Victor went rummaging through graves to get parts for the monster’s body. But, the similarity that I recognized the most was the scene with the little girl named Maria. Maria was just playing by herself when the monster caught her attention. She didn’t hesitate to go over to him and ask if he wanted to play with her. The monster truly seemed happy but got carried away and eventually tossed Maria into the water killing her. I think this part of the story was important because the monster seemed to be enjoying himself with someone he could possibly relate to. Maria wasn’t scared of him and he felt like he could be himself around her. This showed that all the monster wanted was to be loved.

                In the book I noticed that the monster made a big deal about having a companion to be with. In this version of the movie, there was really no mention of a wife for the monster. In the book, Frankenstein started working on a wife for the monster so he would have company. But, he eventually gave up because he knew it would just turn out badly. The monster then ends up killing Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s new wife. I think he did this because he was mad at Frankenstein for not giving him a companion that he wanted and thought he deserved. I don’t know why they didn’t put this in the movie I watched because I thought it was important to the overall story. The monster seemed to want nothing out of life if he didn’t have someone by his side.

Personal Synthesis

This book was a little confusing for me to understand. I usually don’t read books in this genre. In fact, I try to stay away from them. With only a few females in this book, I considered that back when this was written, women laid low and tried not to bring attention to themselves so much. Men might have been reinforcing those thoughts though. I feel Mary Shelley made this book with so few female characters to highlight that. Throughout the book, Elizabeth was really the only woman. She was only allowed to do so much and under guidance from a man. And when the thought of the monster having a wife was in Frankenstein’s head, he made the decision not to give him a companion. This made me conclude that at that time, men thought females were inferior to them. Although I didn’t particularly enjoy reading this book, I am looking forward to re-reading it in the future to pick up on things I didn’t notice the first time and to hopefully understand it better.