Table of ContentsIntroductionThemesSymbolismIronyCharacterizationPoint of ViewConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionFrankenstein by Mary Shelley is a book about a boy named Victor Frankenstein who created a creature. The major conflict in Frankenstein revolves around Victor's lack of ability to understand that his actions have consequences. Victor focuses exclusively on his own goals and fails to see how his actions could affect others. The creature Victor brought to life constantly reminds us how he failed to take responsibility for his actions by defying the laws of nature itself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The first signs of conflict appear when Victor embarks on his studies at the University of Ingolstadt. When he embarks on his studies, he ends up neglecting his family and his fiancée. Victor becomes obsessed with creating a monster. He doesn't think about the consequences or impact this creature might have on other people, nor is he bothered by the fact that he is ignoring his family to continue his work. He is so determined that he doesn't think about anything else. The rising action of his quest to create life reaches its climax when, immediately after animating the monster, he reacts with horror and disgust and flees the room. This incident illustrates Victor's conflict with moral responsibility: he is responsible for creating the monster and bringing it to life, but when he doesn't like the result, he simply rejects it. After Victor rejects his creature, he discovers that his younger brother William is dead and that Justine had been falsely accused of William's murder. William's murder creates another situation in which Victor can choose to act or not take responsibility. He raises the conflict by allowing Justine's execution, rather than revealing what he knows about the monster. The conflict intensifies when the monster meets Victor and tells him about all the suffering he has experienced, as well as his feelings of loneliness and isolation. The encounter between Victor and his creature is another moment where Victor could potentially turn from his selfish path. The plot suggests a potential resolution when Victor agrees to create a companion for his original creature in exchange for their departure to a remote location. However, the conflict resumes when Victor is too disgusted to carry out this plan and destroys the female monster before finishing. he. Again, he doesn't think about what this unwise choice will mean, even though the monster swears revenge if Victor doesn't complete the task of creating the mate. Victor is surprised when his friend Henry Clerval is killed, and then again when his fiancée Elizabeth is also murdered, despite the creature's statements about how he is dedicated to making Victor's life miserable by killing everyone he loves . Elizabeth's murder brings the conflict into its final phase, in which Victor vows to hunt down and kill the monster in revenge for all the dead. This wish partly resolves the conflict in that it gives the monster what it wants: it now has the full attention of its creator, and the destinies of the two individuals are linked. After Victor pursues the monster across the world, he arrives in the Arctic. and meets Walton, bringing the story back to the point where the narration shifted from Walton to Victor. Victor's travels exhausted him so much that he died aboard the ship after telling his story, his role in the story fulfilled. The novel culminates with Walton finding the creature looking at Victor's corpse and crying. Victornever admits the role he played in creating the chaos and tragedy that resulted in the deaths of innocent people. Unlike Victor, the creature shows remorse, suggesting that he has become more "human" than his creator. Walton can see and hear the creature from his own perspective, and he is able to feel "a mixture of curiosity and compassion." The descending action of the novel quickly ends with the monster planning to kill himself, then setting off alone to carry out his plan.ThemesIn the novel Frankenstein, I noticed four main themes that seemed important to me. The four themes I recognized were family, sublime nature, monstrosity and secrecy. I chose Family because in its preface, Frankenstein claims to be a novel that flatteringly illustrates "domestic affection." This seems strange in a novel full of murder, tragedy and despair. But in reality, all of this tragedy, murder, and despair occurs because of Victor's lack of connection to his family. Victor went to college and became so obsessed with his studies and creating his creature that he lost contact with his family. When Victor became lost in his studies, he withdrew from society and therefore lost sight of his responsibilities and the consequences of his actions. The sublime theme of the natural world, adopted by Romanticism as a source of unbridled emotional experience for the individual, initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Consumed by depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which he feels responsible, Victor leaves for the mountains to cheer himself up. Likewise, after a winter of cold and abandonment, the creature feels its heart light up with the arrival of spring. Nature's influence on mood is noticeable throughout the novel, but for Victor, the consoling power of the natural world diminishes when he realizes that the creature will haunt him no matter where he goes. In the end, as Victor pursues the creature obsessively, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, functions simply as a symbolic backdrop for his primary struggle against the creature. The theme of monstrosity permeates the entire novel, as the creature is the center of the action. Eight feet tall and hideously ugly, the creature is rejected by its creator and society. However, his monstrosity results not only from his distorted appearance, but also from the unnatural manner of his creation, which involves a mixture of stolen body parts and strange chemicals. The creature is only the most literal of a number of monstrous entities in the novel, including the knowledge Victor used to create the monster. It can be argued that Victor himself is a kind of monster, as his ambition, secrecy and selfishness alienate him from human society. Ordinary on the outside, he may be the real "monster" on the inside, as he eventually becomes consumed by an obsessive hatred towards his creation. Victor views science as a mystery to be explored. He considers Mr. Krempe, the natural philosopher he meets at the University of Ingolstadt, as a model scientist: “a crude man, but deeply imbued with the secrets of his science.” Victor's obsession with creating life is confined to secrecy, and his obsession with destroying the monster also remains secret until Walton hears his story. While Victor continues to keep the secret out of shame and guilt, the creature is forced into isolation due to its distorted appearance. Walton serves as the final confessor to the two, and their tragic relationship is immortalized in Walton's letters. By confessing just before dying, Victor escapes the secret that ruined his life; similarly, the creature benefits from Walton's presenceto forge a human connection, desperately hoping that finally someone will understand and sympathize with his miserable existence. Symbolism The first symbolism I wanted to include is light and fire. “What could not be expected in the land of eternal light? Walton asks, showing faith and optimism about science. In Frankenstein, light symbolizes knowledge, discovery and enlightenment. The natural world is a place of darkness, secrets, and hidden passages; Victor the scientist's goal is to reach the light. The creature's first experience of fire, with a burning flame, reveals the dual nature of fire: he excitedly discovers that it creates light in the darkness of night, but also that it hurts him when it touches him. The presence of fire in the text also recalls the full title of Shelley's novel, Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus. The Greek god Prometheus gave the knowledge of fire to humanity and was later severely punished for it. Victor, who attempts to become a modern Prometheus, is certainly punished, but unlike fire, his "gift" to humanity remains a secret. The second symbolism I noticed was Victor Frankenstein referring to his creature called Adam, who symbolizes creation and duality in nature. of man. Victor calls his creature Adam because in the Bible, Adam represents God's creation of man. Victor had created his own creation, which horrified him and caused him to reject the creature he had created. God created man in his own image and from his own perspective and Victor did the same with his creature. The creature tried to convince Victor to create a mate for it, just like Adam did in order to remove his loneliness and sadness. Irony There are three types of irony in this novel: verbal, situational, and dramatic. Situational irony occurs when an inconsistency arises between what the audience expects to happen and what happens instead. An example of situational irony appears early in the novel when Victor spends years determined and absolutely obsessed with a creation that he comes to despise when it comes to life, "the beauty of the dream is gone, and the horror and disgust breathless filled my heart. » (Frankenstein page 70). Victor put his life and his health on hold to create life and as if to mock him he succeeds in creating a murderous creature. This brings us to another example of irony, as the creature was created to help humanity, but it ends up killing the four people closest to Victor to make him suffer and eventually help him understand the misfortune that the creature lived. Verbal irony is when words express something similar to the truth or if someone says the opposite of what they really feel or mean, this type of irony is usually sarcastic. An example of verbal irony is that, after Victor refuses to create a mate for his creature, he exclaims, “You are my creator, but I am your master; obey!'' (Frankenstein page 154). This is ironic because Victor was considered very noble at the beginning of the novel for his attempt to save humanity from death, but his creation takes away Victor's piety by torturing him and inflicting real suffering on him and demanding that Victor obeys her demands. Dramatic irony is when an audience watching a play understands what is happening in a situation even though the characters are unaware of what is happening. An example of dramatic irony in this novel is when Victor discovers the murder of his younger brother William. Almost everyone in Geneva blamed Justine for this tragedy, but Victor knew it was her creation because they crossed paths the night before, whenVictor in Geneva. Justine was falsely accused and found guilty because Victor was selfish in admitting the truth about what he had done. Victor prefers to protect himself like a coward rather than protect those close to him. Characterization Characterization in a novel helps the reader and/or audience better understand the characters in the book. The point of the author's use of characterization is to create images of the characters for the audience. Characterization also helps readers understand the character's personality, morals, and beliefs. Knowing a character's personality helps readers understand what effect they might have on other characters as well. You can learn about the characters from the narrator's description or from other characters describing them. Reading this novel was also interesting because you see some of the characters change throughout the story from the people they were at the beginning. I really enjoyed reading about each character, whether described by the narrator or another character. The use of characterization in this novel absolutely amazes me because of the use of vivid details and very specific descriptions to create a sense of imagery in the reader's mind. Through the use of vivid details and specific descriptions, it was as if I could imagine each character as if they were standing right in front of me. For each character in the novel, the author went above and beyond in creating a vivid image for the audience. One example is how he describes Victor Frankenstein as this boy who grew up in a loving and welcoming home and was amazed by science. Victor was a very caring person and filled with compassion towards others, particularly towards his dear Elizabeth. However, when Victor left for college he changed and I don't think it was for the better. He became self-centered and put his studies before his family and friends. He had become so obsessed with creating his creature that nothing else seemed to matter to him. His selfishness turned into karma and by the end of the book, the four people closest to him were dead. Another example of striking characterization is how the author described the creature Victor created. The creature was not perfect at all, it was deformed and because of this, it experienced many trials during the novel. His own creator rejected him because of his ugliness, like many other people. The creature was described as eight feet tall, with somewhat proportionate limbs and pale blue skin. The creature talks about her loneliness and how she is unwanted. The creature takes revenge on Victor by killing his loved ones. However, the creature changes its mind when Victor dies realizing he has no one else left and is filled with regret. Point of View Frankenstein is told in the first person point of view, which uses the combination of "I", "my", etc., by different characters at different times in the novel. The shifts in narrator and alternation of points of view are crucial to the novel's theme of looking beyond appearances to reflect on what lies beneath. The novel begins with the narration of Walton, who writes a series of letters to his sister Margaret. The point of view then shifts to Victor Frankenstein, who tells Walton about his life and how he came to travel to the Arctic. When Walton first meets Victor, he wonders if the stranger is crazy, due to his wild appearance and sense of hopelessness. As he listens to Victor's story, Walton comes to appreciate his experiences. When Victor arrives