Autobiographical Main Character Traits in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - Coursework Example

Read 1 INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE 1. The story behind Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is Switzerland, the experience acquired from reading “Fantasmagoriana,” and more specifically the German ghost story “The Vampyre.” Shelley came to write “Frankenstein” after getting past a writer’s block after reading “Polidori” from “Fantasmagoriana.” 2. Influences that Shelley mentions in the “Introduction” is her childhood, wellbeing, academic background, stepmother, the demise of several of her relatives, her husband’s affection and comforts, and the “monsters” akin to her personality. 3. Shelley thought of “Frankenstein” after being proposed by Lord Byron to come up with a decent ghost story on a rainy afternoon on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Shelley imagined a character that addressed the ambiguities of nature, and the concept of Frankenstein came to her during a dream. 4. Shelley portrays her younger self by attempting to make her unconventional personality uniform with the orthodox image of an appropriate woman of the late Romantic period. 5. Shelley endeavors to preserve the “the truth of the elementary principles of human nature” while having not “scrupled to innovate upon their combinations.” 6. Influences the “Preface” mentions are a nightmare and galvanism, which were attempts by Luigi Galvani to reanimate dead animals, particularly frogs. The only similarity between these influences and those in the “introduction” is the dream. LETTERS I-IV 1. Robert Walton is a well-off Englishman with a heart for marine voyaging and the captain of a ship headed towards an unsafe journey to the North Pole. Walton was searching for “some great purpose,” which is a northern route to the Pacific to unveil the origin of the planet’s magnetic field. Walton expresses a highly enthusiastic attitude towards his quest to setting foot on undiscovered land. These details suggest to me that Walton is an ambitious adventure who cares about his relatives. 2. Walton is a reliable narrator because of his genuine expression of the difficulties he faces while caring for Victor and being lonely. 3. Walton’s desire for a friend affects his relationship with Frankenstein because of the misinterpretation of his expressions and ambition for knowledge in the sense that the desire is mistaken easily for complaints and over ambition. This relationship might affect the reader’s trust in Walton as a reliable narrator because of his indecisive nature and possibly biased frame of mind. VOLUME 1: CHAPTERS I-IV 1. Frankenstein characterizes his childhood as experienced numerous external benefits from “loving” relatives. Frankenstein’s parents were neither good nor bad. Frankenstein’s mother passed away and his father was caught up with work pressure at the city administration, thereby forcing his servants and schoolmasters to take on the role of parents. 2. Frankenstein feels like he owes his own creation to the creature because of the resemblance of this feeling to that a child feels towards its parents even though this debt is overcome by fear once the creature reanimates fully. 3. Obligations parents owe to their children-their creations include the provision of basic needs such as shelter, clothing, food, clean water, and full and standard education, and emotional and social support. 4. Elizabeth is an orphan whom Frankenstein’s family takes in, and characterized as a submissive woman who tolerantly waits for Frankenstein to attend to her. Elizabeth’s tolerance is exhibited through her marriage to Victor Frankenstein years later and her depiction of the author Mary Shelley by helping the underprivileged, and acknowledging people from all social classes. 5. The type of knowledge that Frankenstein seeks to discover as expressed all through these chapters is cheating death. Frankenstein says, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption.” Frankenstein is clearly in search of knowledge about ways he could make a dead person experience the subtleties of a human ego. 6. M. Waldman is a professor who peeks Victor’s curiosity in chemistry that he defines as unorthodox alchemy. Waldman is an influential figure for Frankenstein because he shares the same interests in alchemy as Victor. 7. Frankenstein does not share much with others relatives about his research but shares almost everything with his coworkers. Frankenstein only lets his family know about his experiences at work without revealing any details. This poor revelation of discoveries made by Frankenstein concerning reanimation means he was most likely not proud of his work. 8. The relationship that Frankenstein seeks to have with his creation is one that he hoped he had with his absentee father and demised mother, which is a loving one. I take issue with the actual relationship Frankenstein has with the creature after it awakens. Frankenstein wants to distant himself from the creature as much as possible because of fear in spite of having creating a being that requests his acceptance and affection. 9. The rule that Frankenstein is talking about is the sacrifice of health over work that represents the transition to a different person. I do not think most people need to break this rule in order to achieve great accomplishments since conserving a tranquil and harmonious mind comes along with a passion or a fleeting desire to interrupt it. 10. Frankenstein shuns his fellow creatures as if [he] had been guilty of a crime because he is aware of the fact that his work on the creature is ethically offensive. If any individual was aware of these experiments, they would be revolted. 11. Why does Frankenstein make a convention with the creature then proceed to violate it? VOLUME 1: CHAPTER V I have had the experience of attempting to bring a concept or vision into existence only to find that what I had created fell far short of what I had in mind. I was attempting to compose a quality dissertation, which I thought was at par with the teacher’s requirements and grading rubrics. After marking, I got a very low grade and realized that the effort I had spent on it was for nothing. I can relate this experience to Frankenstein’s because of the unmet expectations of his creator, which is similar to those I had for the grade of I expected to get on my dissertation. 1. Frankenstein’s reaction to the creature once it comes to life is fear, disbelief, and horror. Frankenstein’s reaction surprises me because it is the opposite of his earlier anticipations and thoughts about the way he would treat his child or creation. 2. Frankenstein is in fact not obligated to care about this creature at all. I do not feel as if Frankenstein is abandoning his “child” because even with the amount of effort put into the experiment, a reanimated human being is still too dreadful an event to take in easily. Frankenstein’s immediate response is justified because he is skeptical about the reality of the creature’s life. 3. Nature plays the role of facilitating the birth of the creature and Frankenstein’s sickness. 4. Clerval is Frankenstein’s childhood friend. The book describes Clerval as a jolly person whose persona balances Frankenstein’s gloominess. Clerval plays the role of tending to Frankenstein until he recovers fully while in Ingolstadt, which makes him a good friend. VOLUME 1: CHAPTER VI 1. Justine Mortiz is a servant at Frankenstein’s home with a serene relationship with her creator. 2. I hope to make my family more important than my job because they require my dedication and support more than my job does. My family is irreplaceable while my job is not. 3. Frankenstein is unwilling to share his secret with Clerval because he is overwhelmed emotionally by the reanimation of the creature and the joyous reappearance of his lifelong friend. 4. We go from summer to autumn, winter, and then spring. 5. I predict that the monster has been doing a lot of soul searching outside Frankenstein’s hometown in an effort to discover himself, his role, and the reason for his creator’s decision to bring him to life. VOLUME 1: CHAPTER VII 1. William is chocked to death by Frankenstein’s creature in forests situated in the outskirts of Geneva as vengeance for Frankenstein’s abandonment. 2. Frankenstein believes the creature is responsible for the murder of his younger sibling. If this belief were true, the creature would have been guilty of the accusation because of his hurt feelings and anger towards Frankenstein for neglecting him emotionally. 3. A photograph of William found in Justine’s pocket serves as adequate evidence for the police to apprehend her for murder. VOLUME 1: CHAPTER VIII 1. The creature is guiltier for the demises of William and Justine because its offenses are direct and firsthand while those of Frankenstein are indirect. 2. The creature has accepted the abandonment of its creator and is wandering on its own while also slowly accepting solitude and escaping law enforcement. 3. I do feel compassion for Frankenstein Read More