Frankenstein

Stephen Caplan

ENG 110- 01

November 8, 2010

Midterm

Frankenstein’s Creature & His Emotional Struggle

The monster of Frankenstein has been represented through almost every type of popular media, and depictions of the monster vary anywhere from a mindless killer to a tragic hero. While each depiction is unique, the dominant cultural archetype of the monster is closest to that of a mindless killing machine. Each Halloween, Frankenstein masks are available to wear as costumes, as he remains one of the most popular and “scary” monsters in popular cultural. Before our class read the novel, some of the descriptions of Victor Frankenstein’s creature that came to students’ minds were along the lines of “monster,” “murderer,” “bolts in his neck,” “green,” and “non-human,” all very common traits associated with Frankenstein. These preconceptions of Frankenstein’s monster prevent him from being analyzed as a living creature that has emotions and feelings. In scrutinizing the text, it is apparent that this “monster” definitely possesses deep emotions and feelings, making him very human-like. In contrast to the common cultural archetypes associated with Frankenstein, the creature is far more similar to a human being than he is to a “monster.” Because of this, his gruesome act of murder is not a result of his genetic makeup as a “monster,” but it is instead a consequence of his mental development.

As the reader learns more about the creature that Victor Frankenstein created, it becomes clear that he is extremely smart, as he adapts to his environment in the woods very quickly and learns a tremendous amount from observing the DeLacey family from a distance. He “discovered the cause (of fire) and busied myself collecting a great quantity of wood, that I might dry it and have a plentiful supply of fire” (Shelley 92). This may seem like a fairly simple and relatively minor detail, but it is a small example that shows the creature possesses a very high mental capacity. Most...