Frankenstien structure
Often in literature, the structure significantly contributes to the development of the meaning of the work as a whole. Such is the case with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. However, in the case of Shelley, it can also be argued that while the frame narrative structure adds much to the evil doctor’s telling of the tragic events of his life, it also detracts from the reliability of the story, and brings into question the bias of the narrative voice. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein, as one of the narrators of the frame story, makes clear his implicit contempt for his Creature, based on an assessment of the Creature’s evil appearance and vengeful nature. However, upon examining the methods in which these opinions are delivered to the reader through the mutli-layered narrative structure of the novel, I argue that we as the reader have very good reason to question Frankenstein’s truthful retelling of the story, and furthermore to question all of his observations of the Creature’s evil demeanor. With these observations now existing in a somewhat obscured light, we are then further able to question the societal norms of beauty and splendor upheld by Frankenstein which allow this Creature to be ostracized by all of society a
The theme revealed through a close reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein underneath the somewhat daunting frame story narration is one that we have heard over and over again throughout the history of the modern world: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” However, despite our familiarity with this small wisdom, its truth as it relates to the Creature in this novel appears new and somewhat unchartered. Only when analyzing the message in this context are we as readers and members of society able to realize the responsibility that lies outside of only those few parties involved in the Creature’s story. Indeed, Frankenstein, and even to a certain extent the Creature, are to blame for the situation of the latter, but also society as a whole is partially responsible. If it were not for the social standards which are so harshly enforced in everyday living, the Creature would never have been turned against humanity and therefore never desired to cause pain or affect revenge. He would have remained happy in his pursuit of companionship. However, society’s criticism of this being ultimately leads to a violent turn in his once innocent nature, securing his role as the evil villain he has all the while been assumed to be--an ironic twist to an already rather chilling idea. Thus, the Creature is secured as a different kind of hero than is seen most often in literature, but who remains tragic nonetheless. He is tragic in that he remains a somewhat innocent bystander unaware of the reasons for his situation in life and a hero in that his attempts to transcend this tragedy are met with harsh resistance from society. In the end, however, the Creature, along with the reader, realizes the futility with which he fought his circumstances, as he was always destined to be outcast from society and remain an observer, never able to breach the norms which plague western civilization. Upon this realization, we understand that society is actually responsible for the mass destruction that ensues. The story of Dr. F
Some topics in this essay:
Frankenstein Frankenstein’s,
Frankenstein Shelley,
Indeed Frankenstein,
Creature Frankenstein,
Similarly Walton,
Creature Walton,
Shelley’s Frankenstein,
Dr Frankenstein,
,
frame story,
Mary Shelley’s,
mary shelley’s frankenstein,
contributions creature,
society creature,
creature secured,
events life,
structure novel,
social standards,
story furthermore,
retelling story,
positive contributions,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 1367
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
CUSTOMER SERVICES
| |
|
Example Essays Home
