Wow! What an awesome book! I really enjoyed Shelley’s writing style and how she created a realistic sci-fi book. Even though you know that could never really happen, Shelley put a realistic sense to it. I also like how the ending was not a happy one. Sometimes happy endings are almost hard to believe.
There’s one question that I have been pondering a lot ever since I finished the book. Is the monster pure evil or did he have some good in him? I feel like the times when we read the story through the monster’s eyes, I often felt sympathetic towards him and I understood where he was coming from. However, towards the end when we were reading it through Victor’s eyes again, the monster just seemed cruel and insane. I don’t think it was necessary for the monster to threaten Victor and go around and kill all of his loved ones. The monster even goes so far as to threaten Victor on his wedding day, saying “I will be with you on your wedding-night!” (Shelley 203). The one day that could bring happiness to Victor and the monster threatens to kill him on it! I thought that was really cruel. I also thought that the monster forcing Victor to see all the deaths of his loved ones was also really harsh. I couldn’t imagine having to go through that pain. At the end of the book, however, we see more human qualities in the monster. He basically apologizes for the murders and realizes that they did not do him any good. He explains that, “For while I destroyed [Victor’s] hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires” (Shelley 240). Then the monster vows to take his life in order to ‘finish his work’. The monster asks himself, “where can I find rest but in death?” (Shelley 242). I would have to agree with the monster for wanting to take his life because in a lot of ways, the monster is like another Victor. And since Victor died, the monster should die too because it is Victor’s creation. However, we never know for sure if the monster kills himself. It really makes you wonder and I can’t wait to discuss this in my lit circle!
Works Cited
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Hertfordshire, Denmark: Wordsworth Classics, 1993.
2 comments:
The monster, to me, seemed like a kid whose been abandoned. He doesn't think rationally. Rather, he makes decision based on how he felt. Maybe in his heart, he didn't really want to, but all his justifications were probably based on the intense emotions he (the monster) had within him and didn't know what to do with.
I'm glad you liked the book!
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