i study frankenstein at school for EngLit.
this book is so dull i try NOT to fall asleep in class.
yes, its imaginative and sympathetic(ish) for the monster and all
but to study it as an AS level course ?!!!!! ...............yuck
i have nothing against the gothic themes and the romantic eras
but this book.... is so depressed....
help me :S
Remember, a book is like a mirror: if an ass peers into it, don't expect a prophet to peer back out. (I forget who said this.) Translation: don't expect a book to magically entertain you. You have to seek out its meaning and its connection to you as a reader.
This novel is full of useful ideas. One is the value of childhood. Victor had a wonderful childhood, but he denies the creature of a childhood with parents to guide him. The poor creature goes out into the world with no name and no language and no idea what life is all about. He refers to himself in the last chapter as an abortion.
Another idea is the danger of playing God. Victor builds the creature because he wants another species to worship him as its creator. He fails miserably: his creation hates him instead and destroys him. As the novel progresses, Victor and the creature become more and more alike: friendless, obsessed with destroying the other, and unhappy.
A third big idea in this book is people's treatment of those who are different--in this case, big and ugly. Everyone is afraid of the creature and either runs away screaming or hurls rocks or bullets at him. He learns gentleness and compassion from the DeLacy family, but the rest of society teaches him violence, hatred, and mischief.
both of these ideas have a lot of applications today. Too many children do not have decent parents. Many scientific advances seem to border on "playing God"--selective harvest of multiple pregnancies, cloning, and frozen embryos come to mind. The increase in violent crime is another modern phenomenon that the relates to the novel.
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