In a recent study, scholar Ardel Haefele-Thomas suggests that Gothic horror developed as a place “in which to explore ideas about race, interracial desire, cross-class relations, ethnicity, empire, nation and ‘foreignness’ during the nineteenth century.” Gothic horror of the kind under consideration in class this week serves the complex function of giving rise to our fears, while also exploring and critiquing them. As Haefel-Thomas comments, “these texts transgress monstrosity in the sense that they help interrogate the very idea of what is monstrous, opening up spaces where we can read sympathy for others who are queer, who are multiracial, who live outside of the” norms of society.
For part one of this blogpost, then, I would like you to pick a character or scene from one of the excerpted works assigned for this week – ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Ligeia,’ ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame,’ and ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’ – and focus on the horror embodied in/through that character or scene. How, specifically, does the author create horror in the audience, and use it to play with the reader’s darkest fears? What ideas are in question here, and what social issues – or fears – are rendered problematic and indeed horrific? For part two, I want you to flip that script and consider the ways in which gothic horror does not necessarily reject but sometimes welcomes the horrific monsters and their problems. To borrow Haefele-Thomas’s words, in this section I would like you to consider how a given character or scene does NOT create horror but quite the opposite, opening up a space “where we can read sympathy for others” who are different. In other words, how does this character, or textual moment, “transgress monstrosity” and view the monster with empathy, and to what end is this sympathy established? If we are meant to embrace the monster somehow, why so — and how so? What does this teach us? I will be curious to see your responses to the ways in which Gothic horror creates fear and promotes horror, while also (sometimes) embracing those creatures that lead to horror and panic in the humans that encounter them.
The character is have chosen is the monster from Frankenstein. The author creates horror in both a very outward and hidden way. The outward and most obvious was is one, with the way the monster looks. We are left with a wild imagination of how ugly, vile and horrifying this monster is. He looks wicked, he is huge compared to a human, he has big hands that can rip someone apart and huge feet to stomp whoever gets in his way-from what I have imagined him. The monster brings terror to the story when he goes into places where humans reside, when he murders people in cold blood without thinking twice, and when he runs freely in an open setting. Just the thought of what the monster could do or be capable of and being in a setting that is cold, wet and dark is sets a horrifying scene and aura. The hidden way in which the author creates horror in the novel is when he hides and tried to learn a language and a way of life from DeLacey. Although the book says he is learning a language and trying to be loved, he could also be doing this in hopes he will gain the trust of those around him and turn and torture and murder them right under their own roof. There is an ambiance that constantly feels people wondering. Yes, the monster sounds sincere when he is telling Frankenstein his story, but is he telling the truth? A monster of that size can get away with so much with little effort. That sense of not knowing, being on edge about what is going to happen and how the monster will act is a scene of horror that will get any audience to plead and want more.
The monster from Frankenstein does not display a sense of horror in the same ways that I have listed above. Instead of thinking and looking at the situation of the monster as bad and scary, you could look at it as if this monster only wanted compassion, love and someone to talk to. He wanted to be with the humans, and like the humans but he couldn’t because he looked different from the humans. He could have only been studying the humans and the way they lived and their language so when he finally had enough courage to talk to them, they would see he is just like them on the inside and it is only the outside that deems different between the two. He wanted sympathy from the others and wanted to be able to give them sympathy when they needed it. A shoulder to cry on for both parties is a good way to describe it. He just wanted a friend and to be a friend.
Gothic horror was a genre that showed audiences the good and the bad side of monsters. An example of this would be in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein”. A majority of volume two shows audiences the story of the monster’s journey told by the monster himself. Through this we can sympathize with the monster; however, we are also made aware of the fact that this creature is in fact full of flaws and does some wrong things. After the creature watches the De Lacey family leave forever, his emotions and actions take a turn for the worst. In perhaps one of the most horrifying scenes in the volume, we watch as the creature strangles a young child, killing him. We find out before the child dies that he is a Frankenstein (Victor’s brother to be exact). He tells the boy, “Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy- to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.” Out of pure spite, the creature kills this innocent child. This teaches audiences the dangers of vengeance, and how it can corrupt the soul.
While we see a few horrid scenes in the novel, there are a plethora of scenes that show us the humanized side of Frankenstein’s monster. This can be displayed in his actions with the De Lacey family. He studies these humans (possibly even learns to love them) and takes care of them. He leaves firewood at their doorstep and learns from them. There are times in the novel when the creature evokes sympathy. When he mentions how no one will love him (even mentions suicide) the audience is meant to feel bad for him. The same could be said when the creature interacts with other humans. He speaks to the blind old man and appears to befriend him, before his family comes home and beats him up, terrified of the creature. When he rescues the young girl from drowning in the stream, he is rewarded by being shot at. The creature also does something that not many “evil” monsters would do: he weeps. He mourns the loss of the De Lacey family and the way he will never truly be accepted in society. By evoking sympathy, it makes the audience think about the judgements they make about those who are different. No one had given the creature a chance to show his true colors, and we as humans tend to continue to do this even in today’s society.
The creature in Frankenstein is part human because he was made of human body parts but also because he has some of the same emotions and tendencies of a human such as sadness, the need and want to feel loved, anger, and violence. The creature is a reflection of the human race which makes him horrifying to the reader. He uncovers some fears or dark desires a reader may have but will not act on. The anger the monster felt can be the same anger a human can feel, even the thought of having so much anger that it can lead to the death of someone.
In the scene of Frankenstein when the monster wanted acceptance of De Lacy and his family, a reader can feel sympathy for him when he gets rejected by people who he loved and cared for and also looked up to. It shows that just because he has an appearance of a monster, he has the feelings of a human. The monster only wanted to have someone in his life to love and accept him for who he is. At the moment the reader can justify if he is an actual monster or if society is. The reader can relate and understand what the monster is going through at the exact moment and after when he becomes angry and violent. Not all people will react the same way but some will become angry and sometimes violent. There are even some cases when a person’s anger and rage can be uncontrollable and have a bad outcome such as death.
For my blog post, I am going to be focusing on Prendick in “The Island of Dr. Moreau”. Horror is shown through Prendick due to the terrifying experiences he had to encounter once moving in with Montgomery and Dr. Moreau. Prendick had to live with two psychopaths who experimented on living things, encounter and interact with the “Beast Folk” who were pretty scary physically, and really had no way to escape this crazy island until it was too late. This all resonates with people’s fears because I mean, who wouldn’t be absolutely horrified in Prendick’s situation? He had to constantly be on edge that either Montgomery/Moreau or the Beast Folk were going to get him, plus he was trapped on this small island with all this insane beings. The social issue that is brought into light in this story is the idea of experimentation on living creatures. Quite obviously, this issue is brought up and rendered as “monstrous” as exemplified in Prendick being so terrified of the Beast Folk and all of Moreau’s infamous experimentations. This story definitely demonizes mad scientists, and for good reason too.
Well, upon discovering the Beast Folk, talking to them about discussing what happened to them and what their lives are like, Prendick seems to empathize with them instantly. This creates a nice space for the reader to learn about what horrific things Montgomery and Moreau did to them and easily makes the reader feel sorry for the Beast Folk. Therefore, even though the Beast Folk are monstrous on the outside, I know while reading this story I never truly thought of them as being monsters- but more like victims. Montgomery and Moreau were the real monsters due to their actions, even though they looked like your average Joe. This teaches us that not everything is not what it seems and to not judge a book by its cover.
The story Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley was surprisingly very different from the movies everyone knows so well. Frankenstein and his creation are both monstrous beings. Frankenstein has monstrous characteristics because he was the visionary of his creature. He thought of taking body parts of deceased men and putting them together to create a living creature. This is monstrous because of how disturbing the thought of robbing the dead of limbs to create an undead work of art. Frankenstein was a selfish man without caring for the dead and his creation once he realized what he made. Mary Shelley hit a soft spot in the readers because testing with electricity and dead bodies were occurring at the time. Another monster in Frankenstein is the creature. The creature is a monster because of how he reacts to being shunned from humanity due to his horrifying image. The creation kills an innocent young boy and woman due to the rejection he felt from his creator. Mary Shelley used the idea of revenge and being physically deformed to form the monstrous characteristics.
Mary Shelley did a great job on showing the audience how to be sympathetic towards the creation. The chapters assigned for class really made the readers understand what made the creation seek revenge and kill the innocent. The creation was once a caring and a creature craving companionship. The situation he was put in, such as his creator and the family he craved so very much to befriend rejected him in fear. Being so alone he felt personally victimized by Frankenstein for creating him and putting in the world he did not belong in. The creatures hatred lead to him killing the two innocent humans. Mary Shelley made this character very relatable because everyone has a craving for the affection from others.
In “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Quasimodo is a very grotesque looking person. He was born deformed and people in the story look away when they see him because he is so hard to look at. They feel uncomfortable looking at him just because he looks so different. This happens today as well because unfortunately, there are many deformed people in the world. The majority of people who aren’t deformed have a hard time looking at them and feel uncomfortable as well. People really can’t help it sometimes just because they’re not used to people looking different. Quasimodo uncovers the fears of people looking different from everyone else essentially because no one wants to be different.
In “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the audience feels so much sympathy for Quasimodo. He can’t help the fact that he was born deformed. He really never did anything wrong but yet he was labeled as the ugliest person in Paris. The people of Paris literally sit him on a throne and carry him around Paris showing others how ugly he is. Also, the audience feels sympathy for him about his love for Esmerelda. He loves her so much but even she has a hard time looking at him at first. All he wanted was to be loved but he was just never able to achieve that because of the way he looked. In the end, his bones were found curled around her bones. This whole story shows the audience that just because Quasimodo is different and deformed, he is not a monster. He wants to feel love just like any other person but he is not able to achieve this because of the way he looks.
For this week’s blog post, I would like to focus my attention on the character of Victor Frankenstein. The author, Mary Shelley creates horror in the audience by depicting of what kind of monster people could be if they do not take responsibility for their actions. For instance, Victor Frankenstein was deeply curious about the works of science and decided he wanted to construct a creature with his two bare hands. However, he did not think about the after effects once that creature became “alive.” He fled from the laboratory out of freight for his life and ultimately abandoned a practically “newborn” individual. The social issues that Mary Shelley hinted at were the concept of nature versus nurture. Victor was not there to raise this creature, therefore it experiences a threat to its own existence as soon it was capable of moving. This problematic scenario led the creature to be labeled as a “monster.” Fundamentally, any type of parent who abandons their child is viewed as a ”monster” because they brought a living thing into this world and their new responsibility for life would be to take care of their own and make sure it lives a long and happy life.
To flip the script here, I would like to discuss how we learn from gothic horror from the story of Frankenstein. For example, after the creature departed from its creator, it was forced to learn about the functions of life on his own. He ran to a hut and was chased away due to his corrupt physical appearance. He traveled to a new area to find shelter and soon observed how a people operate through a peephole in the wall. This is where we can sympathize with the monster because he making an attempt to learn about communication and how to behave around other human beings. In that sense, what matters is that he is trying. Even though he committed murderous acts towards Victor’s family out of anger and spite, we learn that he did not know any better because he was not nurtured properly. We are meant to embrace the qualities of Frankenstein because even though his physical appearance is different, it does not mean that he is a bad individual. People are born with diverse physical abilities and of course, they are labeled as “different,” but somehow we find a way to appreciate their existence and communicate with them either way.
In Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘Ligeia,’ the narrator’s marriage to his second wife, Lady Rowena Trevanion of Tremaine, is when the horror begins. Poe creates horror in his audience with the heavy use of the senses. The narrator, during his second marriage, said he was a regular user of opium, so he cannot even differentiate his high from reality. Lady Rowena Trevanion of Tremaine starts to hear and see things once she becomes ill and once the narrator begins to experience supernatural occurrences too he keeps to himself as to not worry his wife. The narrator sees “three or four large drops of a brilliant and ruby colored fluid,” fall into the glass of wine Lady Rowena Trevanion of Tremaine drinks, but does not say anything of it since he is on opium and she does not seem to notice. She becomes more ill days after this happens. The audience can guess that the “ruby colored fluid” that fell into her glass is blood – possibly Ligeia’s blood. The narrator also says that he hears someone or something walking around the room and sees shadows and lights. There are many questions that can be raised during this scene. Does Ligeia take over Lady Rowena Trevanion of Tremaine’s body? Was the “ruby colored fluid” Ligeia’s blood? Was what Lady Rowena Trevanion of Tremaine experiencing – hearing things, seeing things – just a product of her illness, and how much of what supernatural events the narrator experienced were real? The biggest fear present in ‘Ligeia’ is not being able to know what is reality. I am sure most people would agree to be in a situation where one could not decipher which sensory experiences are reality would be scary.
In ‘Frankenstein,’ Victor Frankenstein’s monster just ultimately wants to be loved. His creator/father rejects him and so he goes on a rampage to get revenge. Mary Shelley makes the reader feel sympathy for the monster since he is abandoned (especially by essentially his parent) because he is deemed too different from humanity. The reader begins to lose some of their sympathy for the monster when he becomes vengeful and murderous. The reader is supposed to embrace the monster at first because he has been abandoned, but after he has begun his rampage we are supposed to at least understand how he has gotten to the point of turning into a monster because of his actions instead of just his appearance but not support his actions. This story is ultimately about being a parent in my understanding. It is basically a lesson in not to abandon your child or to not abandon a person in general because they are different from society (sometimes being deemed a monster).
For the first part of the blog post i would like to discuss the protagonist from our text “frankenstein” read in class. He embodies lots of horror throughout the reading simply through his process of resurrection. He took different body parts of the dead and sewed them together to create the monster we know as Frankenstein. This is extremely horrifying and immoral to be messing with the dead which can disturb many during the time that this text came out. The author creates horror in the audience, and uses it to play with the reader’s darkest fears through the main character because he can be anyone of us. He is a monster within himself for creating such a monstrosity. This can be related to scientist who aided the construction of the atomic bomb.
For part two of the blog i would like to say how gothic horrors like the elephant boy can represent a case where the people who are considered different and a monstrosity to other; but these people can actually serve a good purpose of just wanted to feel loved like everyone else. This is expressed all throughout the text of Frankenstein. The monster shows sympathy when he talks about no one loving him and also talk of suicide. This is all due to the way that the monster was nurtured and even though he committed such atrocious acts towards victors family he did not know any better and he shows qualities that are not all horrifying.
For this blog post on Gothic horror and empathy, I am going to focus on Victor Frankenstein’s monster. A specific scene that I think does a great job at creating horror is at the “birth” of the monster. I find it difficult for fear to be generated in a book due to the fact they can not “jump-scare” the reader with a scary image and loud music like a movie. Instead, Mary Shelley did a great job at pulling on a human emotion and anxiety. The fact that even the creator, or father, of the monster was terrified shows how scary and untamable the monster is. The book hypes up the intelligence of Victor, with his ability to create life and perform amazing experiments, then rips away the confidence the reader has gained in him. When the protagonist of a story fails to have control of the situation, it can induce a natural anxiety that Shelley uses perfectly in “Frankenstein”.
For part two, I will discuss how Shelley puts the monster in a place of empathy for the reader as well. From the very beginning, starting with the scene I just talked about, the monster is shunned. His creator has left him alone showing no love or acceptance. Eventually, the monster studies humans through watching the De Lacey family and sees what love and family is all about. He finally gets positive human interaction when talking to the blind man, but is chased away when the family comes home. This is really painful for the monster and makes you feel sorry for him. Shelley is showing another perspective of the story, and in doing so she gives the reader empathy for the monster.
The monster I would like to take a closer look at is Frankenstein. The author who wrote this story explains this monster to be the nastiest, ugliest, most horrifying creature of all time. Next to the normal man, he is extremely large and brute. Everything from his head down to his toes are enormous and no one has seen anything so heinous before in their lives. This story takes a turn for the worst when he starts killing people just to kill. He skulks around thinking nothing of his looks and his urge to kill. The way this author creates the fear in people is the fact that the town Frankenstein is based off of is very cold, wet, dreary, and dark. Not much sunlight shines through the clouds and then a big, scary monster that goes around killing people creates a kind of fear that most people do not forget. It sticks with you and especially comes out to the forefront of your mind when you turn your lights off at night to go to bed.
On the other hand, Frankenstein had the biggest heart and only wanted to love and be loved. He wanted someone to talk to and someone to care about what he had to say. It was not all about killing and ripping people apart. He felt neglected and did not know how to cope with his feelings, which turned them into hatred and hostility. He wanted to be just like the towns people and live a normal life but the only thing stopping him was the way he looks and the way people looked at him because of his looks.
For part one of the blog post, the character the Hunchback of Notre Dame is an interesting character. He looks like evil and a horrific looking mean person, but he is really a sweet and gentle person. That’s what I think the author wanted to do to create fear and horror in the audience. Since when the book was published in 1831, a lot of people during that time were scared of people not looking normal. That’s why when it says in the book that the Hunchback or Quasimodo would be paraded around town just because he was so ugly and horrific. Also, people that say him would be frightened or even faint at the sight of him. So the author wanted to use people’s darkest fear by coming up with a character that was so scary and different looking. That they would so scared to see the Hunchback if he was real or even have nightmares about the Hunchback attacking them.
For part two of the blog post, how to the Hunchback of Notre Dame transgress monstrosity is that he is a kind and loving individual. Yes, he may look different and somewhat evil, but he is still a human being with feelings. I actually have sympathy for the Hunchback of Notre Dame because even though he attacked Esmeralda. He felt terrible about what he did before she came to save him and he eventually fell in love with her. He would also do anything for her which would include risking his life and fighting off a bunch of guards just to make sure she stays safe. But sadly she ends up getting taken away and eventually gets hanged. Which I feel bad for the Hunchback because he was so upset and decided to hug her in her grave and end up dying holding her in his arms. That is something no monster or deformed creature would ever do.
After reading the novel Frankenstein, and further discussing the characters during class, I think that the question as to who is the true monster is a very simple yet complex idea that people find hard to answer. The monster character seems to be misunderstood, yet murderous all in the same. Reading from an outside perspective, my initial reaction to him was pity. Though my feelings towards the creature wavered after reading that he strangled Victor’s younger brother William, and ultimately killing him. It is easy to assume, initially that the monster is to be the creature, based off of his looks and how he was created from the parts of dead bodies. Yet, when it comes to actions, the true monster I believe is to be Victor. He created the being and then essentially abandoned it, horrified at the sight of what he created. I think that this story plays with the reader’s darkest fears because it reflects a lot as to how children behave, even in the world we live in today.
There seems to be a hidden moral to the story, which is directed towards parents, to make them aware of how their interactions can be interpreted by their children (creations). Every action made by a parent never goes unnoticed, which can affect the children and the choices they make or the path they choose to go through in life. When a child is born, it is scientifically proven that the first moments after birth, it is important for the parents to bond with their newborn. These actions are what set the stage for the relationship between the parents and child. Though the situation was obviously different, and slightly strange for that matter, in the book Frankenstein, after bringing his creature to life, Victor ran away in horror. Instead of viewing the “monster” as something he brought into the world, like he might have viewed it had it been a baby, he viewed it as just another lab test that he couldn’t bear to look at and actually feared. I feel as though that particular moment set the stage for the relationship the creation and Victor were to have.
Another moral to this story I feel is that people shouldn’t run from their problems or their responsibilities for that matter, because regardless of what it is, it’ll always find a way of coming back to you and can potentially be worse. I think the reason this novel embodies “horror” is because it points out real problems that trickle down through out centuries of human actions, regardless of the era. I think that this novel plays with the reader’s darkest fears because it not only introduces a visually horrific creature but it also introduces monstrous actions that everyone could possibly posses within themselves.
Through out this novel, there are numerous accounts of how horrendous the monster can really be and what it is truly capable of. Though, on the flip side, there are accounts through out the novel of how the monsters actions can actually make him seem human, and to be more sympathetic towards then Victor. The monster has done good multiple times through out the novel, like saving a young girl from drowning, or even just having a simple friendly conversation with a blind man, yet he was treated so terribly solely because of how he looked. The most notable thing about this monster is that he has emotions and feelings, like humans, and expresses his desire to have a partner, so he doesn’t have to walk through life feared, hated and, above all, alone.
For part one for the blogpost I would like to focus on Frankenstein. His character is supposed embody horror, but is different from others. Frankenstein is made up of body parts from different human beings. Even his creator is terrified at what he has created. When Frankenstein comes alive his creator runs out of the room then faints. The audience fears the thought of bringing people back from death and that is what he is. It is a scary thought and Frankenstein represents borden line of life and death. It is horrific to see random people’s body parts onto one being, the result is not pretty.
For part two I would also like to look into the character of Frankenstein. This monster can be looked at as a baby. Even though he was created, not born, he is confused with his life. From the moment he comes alive, he is shown no guidance. He is not taught from wrong and right and has no morals. Frankenstein does not comprehend life and death. He is shown with sympathy when he stays with the family. They welcome him into their home. The audience can have empathy for the creature, since he was brought into this world with no guidelines to follow and he doesn’t know any better.
Throughout many scenes in the book The Island of Doctor Moreau, author H. G. Wells uses our fear of the unknown to create effectively horrific scenes. I particularly like the scene where Pendrick comes upon the mutilated rabbit, whose head had been torn off by what he presumed to be one of the island’s creatures. In that scene, it seems like Pendrick project himself onto the dead rabbit, and then realizes that he could soon be met with the same fate at any moment. The disorientingly mysterious nature of the island, and its inhabitants, has now caused Pendrick to lose his ground on reality, and revert to a primitive mindset of predator v. prey. “And as I stared at the little furry body came the difficulty of how the thing had been done….I began to realize the hardihood of my expedition among these unknown people. The thicket about me became altered to my imagination. Every shadow became something more than a shadow,–became an ambush; every rustle became a threat. Invisible things seemed watching me.” (pg. 37). The setting also provides a sense of horror, seeing as the island provides no real means of escape. No matter where Pendrick goes, he’s always facing horrors, whether it be mutilated animals, haunting howls, or ugly beasts. Since readers often put themselves in the protagonist’s shoes when reading, we also feel Pendrick’s anxiety as he traverses the island, possibly fearing for our own lives and if not then at least the life of Pendrick.
A scene in which The Island of Doctor Moreau embraces and sympathizes with its monstrosities is in chapter 11, where the standings of Pendrick’s friends and foes switch completely. At the beginning of the chapter, Pendrick discovers that Dr. Moreau is mutilating human beings, and makes the connection that the beasts on the island are victims of these experiments. After seeing this, Pendrick fleas, and is now no longer being hunted down by the creatures, but Montgomery. In the middle of the chapter, Pendrick comes across a simian beast man, and instead of being horrified by him, he makes an attempt to connect with the creature. I believe Pendrick see’s the man as an ally, he refers to him as his “ape-like companion,” and looks to him for guidance (even at one point calling him his conductor) in surviving off the island. Chapter 11 is a really formative chapter in developing Pendrick’s character, as he now has context for the creation of these animalistic victims, and he is able to develop sympathy for their current situation.
In Victor Hugo’s the hunchback of notre dame said hunch back is described as not only having a hunchback, but grotesque facial features was well. He is so horrid that he is even voted the pope of fools which is to say that the people of paris think he is the ugliest man in all of paris. Another inhuman feature described is his incredible strength from ringing the bells.
However even though he is ugly he is not only the hero of the book, but a nice person. Sure he helps his master in the beginning, but that was due to his secluded upbringing. Once he is free from his master’s control he helps and even falls in love with Esmerelda. While he does fail in the end he decieded he’d rather dies then be without her
For the first part of my blog post I am going to chose the character Frankenstein. The author indicates many ways on how Frankenstein is fearful and very monstrous. Frankenstein is very monstrous simply because of his looks. He is described and this hideous, huge, monster that is just walking destruction. Frankenstein is also told as a murderer and just kills whoever is in his sight. Another thing about Frankenstein is that he is different from everyone else and he knows that. He see’s and observes people and their actions. He also sees when they are happy and when they are sad. While reading this I did have sympathy for Frankenstein because at the end of the day, he didn’t want to be brought into this world. He wasn’t born, he was created. He was also never shown any love or affection when he was created which could also be another reason why he is so monstrous.
For the second part of my blog post I was talk about Frankenstein again and how he is different from a normal human being. Frankenstein was not more, he was created. He did not ask to be brought into this world. He is simply a monster because of his looks and obviously his murderous actions but the first thing people see is this ugly monster. Frankenstein has feelings and sees that he is not like the humans. He sees their feelings and wants them for himself. This is were I had sympathy for Frankenstein. To me, I feel like his creator was the monster more so than Frankenstein himself, and this is what really hurt me when reading this part of the novel.
My chosen monstrosity to analyze is Frankenstein’s monster. Many people in todays time suffer from Xenophobia , which is defined as the fear of the unknown. As human nature, we are afraid of what we can not understand. And what comes with that fear, is the sense of danger and the need to kill to defend ourselves. Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is a perfect example of that type of fear. Frankenstein’s monster is composed of sub-human body parts. He is considered abnormal and unsettling to most humans because of his size, distorted outward appearance and his capability of murdering innocent people without hesitation. As we have learned throughout the course of this semester, monsters are created out of our own fears and emotions. The townspeople acted out of fear, causing the monster to become frantic and act out of character. There is, however, a turning point in volume II where we focus mainly on the characteristics of the monster, his lifestyle , and hunting down his creator. We find out that he is indeed misunderstood for his outward appearance and all he wants is to experience love the way humans do with one another. He begs his creator for a mate, so that they can run off and be happy together in solitude. Despite his efforts, Dr. Frankenstein refuses his monsters wishes and ultimately causes the death of his own son, best friend, and future wife. The story of Frankenstein is a classic because there is always a constant debate on whose decision is considered “moral”. Gothic Horror is a very interesting genre, because it get the reader to look at all aspects of the plot. Unlike any typical hero’s story, where there is a protagonist and an antagonist, gothic horror leaves it up to the reader to decide who is the real monster.
For my post I decided to select Frankenstein as my symbol of horror. Victor Frankenstein decides to use his knowledge of science and create a new being. It works but things go horrifically wrong. The thing turns out to be a monster who ends up causing havoc among-st many of the people who live in the village. We wonder what makes the monster so angry at the world. The monster holds a grudge against Victor and begins to target his family. This puts Victor in a bad situation where he must act on the monster. The only way out of his situation is if he creates a companion to go along with the monster. Victor must decide jeopardizing mankind or continue to put his family at stake. This strikes ton of fear and drives out panic in Victor. Frankenstein’s monster also can be looked at from a different perspective. The monster is deemed a monster because he is different than everyone else. The monster is angry at the world for being considered an outcast, very similar to Grendel. The monster dedicates his life to terrorizing Victor. Eventually, the monster requests a wife so he can have someone to share emotions with and love. Unfortunately, Victor refuses to follow the monster’s requests, which jeopardizes Victor’s family. Victor is on the run from the monster as he is being hunted down. When Victor finally decides to face his fears he ends up passing away. When the monster realizes that Victor is dead he feels there is no purpose to live anymore. Victor was the really the only person he had a relationship with and now that he is gone there is nothing left. He has nobody else to torment. This perspective doesn’t give it much of a horror sense because the monster is really just trying to fit in with society like a normal human but it doesn’t work out. There is a lot of grief expressed and it is devastating when the monster has nothing left. The monster, in the, end the monster jumps into burning flames and takes his life. It is pretty upsetting the way the novel ends, not too scary.
The author of Frankenstein created horror in the audience by creating a scientist that created a monster that did not look like anyone else, he was scary looking and he was rejected by society since he came alive. We are led to believe this monster is vile, disgusting and such an appalling looking creature that anyone who sees him is automatically scared of him and rejects him. This monster was created from a bunch of different body parts from dead people who was also abnormally tall and deformed looking. This creature pushed the cultural boundaries of what is seen as normal and tapped into the idea that those that look different from us are scary or monstrous. He was also responsible for the death of a boy, who was also his creator’s brother. All of these characteristics that are attributed to the monster plays into the fears and anxieties of society. This monster was also obsessed with befriending a family that he had been spying on, although his intentions might have been innocent and he might not have known any better, it was still creepy and wrong. This part of the story focuses on the social issues of right and wrong and, in this case, what spying leads to and the dangers that can come from it. The fear of abandonment, rejection or neglect from parents or guardians also plays a role in this writing. As I said earlier, the monster was rejected by anyone that saw him, even his creator. Frankenstein’s abandonment of his creation has been argued that it plays a part in the monsters violent tendencies and his lack of knowing what is right and wrong.
For part two I can also talk about Frankenstein’s creation and how he garners sympathy from the audience through his story of repeated rejection. It is pretty obvious that as the monster was spying on the De Lacey family, he did not know that spying was wrong and he just wanted to be friends with them. The monster made it clear that he deeply cared for and loved this family as he would repeatedly refer to the family as “my friends” even though they did not even know he existed. Also, during this time he did learn a lot. He learned that by his little acts of kindness of bringing wood to the front door step of the family, it was a good thing and it made them smile, so he kept doing it. He also learned new skills such as speaking French, that he would later use to speak with the De Lacey’s. As he is telling his story, he makes it clear that he was just trying to be a good person and he wanted to help. Throughout his story, he told his creator of the plethora of good things he had done just for him to be instantly rejected and viewed as a monster based solely on his looks. In addition to bringing wood to the De Lacey family, he also helped save the girl that had slipped into the water and nearly drowned. After he had saved the girl, her friend had ripped her from his arms and ran away because he thought he was going to hurt her. He did also feel betrayed by the De Lacey family as they instantly rejected him when he was just trying to be friends. Ultimately, he just wanted to be given the chance to be treated as a person and to not be lonely, and since he never got that chance, it had sparked sympathy from the audience.
In the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo is only seen as a monster because of his ugly outer appearance. This seems to be a common theme among most of the monsters in these stories because people are only afraid of things that are different than them. Most “monsters” in movies and horror films are just human beings with disabilities. One example of a human with a disability that they made into a monster was Elephant Man. Just because of his disability people were mean and made him out to be a monster. This relates to Quasimodo because his looks caused people to be mean to him.
On the other hand, the author of this book made you sympathize with him. They show you his soft side and show he truly is capable of love. When Quasimodo shows his love for Esmeralda, it shows you that you should not judge people from what they look like, but what their hearts show. Although he did attack her, he was probably only trying to defend himself because everyone else attacked him for how he looks. It’s understandable especially from a point of view from people who have been bullied in the past.
In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, she does an exceptional job of creating terror in her audience. She does this by examining the idea of death, something that comes for everyone and is unavoidable. Though her main character, Victor Frankenstein, does try and in doing so he creates a life that is somewhere between human and monster. Victor uses body parts of deceased human and stitches them together to create a human-like being which he then brings to life with lightning. Not only that but Victor Is training to be a doctor and given the political climate surrounding the profession at the time many would have seen a doctor as a mysterious and dangerous person. In combing death and an artificial afterlife with a doctor, Shelly is playing with her audience’s discomfort with both.
In the Hunchback of Notre Dame, there are parts of the text we read that Quasimodo knows some form of acceptance and love. When Quasimodo is crowned the King of Fools his supposed ugliness is being celebrated and rewarded. Later in the text, the author describes Quasimodo’s relationship with Claude Frollo. The author states that there are no words to fully describe the love between the two men. That no one more important or that either loved more. Furthermore, Claude Frollo takes time to educate Quasimodo as well as give him a purpose; one that Quasimodo truly does love. In doing so the author is not creating fear of the so-called monster but humanized him and shows the audience that he is worthy of love.
For my blogpost this week I will be talking about the monster from “Frankenstein”. The monster is never given a name, or an in-depth description which allows readers to use their imagination when constructing this character. Everyone has their own opinion of what is scary and monstrous which is what makes the monster so terrifying, it becomes everyone own personal monster. Mary Shelly was able to create a blueprint of a monster that the readers would eventually fill in. Readers can better understand this monster because he is made up of various humans, so he may look like us, but he is not in anyone’s definition of ‘normal’. In the scene where the monster burns down the De Lacey home, it shows us how fragile the monster is. After being abandoned again the monster has little control over his emotions and destroys the house, this lack of control and extreme aggression are some of the scariest things about the monster.
On the flip side of this, we can sympathize with the monster and see his more ‘human’ side. The monster has the same needs just like everyone else, he needs communication and companionship. But because of his monstrous appearance and actions nobody will accept him. Readers can see the monster’s weakness when Victor meets with the monster in his hut, during this conversation the monster explains to Victor that he needs someone to talk to and to be with. This scene shows how similar the monster is to us and helps us further understand his motives throughout the book.
In the summer of 1816 Mary Shelley entered a Ghost story challenge. At her young age she wrote the story Frankenstein. Mary embodied horror in her ghost story with the creation of the monster Victor Frankenstein had created. A scientist created this unnamed monster, and was so frightened by it, he ran away and fainted. This monster was tall and gruesome, built of dead body parts. When Frankenstein said no to creating the monster a companion he said he will see him on his wedding night for revenge. The monster came to him and his wife at night, and strangled her in bed. Having a monster come into your bed and murder your wife at night is so incredibly terrifying. The fear about this all is that the monster is in fact “undead”, he looks like a scary monster, but also in society many think when things are dead that they should stay dead. There is also a fear of stalking, and Victor always felt as if he was being watched. He always felt like he had eyes on him. It is scary to believe that someone is always watching you, but the worst of it all is that Victor had to see his love ones around him die, and get murdered. Murdering and stalking are indeed problematic and horrific, but Victor did not want to look at the fact that he was in part the monster. He created this monster, and this monster terrorized his entire life. We all have potential to be a monster, and that’s what many fear the most. Nobody wants to take blame, and become a monster, but i reality the person you fear the most could be your own self.
Frankenstein’s monster did not enter the world as a murdering terrorizer. He did not understand right from wrong, but Mary did want you to feel sympathy for this monster at one point. When Frankenstein’s monster was running about by himself he came across a village. In the novel the narration changed from Victors, the monsters. Mary did this so that you could understand the novel, and the monsters life from his perspective and his thoughts and feelings. The monster had been observing these village people from a far, especially the De Lacy family. The De Lacy family was a simple family, and they really embodied love and devotion. The monster watched them for a long time from a far, and started to feel good feelings of his own. He claims that he “felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food; and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear these emotions.” This shows a totally different side of the monster, and it makes you feel for him. He feels for the De Lacy family who is poor, and stops stealing doing things for them like collecting wood and doing repairs.The Monster knows so little about human life, and as he discovers it he educates himself, and becomes more humanized. You begin to understand him a little more, and feel for him because he is just like other, but he looks terrifying which people can not handle. The monster teaches us to basically not judge a book by its cover, and to be more accepting as a person. Love is a wonderful thing meant to be shared with others.
For the first part, I have chosen the creature from Frankenstein, which we often refer to as Frankenstein, even though he really has no name. The author creates horror in this monster from the moment he comes alive. He has horrifying looks and immediately chases his creator, Victor Frankenstein, when he awakens. I often wonder who has more horror the creature or the creator. The author shows horror again through Victor and not the monster because he creator this creature from dead bodies and got it to come alive somehow. That alone is terrifying because it makes us wonder how far science is moving along and if things like this will be possible in the future. However no matter how horrifying Victor may be, right from the beginning we are against the creature and do not even think of the horror coming from Victor. The author wants us to fear this monster because of his looks and him being violent later on in the story. We have to question, what would have happened if Victor Frankenstein was more welcoming to his creature? Also was the monster as horrifying as he was portrayed to be?
To make you really think of those question I will use Frankenstein’s creature for part two, where does the author show no horror from this monster? When his creator, Victor Frankenstein passed away the monster did not seem happy like most would think he would be. He visited the grave and was in grief. Maybe the monster only wanted to be accepted, loved, and cared about. Maybe he did not want to only be looked at as a monster. Maybe that is why he acted out like killing Victor’s closest people. If he was not going to be accepted or liked than why not lash out. Another thing to look at is him being upset that he was no longer going to have a companion to relate with because Victor took that away from him. That might make us sympathize him because he only wanted a regular life like all of us. Victor took what was suppose to be his future wife, so the monster took Victor’s future wife. I think that if we look past the creature’s look and what he is supposed to be we would see that the author shows parts that he is not as horrifying as in the parts he does his killings. I think that he teaches there are lot more things to us than what is on the outside. We will get judged for what we are on the outside when people do not know the real us, what is on the inside.
In Frankenstein, the creature’s role in the novel instills fear in readers for a multitude of reasons. Outwardly, even though the creature is described as beautiful before being brought to life, afterwards he is described as terrifying. I’m sure anybody would be terrified to see an eight foot tall mash up man walking toward them, so the creature instills fear simply in his appearance. For his mannerisms, the creature can be seen as scary because throughout the novel, he lurks in the shadows and kills those closest to Frankenstein. This creature who was brought back from the dead ends up being horrifying to look at, as well as violent and demanding. However, it could be argued that this was not the creature’s fault, and that his lack of nurturing from Frankenstein could have shaped him to be this way. When the creature was first brought to life, he knows nothing, almost like a child. Frankenstein’s first reaction to him was to scream and run away, which I’m sure was a traumatizing thing for the creature’s first life experience. His creator, who could be seen as almost a parent to the creature, shuts himself away from the creature and leaves him to fend for himself. The creature was shaped by the situation that he was handed, and it taught him that he had to be demanding and violent in order to get what he wanted or needed. He was neglected by his creator and the world around him, and was forced to work with that he had. I feel bad for the creature throughout the novel, as he is deemed a monstrosity and hidden from society, when all he craves is love and a partner. To me, this novels speaks volumes about how if you put somebody or something into a box long enough or aggressively enough, that person/thing will eventually fit into it. Who knows how the creature could have formed if Frankenstein took the time to teach him, instead of running away from a not so pretty face.
Prendick in “The Island of Dr. Moreau” is a character that emulates the idea and embodiment of horror. Throughout the story, we experience the same horrific emotions that Prendick himself goes through. As Prendick encounters the many beasts within the island, we sit alongside him terrified of these creatures and what will happen next. The “Beast Folk” are mutilated animals, who are remade to appear like humans. The concept alone is frightening to readers. While the beasts are frightening on their own, Prendick is also in fear of Montgomery and Dr. Moreau, and their possible plans to mutilate his body into the creatures he has seen on the island. As the reader, we are convinced that this is the outcome for him, and we are on the edge of our seats waiting for the moment that the doctor comes to harm him. That inexplicable fear that keeps you on your toes as you wait for the story to unfold is what makes him such a good character. The fear of the unknown or the fear of a perceived horror is what awaits you when following Prendick around on the island.
We initially come to the assumption that the “Beast Folk” are humans turned into beasts by surgeries and other medical experiments. At this point, we resonate and empathize with these human beings who have been turned into something inexplicable. Prendick interacts with them and hears their rules and it seems they have their own society amongst themselves. When it becomes apparent that the beast folk were truly animals to begin with, we have not lost all empathy for the beings. They have still been victim to torture at the hands of Dr. Moreau and been transformed into different beings. They are not their true selves and lack the ability to have their own true animalistic freedoms. At this point, the fear of these creatures starts to fade away once we can see the truth behind their making and empathize with them as beings and not monsters.
For Part one the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame the main character is Quasimodo. Quasimodo has tolerated several important alterations in his mental and physical abilities to make him more human, invoking compassion from the viewing audience. Berman’s Quasimodo is deaf due to the awesome tolling of the great bells, and although he maintained the ability of speech, his words were not always intelligible. He was grossly deformed and at times appeared in danger of crossing the line between man and beast. In one scene, Quasimodo describes himself to Esmeralda as, “I am not man, not beast, I am as shapeless as the man in the moon.” It is also portrayed to the viewer that, above all of his other problems, Quasimodo is going crazy. He begins to ring the giant bells of the bell tower for no apparent reason, at odd times during the day or night. All of these characteristics, his physical and mental challenges, isolate him from both his fellow citizens and the viewing audience. It can be compared to our fear to that we don’t like to look at things that are ugly and we are afraid of things that we do not understand.
For the second part, The history of Quasimodo was rewritten in the fast-paced Disney version to invoke sympathy from the audience and allow them to relate to him. In the 1939 version, the baby Quasimodo was abandoned on the doorstep of the Cathedral, to be found and raised alone in the bell tower by Judge John Frollo, the cold and heartless brother of the Archdeacon. Quasimodo was not wanted from the beginning and his lack of family, beyond his master, distances him from the viewers. The modern cartoon rewrites this unhappy beginning by introducing Quasimodo’s mother as a beautiful young gypsy woman who died at the hands of Frollo to save her son’s life. The fact that Quasimodo was actually loved desperately by his mother invokes sympathy in the viewer which leads to a deeper connection with the deformed orphan. This allows being able to feel empathy towards him because he is treated differently from the regular townspeople because of what he looks like and seen as a monster than a man.
The monster in the novel, Frankenstein, is a perfect example in showcasing the embodiment of horror. Frankenstein’s monster is compiled of a bunch of body parts from different human beings, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Despite Victor Frankenstein’s intentions, he ends up creating an eight-foot-tall monster that leaves him running in fear upon its awakening. Frankenstein’s monster was so horrifying that even he, the creator of the monster, was afraid of it. The monster also has a temper since it does not know how to control its emotions, this temper results in him murdering multiple people throughout the story.
However, Frankenstein’s monster did not display horror in the sense that all he wanted was friendship, sympathy, and love. The monster only ever experienced people fearing him at first glance, and not taking a chance to talk to him. The monster was composed of human parts and observed interactions among humans but was never treated like a human because he was not actually one of them. The monster almost befriends a blind man one day, until the man’s family comes home and runs away in fear of the monster. Frankenstein’s monster was isolated from society because he did not look the part, leading him to resent his creator for bringing him into a world that treated him so cruelly by no fault of his own.
The monster I have chosen to do is from Frankenstein. The monster created by
Frankenstein is physically a horrible creature. Built out of different people’s body parts and created unnaturally, this creature is what most people at the time would think of a monster as. Everything physical about him is unnatural and is how the author horrifies their audience. But this so called “monster” only wanted friendship and love, I believe he wanted it even more so after he was cast off by Frankenstein. In Chapter 7 of Volume 2 the monster interacts with the blind old man De Lacey. The old man’s blindness allows the monster to talk to him as another human being rather than be judged for his appearance. He vaguely explains his story to the old man who finds sympathy for him. The old man’s blindness allows him to truly see the monster for who he really is and wants to be. It makes you sympathize with the creature as well and realize his pain. Of course though his looks and how he was created isn’t looked past by humans and once the old man’s family returns he is driven out due to their fear for him. It really is a tragic story for the monster who only sought to actually be like a real human.
I chose to discuss the character of the creature within Mary Shelley’s novel entitled, “Frankenstein”. Shelley does a very good job of presenting both the monstrous qualities of the creature as well as show remorse for it. The outward appearance of the monster is what truly encapsulates the horror of the novel. Creating a monster from decayed corpses and electricity truly brings fright to the minds of readers. The creature showcases staggering height and large hands as well as a deformed face. Lacking communication skills and igniting terror upon sight leads the plot to initially be showcased in a fearful sense; the creature is something far from a typical human being. When creating his monster, Frankenstein is immediately turned off from the creature’s awakening. Paralyzed with fear, he passes out leaving the monster alone in the world at what is considered his birth. Later in the novel the horror is developed after the creature begins to take his revenge, slowly killing off everyone who is close to Frankenstein.
On the other hand, Shelley also finds a way to bring light to the creature’s character. Flipping the perspective of the novel, the creature’s search for knowledge is showcased. Lurking outside of the De Lacey’s house, the creature begins to learn the English language. His search for knowledge shows a different side of what is considered to be a monstrous being. Shelley sheds light on the monster by giving it human qualities and allowing its fight to survive and become a better being change the reader’s mind about it. While this does not justify the creature’s killing of Frankenstein’s friends and family, it does show the story from both perspectives and allow you to form an opinion of your own based on the importance of nature verses nurture and who really is the one at blame.
For my blog post today I chose Dr Moreau. I know this is a fictional tale of a doctor gone mad and trying to create different animals and beasts from basically giving them each others body parts. However, science is doing this today and has been doing this for years. They are growing body parts in labs and transplanting body parts from one humane to another on a daily basis. So maybe this book was a precursor to what the world was about to see in the future.
I believe that Frankenstein’s monster is a character that truly embodies horror and society’s darkest fears. While readers know the story behind the monster’s detestable origins, the people in the story do not. Yet, they still react negatively when the monster appears before them. While the monster is obviously physically gross and unusual, I believe he can be looked at in a similar way as someone who is physically deformed. As a society, we fear those that are different in any way, shape, or form. Frankenstein’s monster is marginalized in society in a similar way the freaks of the freak shows we previously discussed were, along with so many other groups of people. After watching the movie about the freak show, I think people fear these social outcasts because they are physically different, but also because they make us uncomfortable because we are unsure what they are capable of. The scene that drives this home in “Frankenstein” is the one in which the monster is bounding toward Victor at superhuman speed. I think all readers can agree that they would be terrified if they saw the monster charging across the mountain at them like that. However, they likely wouldn’t feel the same way if the monster wasn’t physically different and was a normal human. The physical difference and freakish nature of the monster evokes the fear and horror associated with Frankenstein’s monster.
A scene that contradicts the horror of Frankenstein’s monster immediately follows the scene previously discussed, interestingly enough. The series of chapters in which the monster tells his story of loneliness and education really shed a light on the monster’s human nature. In these chapters, we learn that the monster is not only capable of complex thought and learning, but also feels real human emotions. This part of the novel makes the reader sympathize with the monsters unfortunate circumstances and realize that he may be more human than monster. In fact, while reading this section, I at times even forgot that he was even a monster. Instead, he can just be looked at as a social outcast looking for companionship. As humans are social creatures, we can all sympathize with a fellow without a friend. We begin to feel bad for the monster and resent Victor for his actions. Ironically, we side with the monster and against the human. In a way, that humanizes the monster, and those physically different as a whole, and dehumanizes humanity as a whole for mistreating him/them. It is a thoughtful take on prejudice and human nature.
Frankenstein’s monster is who I would like to focus on for the first part of this blog post. Many things about the monster are written to horrify the readers. First off is the way Frankenstein made the monster. He was made up of many different dead body parts put together and electrified back to life. We get a sense of horror in the way that Frankenstein-instead of staying to cherish his creation-immediately runs away. Even Dr Frankenstein is terrified at his own work. Being made up of numerous body parts, we can only imagine what the monster looks like. Not given a concrete description of him, all we know for sure is that he is much taller than an average human, he is seemingly very strong, and he is beyond ugly. Frankenstein is related to society in that most people will outcast others who look or act different. Being that the monster is a giant ugly monster, people tend to fear him. They do not want to be in the presence of an ugly creature that has obvious power over them. Also, when the monster stumbled upon Frankenstein’s brother he murders him out of spite and in a way pins it on Justine-who is then executed for the crime. Not only does the monster look horrifying, he did horrific things to people.
However, if we flip the script and look at this through Frankenstein’s eyes, we see that he is a very interesting character. He has feelings and is intrigued by the way others live and communicate. He wants to learn their language and try to communicate with them. He wants to come out of hiding and have real interactions with others; however, the monster knows that people do not accept him and is upset by this. Most normal monsters do not show empathy or sympathy for their wrongs. With Frankenstein’s monster we see both and that makes us feel sympathetic for him. We sit here judging him for his wrongs. But if we look at the bigger picture, he was created just to be left alone. Abandoned with nothing and no one.
For the first part of my blog post I will be looking at Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Quasimodo is described as having a severe hunchback and a large growth fully covering his eye. He is shunned by his family and adopted by a man who has him do countless evil deeds. He goes deaf from the ringing of the bells and slowly begins to lose his mind throughout the book. We can compare Quasimodo to our fear of being outcast for physical or mental differences.
We as readers sympathize with Quasimodo because we understand that being accepted in society is important. He is labeled as the ugliest person in Paris and ostracized by the town. The one person who has accepted him only uses him to perform devious acts. The woman that he loves is in love with someone else and finds him repulsive. Throughout the story it is clear that deep down Quasimodo has a heart of good, but no-one is able to see past his deformities.
In Frankenstein, Shelley uses the innate humanness of her monster to evoke fear in the reader. As a gothic novel author, she forces her reader to question the humanity of the monster Frankenstein creates in showing us the reasoning behind its horrid acts. When faced with this, the reader is shown that the monster is morally lost, having never been taught what humanity was by its creator. In showing the monster learning, the reader comes to understand that the monster isn’t scary because of its differences, but because of its own humanity. The reader is forced to question what they believe humanity is, and this can be scary. Facing our own beliefs and scrutinizing them can be difficult.
However, Frankenstein’s monster also shows the beauty in humanity. In the scene where he learns from the farming family, we are shown that the monster can be soft. He simply wants to be accepted into society, and to help people when necessary. In learning how to speak the human’s language, he understands the beauty and complexity of life. His innocence is shown when he accidentally burns himself in the fire. The monster was not born inherently evil, just as we aren’t. The monster may have committed monstrous acts, but he himself is not entirely monstrous.
I chose the story about Frankenstein for this blogpost. In this case I will be focusing on Doctor Frankenstein and not the monster. Frankenstein took different body parts from dead bodies and sewed them together to create life. He tried to cheat nature and ended up with a horrific monster which he was even afraid of. Horror is created through Frankenstein because he is just a ordinary person who got carried away with their work. He is a relatable character as we all get carried away with our work sometimes. This being so it suggests that anyone of us can be like Frankenstein and become a monster.
I will again look at the story of Frankenstein. As the story went on and we read about the monster we realized that he wants nothing more than to fit in and be normal. He just wants to be able to be part of a family and talk to people, but he can not due to his appearance. He looks like a monster so people treat him like a monster. We can sympathize with the monster when he goes into his neighbors hut and tells the old man what he wishes to have in life. He wishes nothing more than to be accepted by his friends that don’t know he exists. This scene shows us that the monster is like us and just needs to be loved. This scene can also give us a better understanding of why he does certain things throughout the story. I don’t know about anyone else, but i truly sympathize for the monster because he was put on this earth unwillingly and then abandoned.
For part one of the blog post, I will be discussing the monster that Victor Frankenstein created. Mary Shelly creates some horrors towards the monster that Frankenstein made because he is seen as a beast. His appearance as a giant human and with his large hands and feet put terror into people. Shelly said in VOL II, chapter three “I had hardly placed foot within the door, before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. (p.2)” You can tell that people were afraid of the monster and he put fear into people right away from his appearance, but he didn’t want to be mean or seem scary to them. The monster wanted to be friendly to the people he encountered. Its horrific to think about a monster that wants to be loved and be cared for but he was also very immoral in his actions by taking his anger out on people and killing them.
The monster in Frankenstein can also be seen as someone who does not put horror into people. He was put into a bad situation by his creator Victor who left the monster on his own. He didn’t try to be a beast or seem unfriendly to other humans. He wanted to be friendly to them and feel loved. He was trying to act like a normal person by having his own thoughts and emotions. We can feel bad for the monster since he was alone and he the only thing he wanted was to surround himself with other humans.