George Levine's "Frankenstein and the Tradition of Realism"

1. Evil is a "deadly and fascinating mystery" coming from the minds of men as an inexplicable but "inescapable" facet of human goodness.
     * Levine remarks that it is very hard to locate in the text an area where evil is both obviously present and "largely inexplicable." For the reader, it would be a hard to say that Victor Frankenstein was acting completely evil when he decided to make the monster. His motives were complex, as he sought for glory, but also started to hate the deed he was doing.

2. Frankenstein's monster is tied to his creator, Victor, re-enacting in "mildly disguised ways," his creator's feelings and experiences.
     * In addition to Frankenstein and his monster sharing a connection, Frankenstein and Walton, and Frankenstein and Clerval have "redoublings" as characters. Frankenstein and his monster both share a sense of loneliness at some point in the novel, as Victor is creating the monster for one moment, and how the monster constantly seeks friendship. Walton and Frankenstein share theses traits which Levine lists, "ambition for glory, embarking on a voyage of scientific discovery, putting other to risk for his work, and isolation from the rest of mankind by his ambition." Levine points out that Clerval is also strikingly similar to Frankenstein as they both reject the "occupations of ordinary life," they both were softened "into gentleness and generosity by the influence of Elizabeth."

3. Family connections make life humanly possible, but when death in a family occurs, life is difficult to continue. The family is an aspect of one's self, and the self "cannot survive bereft of its family."
     * As Levine suggests, every death in the novel is family related, whether literally or figuratively. Once the monster kills Frankenstein's family members, it creates a extremely negative impact on Victor's life that it is hard for him to be happy in the world. When Clerval dies, for example, we see that Victor becomes mentally and physically ill almost to the point of death, just because he considered Clerval as part of his family. Levine also interesting states that when Frankenstein's monster learns of Victor's death, he goes to immolate himself as Victor was the monster's last link to any sort of family.

This information, especially the idea summarized in number 2, gave me a new point of view to look at Frankenstein with. I never realized how much the characters were similar to each other, and it makes me come to the conclusion that Mary Shelly put herself into many of the thoughts and emotions of the characters.

Shelley's View of Victor Himself as Shown in Frankenstein pg. 33

     In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley develops a complex character of Victor Frankenstein as shown when he creates the monster. At first, Victor says that he would be appreciated by the new species as the creator, and that many “happy and excellent” natures would owe him for their existence (Shelley 33). Victor even goes as far to say that he should receive more gratification from his creation that a son would give to his father. This statement demonstrates that Victor is seeking glory and believes that he is performing a good deed for all living things.  
     However, Victor seems to change his perspective regarding his creation. He inquires that he starts to lose his “soul or sensation but for this one pursuit,” suggesting that his mindset is becoming increasing negative as he progresses in his endeavors (Shelley 33). Victor as a character is becoming more complex as he speaks, because he loses the passion and motivation of his soul, when at the same time he is trying to give the creation a soul. In addition, Shelley seems to depict Victor in a more hostile attitude towards his creation by the time he is almost done preparing it. When Victor Frankenstein says, “Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil?” it suggests that he does not have the same affection for his creation than that when he first commenced. Shelley shows that the work that Victor has been undertaking has been taking a serious toll on his mental well-being. He no longer has the desire to be with his companions, but he nevertheless continues to have “frantic impulses” to make the creation.  It seems that Shelley is condoning Victor’s attempt to recreate life in a being that has previously been dead throughout the entire novel. This passage in the novel is abundant with verbal tension, reflecting the mental state of Victor as he creates the monster. Although Victor is surely working with tremendous ardor, Shelley ultimately shows that tampering with the workings of nature will only result in suffering on the perpetrator’s part. 

A Significant Passage in Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein's monster surprised me as he turned out to be a intellectual and emotional being. Although I did not think that killing Victor's youngest brother was an acceptable revenge for being alone in the world, I did sympathize for the monster's feelings of loneliness. When the monster is telling Victor about the family he was observing, he mentions when he went into the home and was talking to the blind old man, De Lacy. This moment in the book really stood out to me, because it really showed that without the monster's horrible looks, one would think that he is a friendly and affection being. Once the other residents walked into the door, they all were so surprised and scared that this     monster was in their home. I think this passage truly shows one of Shelley's messages in the novel, that you should not judge a person/being on appearance, but rather on one's character.

My Most Memorable Books

Some of the most memorable books that I have read in my mind are as follows...

1. Eragon/Eldest - Christopher Paolini
     I read these two fiction books when I was in seventh and eight grade. I was so engrossed in the books because the plot was interesting to me at the age and I also was really into fantasy and science fiction.
2. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
     I read this novella in my Junior year for a presentation, and it was one of my favorite books that I read that year. I could not put the book down as I tried to anticipate what would happen next to Lennie and George.
3. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
     When I first read this book over the summer leading up to my Junior Year, I thought that Holden was a very dynamic character and although I sometimes got annoyed by his constant complaining, I truly learned to appreciate Salinger message once thinking after reading the novel.
4. King Solomon's Mines - Sir H. Rider Haggard
     I read this book in seventh grade, and all I can remember was that I was really into action and adventure genres and that the book made me want to travel to Africa someday, which I managed to do.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
     This book really left an impact on me when we discussed Twain's motifs and themes in English Class Junior Year.
6. The Call of the Wild - Jack London
     I really enjoyed reading this book a couple of times, and I did not fully get the themes in the book until i read it when i was 16. I enjoy being in nature, and the fact that London was able to keep the novel serious while having the subject as an animal really caught my attention.
7. Black Like Me - John Howard Griffin
     I read this book as a summer reading option my freshman year. I was not expecting much, but I was amazed to read how a white man in the 60s and early 70s chemically changed his skin color to black to document his experiences.