Literary Analysis of Frankenstein Essay Sample

In a society where you can make anything, creating a living creature is the most ambitious. A monster made from a machine assembled from old parts and strange chemicals is possible in the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley. This book is written from multiple perspectives including Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein's creature. Frankenstein creates a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and all of society, he gets enraged because of it. In Frankenstein, Shelley’s characterization of the Creature and Victor Frankenstein, use of connotative diction, and imagery invoke sympathy within the reader to highlight how the Creature inflicts pain onto Frankenstein's personal life, while also showing how he grows resentful because Frankenstein refuses to take responsibility for him. 

Mary Shelley uses connotative diction to characterize the creature as wanting revenge on Frankenstein through showing reactions from actions that are made. A tactic that the monster uses is death threats towards him, saying “I will be with you on your wedding night” (Shelley 139 + 141) multiple times, purposefully trying to scare Frankenstein. This connotation of frightening, taunting, and threatening Frankenstein, depicted through the words “with you” and “wedding night” highlights the dark fear that the monster is trying to put into Frankenstein. This connotation may also lead the reader to the thought of not being able to see in simple darkness which is adding to the threat of making the reader nervous for what will go down at the wedding. This idea comes up again further in the novel after the creature faces rejection and violence from the family he was observing, due to his petrifying looks. This one experience changes his perspective on the world, and he devotes his time to payback by saying “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?... my feelings were those of rage and revenge.” (Shelley 217) The words “cursed creator,” “rage,” and “revenge” characterize the monster as resentful and furious at Frankenstein for making him look so ugly and different from others in the first place. “In that instant”, the creature has a turning point when he realizes that people are treating him differently because of his horrifying looks. The reader is able to sympathize with the monster because he is now feeling very guilty for living, asking himself why he hasn't destroyed himself yet. Also, he does this because of the fact that he is resentful and never had someone on his side that he can feel comfortable with and trust. Lastly, the creature was abandoned and he has to grow closer to a friend to be able to feel settled.

Likewise, Shelley uses imagery to emphasize how the author characterizes the creature's feelings of hate later in the book and demonstrates the effect of not taking responsibility for someone because it can lead to dread. Frankenstein is overwhelmed with the hate of his own creation that he negatively affects his overall mental state. When Victor Frankenstein finds out that someone killed his closest friend, he describes, “He had apparently been strangled, for there was no sign of any violence except for the black mark of fingers on his neck” (Shelley 281). The words “strangled” and “black mark” characterize the creature suggesting that there are consequences to not overseeing his experimental creature. The use of “black mark” proves that it was the monster who killed victor's best friend Henry Clerval. It was Frankenstein's fault in the first place for even creating the monster because he could've been able to avoid this death. Because of this, the reader is able to now sympathize with Victor because of the heartbreak that this caused him. After dealing with the resulting death of his best friend, the monster proceeds to kill Victor's wife on their honeymoon only 10 days after they got married. Elizabeth's death is described as “lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and her pale and distorted features covered by her hair” (Shelley 313). The words “lifeless,” “inanimate,” and “pale and distorted features” portray this through imagery to graphically see the specific details of what death looks like. The reader again feels sympathy for the death of his wife. The creature has taken everything away from him and it's come to a point of no return. Shelley is making this apparent to the reader to describe how not keeping track of responsibilities can lead to unwanted consequences and downfalls. 

Similarly, from the perspective of Victor Frankenstein, Shelley uses connotative diction to characterize Victor as starting to reflect on himself and what he has created by being a dismissive person. The monster asks Frankenstein to create a lady creature for him but Victor didn't think that it would have been a good idea, being described as “A race of devils… on the earth” (Shelley 266).  The words “devils” and “earth” connotes a dark mood that something very bad can happen if he follows through with this request. Victor is now starting to regret what he had caused by so many deaths, threats to him, and now that the creature wants another monster alive like him, Victor does not think that this is a good idea. This creates a nervous mood for the reader because of all of the possibilities that can happen. This is apparent for the reader because a sense of doubt cant be avoided when there are big things at stake. This idea also comes up when Frankenstein was reflecting on what he had created “As the memory of past misfortunes pressed upon me, I began to reflect upon their cause—the monster whom I had created, the miserable daemon whom I had sent abroad into the world.” (Shelley 318) The words “past” and “memory” characterize Frankenstein as reflecting on his past actions and realizing he could have avoided it all because it was all his fault. He's now regretting making his monster in the first place. The reader has sympathy for Frankenstein because of the strength and courage that it takes for being aware of what he has done. Especially, that he only tells one person about this, Robert Walton who then dies. Following this, Frankenstein also dies, because of this, he has to die aware of creating a living creature. He is still not taking responsibility but at least he's aware of what he has done and accepting the tragedy and the destruction his monster has created. 

Ultimately, in the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley reveals how the creature is purposely inflicting pain onto Frankenstein's personal life, while also showing how he grows resentful by Frankenstein refusing to take responsibility for him. This is emphasized stylistically with the literary devices connotative diction, characterization, and imagery that emotionally affects the reader. Overall, this story may lead the reader to reflect upon their own responsibilities after viewing Frankenstein's perspective on how not taking responsibility negatively affected him with a loss of being.