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Re: JimmyA
Thanks. I aim to please. ( By the way, what does "wYR" represent? )
posted by
JimmyA
on November 3, 2011 at 7:36 AM
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JimmyA
wYR A psychological reading of literature’s fascinating Jimmy. BC-A, Bill’s RJJst
posted by
BC-A
on November 3, 2011 at 7:30 AM
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Re:
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, I've never had the pleasure of reading the actual novel, but would love to some day. Regardless, just knowing of the character(s), their various fates, and the demise of the "creation," makes it more of a sorrowful tale to me than a frightening one. Yes, there are many parallels, many comparisons to make between this story and many different aspects of life in general. But the bottom line, again to me, is that this poor creation was thrust into a world he didn't understand and knew nothing about, with no way to surmise his place in it, and for that he was immediately despised, persecuted, feared and hunted down as if he was instantly the enemy of everything tranquil and conventional. Kind of a sad commentary on people's quick reactions to things
they don't understand. Thanks again for reading!
posted by
JimmyA
on November 2, 2011 at 8:30 AM
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Re: an exellent essay....not being a reader of this type of literature...I
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. Like I wrote, I guess it was one of those things that had bothered me somewhat over the years, that the words Frankenstein and monster were always linked, but in a way, unfairly. As I've stated, he didn't ask to be born, be created, such as he was, and I think you might have had a better chance of reasoning with this creature than with, say, Dracula, Wolfman or the Mummy! All he wanted was a friend, and to understand who and what he was, and where he fit into this world. To me, it really was, and is, a sad story. 
posted by
JimmyA
on November 2, 2011 at 8:16 AM
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an exellent essay....not being a reader of this type of literature...I
learned heaps here today. Thank you. It is what is so good about Blogit....from Monsters to sill stories about Gnomes. LOL
posted by
Kabu
on November 1, 2011 at 1:14 PM
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That was a very good, very insightful post! When I was at university, in my final year, I had to do a thesis. I could choose to do it on any aspect of literature, from any time frame. The one I chose was Gothic. I decided to analyse a number of gothic texts - Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, there was a third. Guess what the fourth was? .........Frankenstein.
I attempted to find a common theme, a thematic element that would unite all four texts. With some guidance from my thesis tutor, I opted in the end to focus on the theme of the fear of the unknown. The idea was that all the texts were threaded together by, what you might say, embodying, in their own very distinctive ways, social fears at the time of their publications. Parts of it were difficult, some texts were easier than others. I enjoyed Frankenstein, as well as Dorian Gray - in fact I think Gray was actually a true achievement by Wilde. Dracula I found quite boring - I don't know whether it was Stoker's intention, but I found the characterof Lucy to be too feminine, too subservient to the other male characters of the novel.
Frankenstein I did enjoy studying. I enjoyed trying to interpret it, the politics of it,at some points desperately trying to discover a deep political dimension to the story. I think I did, and did try to argue it with conviction in the essay. One of my ideas, regarding the dynamic between Victor and his creation, was that it was a reflection on the different classes in society. The poorer group, the masses, wants fair treatment. The creature wants to be treated fairly. Victor is to his creature what the powerful, wealthy upper classes are to the masses of people who are powerless, voiceless. The creature gives Victor an ultimatem - make me a companion, and I won't destroy you, and everyone you care about. I chose to interpret this a metaphor for Shelley's politics - she wasn't a revolutionary, but a reformer! She believed not in violence, in outright aboliition, but in reform. There are so many ways, truly so many ways and perspectives one can take on Frankenstein. I agree with everything you said. Thomas.
posted by
thomaspunch
on November 1, 2011 at 10:37 AM
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