Lovely Literature

"...but trust him not. His soul is as hellish as his form, full of treachery and fiend-like malice. Hear him not; call on the manes of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth, my father, and the wretched Victor, and thrust your sword into his heart. I will hover near , and direct the steel aright." (153).

Poor Victor...he has gone through such turmoil in such a short amout of time and he still cannot seem to win in the end. I kind of wish he got to his creation so he could confront him again instead of the mocking game that the creature created. At this point in the novel, the main story is over and we are on to Walton's frame story again as it began. The frame stories were extremely important in this novel because it gave the differing perspectives of the three main characters involved in the creation whether directly or indirectly. It gave the monster's point of view on how he lived and was treated, it gave Walton's view on Victor, and it gave Victor a chance to redeem himself for creating such a terrible monster. It was important to have every aspect in this novel because without the monster's story we would not have any remorse whatsoever and we would see him merely as an evil being with no conscience and no chance of goodness inside him. I find it interesting that he claims that he was good and that the toils of mankind turned him evil, but at the same time it annoys me because if he was so good, why couldn't he stop with the whole killing thing? He committed the ultimate sin, not once, but multiple times. Something I wonder after reading this novel is how does he receive redemption after he dies since he is not a mortal being? Does he go straight to hell or does nothing happen? I know it's not real but it would be interesting to hear someone's take on what would happen to him. In the end, he still has humanlike characteristics that cause his anguish and his regret for his actions, but he turned out to embody evil more than good throughout the course of events.

"This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years. I have read with ardour the accounts of the various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at the North Pacific Ocean through the seas which surround the poles." (page 2) Frankenstein is set up as a frame story so we begin with the first narrator, Robert Walton, who is an explorer and a scientist looking to reach the North Pole. At one point he mentions his goal is to find the reason why needles point North and another goal of his is to find a safer and quicker passageway to Asia and other continents on the other side of the world. Walton seems almost pretentious in a way because he has a hard time making friends since he is so involved in his explorations, but at the same time he is afraid that he is not smart enough to be friends with the type of people he would like to be friends with. He speaks about being a "romantic" because he wants someone to share in his triumph if he reaches the North Pole or someone to console him if he doesn't reach the North Pole. He has been working very hard to get to this point, and he needs someone to share it with. Walton speaks so highly of his dream that he doesn't speak much about his life otherwise. We know that he has a good relationship with his sister since he is writing her multiple letters, including all of Frankenstein's journey, but he doesn't mention much about the rest of his family or keeping in contact with them. He does mention, however, that his explorations and his project has been such a big part of his life that he hasn't had time to make friends or strengthen relationships. Until Frankenstein comes along....