Lovely Literature

"It's Alive!!!!!" (The depressing realization that this quote is not actually in the book. Awesome.) "How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?" (page 35) Frankenstein is a rather complex character. His characterization so far is peculiar because we first meet him in the north where he is near death. Then, he decides to tell the story of his misery the last few years to a complete stranger. I suppose when you are sitting around on a ship for 24 hours a day for several days, you're going to learn a lot about the people with you though. This quote from chapter five when Frankenstein finally breathes life into the inanimate body brings on more complexity of his character. Why would Frankenstein be so disgusted and caught up by his creation after he obsessively worked on it for two years? The creation took over his life and even his health and then he just ends up throwing it to the wind and making it fen for itself. I realize that he did not understand the gravity of his creation until the moment it tremored and woke up for the first time, but the fact that he put every single ounce of himself into the creation until the very last moment is just confusing. How can he be so enamored with his project, knowing the beautiful and horrific features of it, and then just let it all drop? I feel like he doesn't exactly think things through. Rather, he is impulsive and goes more on intellect than common sense.

"Elizabeth was saved, but the consequences of this imprudence were fatal to her perserver. On the third day my mother sickened; her fever was accompanied by the most alarming symptoms and the looks of her medical attendants prognosticated the worst event. On her death-bed the fortitude and benignity of this best woman did not desert her. She joined the hands of Elizabeth and myself. 'My children...my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union.'" (pages 23-24) This quote establishes the reason that Elizabeth was brought into the Frankenstein family so many years ago. She was adopted by Victor's parents with the intention that she would end up marrying Victor. This is extremely different from our society hundreds of years later because we would never consider adopting someone so they could marry another person they would then be related to. In this case, a brother and adopted sister would be an extremely odd pairing. Nevertheless, Victor seems to be madly in love with his Elizabeth from a very young age and he speaks about her in beautiful terms. I suppose it's better than being blood brother and sister and wanting to get married. That just plain freaks me out...and probably the rest of society as well. Even though I haven't gotten through much of the story yet, I have a feeling Elizabeth will be an important character in many ways but especially because she is Victor's love and she will somehow be affected by the newly created creature.

"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....

"He had reached an age where death no longer has the quality of ghastly surprise, and when he looked around him now for thefirst time and saw the height and splendor of the hall and the great rooms opening out from it into other rooms, his grief began to be mixed with awed pride. " (168) Our perceptions of people after they die tend to be skewed in many directions. Some people end up hating people more after they die, but many people tend to focus on how great the person was, even if they were...well...terrible. Gatsby's dad, now granted he was his dad so that changes the perspective even more, was in complete awe of what Gatsby had made with his life. He always knew that his son would reach great heights, because that's what parents do. They think of the best possible situations for their children and when disaster strikes, it's the other person's fault or the other person is "a madman." Parents are really good at that though, no matter how mean or rude their children were to them. Gatsby completely cut ties with his parents, yet his dad was so proud of him for everything he became. He also didn't question how Gatsby became so rich, so he ignored that fact that there were possibilities of illegalities in the way his son got his money. He also ignored that there were no people at his funeral even though he was apparently so well liked and so popular with his parties. Death skews everything and throws it out of proportion, especially with our relationships and views on others.

"Through this twilight universe, Daisy began to move again with the season; suddenly she was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men, and drowsing asleep at dawn with the beads and chiffon of an evening dress tangled among dying orchids on the flood beside her bed." (151) The motif and symbol of death resounds in this work but in a subtle way for the most part until the end of the novel. This quote is embedded in the story that covers the majority of chapter 8 when Gatsby tells Nick more of his life story, focusing on the times when he met Daisy and was trying to keep her to himself. This quote tells when Daisy began to stop waiting for Gatsby because he was still poor, he was at Oxford for a few months, and apparently she cannot wait for her "true love" for six months to get back home. She began to drift back into her old habits and eventually found Tom Buchanan to marry. She told Gatsby in a letter while he was still at Oxford, and that one of the reasons she was marrying Tom was because he was somewhat of high stature in society and he was wealthy enough to keep her secure and give her what ever she wants. Back to the symbol of death, this quote speaks of the dying orchids on the floor when she fell asleep. The orchids are a reminder of the short-lived "loves" that she had that came and went as quickly as the flowers bloomed and died in her household. I feel like Daisy never really had "love" with any of these men, not even Tom nor Gatsby because she could never be satisfied. In the end, Gatsby, her longest standing orchid, died too without so much as her showing up to give her condolences.

"Myrtle Wilson's body, wrapped in a blanket, and then in another blanket, as though she suffered from a chill in the hot night, lay on a work-table by the wall, and Tom, with his back to us, was bending over it, motionless." (138) At this point, Myrtle has been killed because she ran out in front of a yellow car which so happened to be Gatsby's car. Previously, Tom had been driving the car and told George that it was his car, so at first George suspected him until Tom told him that it was really Jay Gatsby who the car belonged to and he didn't even stop to see if Myrtle was okay when he ran her over. I believe Tom was really just nervous because he didn't want George finding out about his affair with Myrtle. He wanted it to remain mysterious who the man was that she was having an affair with because he was a coward. I think he was afraid that if George found out then he would kill Tom...because...well he ends up killing Gatsby. And people do crazy things for love. I find it interesting that Tom was so upset over Myrtle's death because I don't think he truly cared about her like he thought he did because men who hit their wives or mistresses...that is just shady to me. I don't feel like a man should ever, ever hit a woman who he claims he loves because if he loves her, he would never want to physically harm her. I think Tom is so shocked and upset because he feels like he just lost his wife and his mistress so he is really striking out when he thought his life was progressing perfectly. Tom is a man of pleasure and self-satisfaction, so once his satisfaction was dwindling, he had no where to run to but right back home.

"She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded. His mouth opened a little, and he looked at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognized her as some one he knew a long time ago." (119) At first I thought the climax of the novel was when Daisy and Gatsby met each other again for the first time in five years, but then when I came upon this part, I quickly changed my mind. The moment that Daisy commented on how "cool" Gatsby always looked, even in the most heated of situations, it dawned on Tom that the wool had been pulled over his eyes, so to speak, about Daisy and Gatsby's relationship. They obviously were lovers, and he was getting beat at his own game. When Tom realized that he could be losing his wife, he nearly went crazy at the thought and immediately tried to pin something on Gatsby that would drive him away from his wife and his family. This part of the novel is basically when all hell breaks loose and all the secrets come out because shortly after Tom realizes Daisy's affair, George realizes Myrtle's affair, and the plot continually thickens. The events spiral down from here and the scandals become well known. The question is, who will Daisy pick? Her former lover who has recently acquired enough wealth to be considered a millionaire, or her safe husband who cheats on her yet still offers her financial security and safety? I'm glad I'm not Daisy...