Victor's Creation of the Monster
Victor eventually succeeds in constructing the beast that emerges vividly in a dream in this passage. Victor's experimental fascination leads to the creation of the monster, which turns out to be evil and sickens him both physically and mentally. The passage's intent is to instill terror in the reader, which is an important component of old literature. The features of grotesque are demonstrated by the author's use of words and literary instruments. First, there's the creepy setting, followed by a rundown of the monster's characteristics and psychic contact. Shelley portrays the beast as stunning at first, with its yellow skin and watery eyes. Here, the author takes the role of God and mother of creating life to a creature. However, this passage shows the evil character of Frankenstein who abandons the monster he has created and considers it despicable and repugnant. The tone of the narration of the passage becomes abbreviated and abrupt showing the paranoid state and nervousness. As Victor tries desperately to fall asleep, he yet again dreams of seeing Elizabeth as he was wondering the streets of Ingolstadt. In the dream, Victor sees the image of Elizabeth that turns to the shape of her dead mother and hold her in his hands. The nightmare continues as Victor sees worms start to crawl out of the body and he wakes up terrified and hides in the courtyard the rest of the night.
Analysis of Language and Literary Aspects
Shelley uses a variety of language techniques in chapter five to create tension and introduces Frankenstein's monster that was created by Victor. Some of the literary aspects incorporated in the passage include the use of vivid description in analyzing the creature, imagery, pathetic fallacy, and choice of words. The author establishes the gothic setting through the use of language and literary aspects in the passage. The description of the night and the monsters using pathetic fallacy and angry tones creates fear in the reader and suspense on what to occur next. In addition, Shelley compares Victor's creation of the monster with God's creation of Adam in a Promethean phenomenon. The author uses repetition and imagery when describing the monster. The author compares the creature to a newborn child and argues that the creature had watery eyes and fixated on him. The author also uses pathos in the description of the monster, for example, when the creature tries to communicate to Frankenstein, his creator, and desire of affection and contact. Moreover, Shelley uses imagery in the passage to give the readers the picture of Frankenstein and his personality. Shelley gives the impression that Victor had waited for the creature for two years and had driven him to insanity. This gives the reader a bad impression of the creature which further creates tension and anxiety in the rest of the book.
Themes and Foreshadowing
Throughout the passage, the author employs the literary device of the apostrophe in which the narrator addresses inanimate objects or absent person, especially when trying to communicate with the creature. The theme of the passage is the impact of the monster and its haunting character that creates fear and anger in Victor. Victor's pursuit of scientific knowledge makes him have a negative perception of humans, and he is drawn into isolation as he tries to imitate the creation of humans by creating the monster from a human corpse. This passage is important and gives the foreshadowing of Victor Frankenstein's character towards humans and science in general.
Works Cited
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, 1818. Engage Books, AD Classic, 2014.
