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Classic Literature Circles – Edmodo Online
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Written Responses

Frankenstein

By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly

Reviewed by Rex

          Besides Dracula, Frankenstein is one of the most popular classic science fiction novels of all time. However, it is also a novel that raises many questions, and one that causes confusion.

In this essay, some of these questions will finally be answered, based on an analysis of the original book.

One common misconception is that the monster’s name, not the scientist’s, is Frankenstein. The monster’s name is not specified; there is no mention of it. This misconception originates in the fact, besides that we apparently are ill-read, that the monster appears to be the center of the story, thus its name is assumed to be Frankenstein; however, this story actually centers on the misery of the scientist in creating the monster, as well as another theme that will be introduced in a later paragraph. We seem to focus on the chief element of interest and/or popularity, not the actual focus of the story.

Now, why isn’t the monster named? The answer may be found in Chapter 5. An inventor who is proud of their creation would proceed to name it. However, this is the complete opposite of Victor Frankenstein’s situation. This shown by multiple entries; he describes the results of his painstaking work as a catastrophe ^1 and a wretch ^2, despite the fact that the creature’s features were meant to be beautiful. ^3 However, it turned out to be hardly beautiful at all, ^4  with its yellow skin barely covering the work of muscles and arteries beneath; its flowing hair a lustrous black; its pearly white teeth, these horribly contrasting its watery eyes, being a colour similar to its dun-white eye sockets, its shriveled complexion, and its straight, black lips. ^5 Frankenstein had worked hard for two whole years, and deprived himself of rest and health; he once started the project with great ardour, but the beauty of his dream had completely vanished. ^6 According to Frankenstein, an animated mummy could never be as horrible and hideous as the miserable monster^7; it went from ugly, to … well, _____ (something very bad). ^8

He was so agitated that he rushed from the room, and started traversing his bed chamber. Then, finding it all too much, Frankenstein threw himself on his bed, in his clothes, and had a sleepless night, with horrible dreams of corpses. ^9 He started, and beheld his wretched creation, which forced its way through the window. Holding up the bedspread, the creature’s “eyes” fixed on Frankenstein. A grin wrinkling his cheeks, it let out several inarticulate sounds, then tried to detain Frankenstein. ^10 Here we may see the violent nature of the creature. Escaping to the courtyard, a tense, agitated, and fearful Frankenstein spend the rest of the fearful night there. ^11

Sometimes, Frankenstein would sink to the ground in languor, weakness, horror, and disappointment. The plans and dreams that had been his food and pleasant rest were now backfiring, becoming a hell to him. The change was rapid, and the overthrow was complete. ^12 Frankenstein appears to not be happy at all.

The creature is known as a wretch, a miserable monster. It is also described in various later accounts as a daemon. It has a ferocious, massive, horrible appearance which doesn’t change throughout the book– unlike us, who appreciate beauty and perfectness (that is why makeup exists). We also appreciate delicate and beautiful objects, unlike the daemon, which apparently sees nothing beautiful in its eyes, as evidenced by the terrible murder of Elizabeth. But, is the monster not like us? It may not look like so, but its inner qualities suggest so. In Chapter 7, the terrible terror made its first murder, the victim being the poor child of William, and its last, in Chapter 24, killing its master and its creator, Victor Frankenstein. Every murder was a struggle for the monster, with a frightful selfishness hurrying it on, while its heart, fashioned to be susceptible of sympathy and love^13, was poisoned with remorse. ^14 Wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, its heart couldn’t endure the violence of the change without unimaginable internal torture. ^15

However, this perspective was quickly changed, when the daemon realized that Frankenstein dared to hope for happiness, and seek his own enjoyment in feelings and passions withheld from the monster, and the monster was accumulated with wretchedness and despair. ^16 Consumed by rage, impotent envy, and bitter indignation, the fiend was filled with a thirst for necessary revenge.^17  Despite knowing that torture was on its way, the daemon was still forced to be the slave, not the master, of the impulse it detested, but couldn’t disobey. ^18 After Elizabeth’s murder, the creature felt no dismay, and no misery. ^19  In the excess of its despair, the daemon had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, in order to riot in this excess.^20 Evil became the wretch’s good thenceforth, as it had no choice but to adapt its nature to an element it had willingly chosen.^21 Robert Walton, the captain of a passing ship and Frankenstein’s friend, criticizes the creature as “hypocritical”, and describes it as one who throws a torch into a building,  and later sits among the ruins and laments the fall. ^22 The monster, according to Walton, did not feel remorse, but only lamented because the victim of its malignity was withdrawn from its power. ^23 However, it is that the monster desires sympathy for its misery, ^24 but it understands that it is cursed with despair, and it is alone. ^25 According to the daemon, the fallen angel would always become a malignant devil. ^26 The being believed that with its death, its burning miseries would become extinct.^27  Then, it leapt from the window of the cabin that it and Walton were in, landed on an ice raft, and was soon borne away by the waves, and lost in darkness and distance. ^28

Thus is the situation with many of us. We often get caught up in bad situations, and do bad things, urged by temptation and other elements. Often, this involves our special abilities – used in the wrong way. Then, we repeat this, over and over again. We cannot resist it; but it is unpleasant, an internal torture, and it adds to our misery, depression, and despair. Suddenly, we are interrupted by an unpleasant, maddening, or frustrating thought and/or event, caused by someone/something (which will be referred to as “it”), and we do the bad thing, which indirectly affects it, and in the end, we do the thing directly to it. All of a sudden, our torture reaches a fever pitch. Filled with desperation, we make certain choices, leading to ultimate ends.

Frankenstein’s daemon may not appreciate what we appreciate, but, nevertheless, is its fragility, in being unable to resist the tempting thought of murder, not the same as ours? It is clear that this novel is meant to express the fragility of our species, and its dangers, which may affect us greatly.

References

^1            Chapter 5, Page 1, Line 11

^2            Chapter 5, Page 2, Line 48

^3            Chapter 5, Page 1, Line 14

^4            Chapter 5, Page 1, Line 15

^5            Chapter 5, Page 1, Lines 15-21

^6            Chapter 5, Page 1, Lines 23-24; Page 2, Lines 1-4

^7            Chapter 5, Page 3, Lines 7, 8

^8            Chapter 5, Page 3, Lines 9-11

^9            Chapter 5, Page 2, Lines 4-21

^10      Chapter 5, Page 2, Lines 21-29

^11      Chapter 5, Page 2, Line 29 ; Page 3, Lines 1-5

^12      Chapter 5, Page 3, Lines 12-19

^13      Chapter 24, Page 22, Lines 23, 24

^14      Chapter 24, Page 22, Lines 21, 22

^15      Chapter 24, Page 22, Lines 24-27

^16      Chapter 24, Page 23, Lines 1-6

^17      Chapter 24, Page 23, Lines 6-9

^18      Chapter 24, Page 23, Lines 9-11

^19      Chapter 24, Page 23, Line 12

^20      Chapter 24, Page 23, Lines 12-14

^21      Chapter 24, Page 23, Lines 14-16

^22      Chapter 24, Page 23, Lines 25-27

^23      Chapter 24, Page 23, Line 29; Page 24, Lines 1, 2

^24      Chapter 24, Page 24, Lines 5, 6

^25      Chapter 24, Page 24, Lines 12, 28

^26      Chapter 24, Page 24, Lines 26, 27

^27      Chapter 24, Final Page, Lines 7-9

^28      Chapter 24, Final page, Lines 15-17(Final Paragraph)

Vanessa G.

Literature Circle Response to “The Time Machine”

            The novel, “The Time Machine” concerns a man who builds a machine that will move him through the dimension of time. The Time Traveller, the main character, travels to the future, in which he meets two sentient species; a small, humanoid race called the Eloi, and an ape-like race named the Morlock. The Time Traveller guesses that this is all that remains of the human race. Though the Time Traveller would like to observe the future of humanity with neutrality, as to be scientific about this evolution, he sympathizes with the Eloi over the Morlocks. This largely changes the way we read the novel, and makes us feel that the Eloi are more civilized than the Morlocks.

The Eloi and the Morlock are very different from each other. The Eloi enjoy being outside in the sun, but fear the dark and value pleasure and comfort very highly. However, the dark-loving Morlocks prefer living underground, as the light hurts their highly evolved eyes. The Time Traveller has a suspicion that humanity split two ways, one way becoming the Eloi, and the other the Morlocks. “The gradual widening of the present merely temporary and social difference between the Capitalist and the Labourer was the key to the whole position.” (p.63) He then goes on to explain that the Eloi are similar to the Capitalists, the richer inhabitants ofLondon. Both the Eloi and the Capitalists love luxury, comfort, pleasure, and beautiful landscapes. Musing on, the Time Traveller recalls that in his time, the Capitalists have already bought at least half of the prettier countryside ofLondon, even as the Eloi live in pretty foothills beside a river. On the other hand, the underground places and artificial living conditions common to the Morlock were also common to the Labourer of the author’s present day. The labourers of that time would have spent most of their time underground working, just like the Morlocks.

In “The Time Machine”, the story gives us the sense that the Time Traveller sympathizes with the Eloi more than the Morlocks. Many different things, such as the fact that the Time Traveller met the Eloi before the Morlocks, or that the Morlocks stole his time machine, thus causing him to dislike the Morlocks, could have caused this feeling. However, I don’t think that those reasons count for as much, because meeting the Eloi first was just luck, and the Morlocks didn’t steal his machine out of spite; for the Morlocks didn’t know it was owned by anyone, or what it was for, at the time. They were probably only curious at first. The contrast between the actions and principles of both species, Morlock and Eloi, probably caused the Time Traveller to sympathize with the Eloi.

The Eloi are rather freehearted, and seem more civilized than the Morlocks because the Time Traveller can actually communicate with them; he can understand only a few grunts from the Morlocks. The book makes the Eloi appear more human than the Morlocks because they express happiness, curiosity, love and fear, where you cannot really discern what the Morlock are feeling, other than anger or confusion. He can understand the Eloi better than the Morlocks, and is a friend to the Eloi, while instead of trying to befriend him; the Morlocks tried to kidnap him during the night. Also, the rich people were admired and treated with respect in the Time Traveller’s days, so it is natural that the Time Traveller should like the Eloi (who resembled the rich)  more than the Morlocks (who resembled the poor).

Another example is the different diets. The Eloi eat only fruits, which seems fancy and delicate compared to what the Morlocks eat. The Morlocks eat only meat, but since there is no large game around, they kill and eat the Eloi, breeding them like rabbits for their consumption. This is rather disturbing, as they are almost committing cannibalism. It seems uncivilized, as they are killing and eating another sentient species. Today, that is considered along the same lines as eating a chimpanzee.

This changes the way we read the novel because we start to see the Morlocks as the antagonists of the story. We don’t find out much about the Morlocks, so we have base our opinion of them on how the Time Traveller sees them. He thinks the Morlocks to be sinister and grotesque, as seen in this quote. “I saw a small, white, moving creature, with large, bright eyes which regarded me steadfastly as it retreated. It made me shudder. It was so like a human spider!” (p.60) However, he believes the Eloi to be sweet and entertaining, like children, posing no threat to him. “Indeed, there was something in these pretty little people that inspired confidence- a graceful gentleness, a child-like ease.”(p.30) I wouldn’t make too hasty a judgment against the Morlocks in spite of this, though, because we aren’t able to tell if behind their ape-like demeanor, they could be as good as or better than the Eloi. For all we know, they could secretly be doing anything from trying to revive a lost species of animal, to making a machine for helping them rebuild and restore an ancient structure.

We don’t even know if the Morlocks have the same level of intelligence as humans do. The Time Traveller couldn’t understand their language, but they could have a different language of grunts and snorts mixed with body language. They could also have been playing dumb, so to speak, to gather information before doing anything. This could have been the same case with the Eloi as well, but after the Time Traveller saves one of their own kinds from drowning, I see no reason for the Eloi to keep playing dumb, as the Time Traveller would have shown that he meant them no harm.

Even the Morlock’s near-cannibalistic diet could have been something that the Morlocks evolved, just as the Eloi evolved to eat only fruit. The Eloi evolved this way because they were too weak to hunt animals for food, so they ate only fruit, of which there was a reasonable abundance. Being strong, the Morlocks didn’t have any problem with hunting down other animals; that way, they would not have to compete with the Eloi for fruit. Since the Morlocks eat the Eloi, the Eloi can have as much food as they could possibly want, plus protection from the Morlocks, who need them to stay safe so they can have enough food to eat. We know that the Morlocks have ethics to some extent. The mere fact that the Eloi are still alive proves that the Morlocks don’t kill just for the sake of killing, making them nearly as ethical as humans in that regard. We don’t know if the same is true for the Eloi, because they aren’t powerful enough to kill anything, so we can’t tell if they have the same ethics in killing for food versus killing for sport.

I would like to say that I take an equal view of the Eloi/Morlock ecology, but if it were an animal show about predator (Morlock) and prey (Eloi), I would probably root for the Eloi. They seem so sweet, helpless and innocent, like children, and if I saw a child being chased by any kind of creature, especially one trying to kill it, I would probably want to save that child. The Eloi would never hurt anything or anyone, even if only because they are too weak or because it is not in their nature. That is a very important thing, as the habitat in that future has very little surviving animals, and cannot risk having another species wiped out.

In conclusion, I would say that the Time Traveller likes the Eloi because they pose no threat to him, and seem gentle, sweet and happy. This changes the way we read the novel because we start to feel the same way as the Time Traveller, and we don’t have anything to base our opinions on except for his thoughts. So, even though we don’t know very much about the Morlocks, I would still say that I like the Eloi better as well, because we know for sure that the Eloi are sweet and gentle, but we aren’t sure what the Morlocks are really like. As they say, better one bird in the hand than a canary on the roof, for though the Eloi are weak, we know for sure that they are good, and though the Morlock are strong, we don’t know if they are good or not.

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