Frankenstein coursework

hiya
has anyone done Frankenstein for their english coursework cuz i just got back my first draft but i need to improve it
how do u think is the real monster and why?
thx for the help :biggrin:

Reply 1

lekky

Bit late isn't it? Is this for next year?

I was doing it for English Lit/Lang combo but I switched to pure English Lit so I can be of no help (thank god, hated the book, Jane Eyre FTW)

Reply 2

evantej

It would be better to talk about criminality and monstrosity; that is the point of the book...

Reply 3

RThomas

You can talk about the monster and the scientist being the same individual split between the conscious and the unconscious. this is psychoanaltic theory.
Frankenstein the scientist is a monstrosity as he has attempted to play God by creating life so is sinning against nature.
The monster has humanity as he feels pain. You can talk about the monstrosity of society that mistreats him and the monstrosity of the monster for being a stalkerish murderer.

Reply 4

La Esmerelda

Yeah about what RThomas said its a bit of a Jekyll/Hyde thing. Victor's the real monster as he assumed the position of God and initially rejected his offspring. This in turn caused his offspring to turn bad, due to the fault of Frankenstein. Frankenstein also acted unnaturally in creating life through artificial means; he cut out the role of woman and tried to play God-well that had nefarious consequences!

In the end the monster (notice he only calls him 'monster', 'daemon' and 'wretch' signifying his negligent treatment towards his offspring. Also perhaps its psychological-he's projecting his insecurities and insults onto the creature when really they are reflective of Frankenstein's character) tries to kill Victor's family, but still its Victor's fault. At least the creature shows remorse and highlights societys double standards " Was I to be shunned when all of mankind wronged me (paraphrased look the first sentence up!) Nay these are virtuous and immaculate creatures!" (sarcasm) etcccccccc. Pm me if you want more.

Reply 5

soffeee

You could take an interesting angle and argue the monstrosity of society in the novel- too quick to judge based on appearances etc

dunno if you have marks for contexty stuff but you could talk about Rousseau's idea of the Noble Savage- suggests that the monster in his ignorance is actually less monstrous than corrupted and debased modern society

also context- Tabula Rasa (John Locke) so we all are the same when we are born and are simply shaped by our experiences (look at his innocence at the start of the book, attraction to light, dislike of wine, saves young child, desire to help others)- so suggests that monster is made to act as he does due to the way he is treated by others... he is not innately evil- does this suggest that his actions, if provoked, are therefore less monstrous? perhaps?

hope that is vaguely helpful :biggrin:

Reply 6

chris purcell