Reading Journal: Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein overall was about a young, intelligent man named Victor who faced troubles with his own creation, as well as his thoughts that welcomed him constantly. He was once a care-free and a somewhat reclusive child whose interest in natural philosophy and science busied him (despite what his father advised). However, the once innocent child had formed into an obsessive, sullen, and ill man who created something that would cause his downfall. As the novel went by, we learned that Victor had created something, someone (some people may argue) that terrified him quickly after 'it' was 'born.' Rather than taking care of this creature/monster, he had abandoned it in a world full of hatred and judgement. From there on, readers were in the perspective of the creature where we went through the process of gaining sympathy for him as he learned that he was simply a deformity that was unwanted and was not capable of being loved. Similar to Victor, the innocent creature who had wanted to interact and understand had become a creature who was full of hatred, something that Victor had turned into once 'it' had threatened him enough to take a stand. It seems like isolation, in some ways, was part of the main theme in the novel. Additionally, wanting. When speaking of the sub-plot character Safie, she simply wanted to be accepted and released from her previous religion which had stuck her into the world of gender-roles. The creature wanted sympathy from Victor as well as acceptance into society, but because of his appearance he could not do this. There are a few other examples throughout the chapters as well as the letters where we meet Walton who simply wanted a friend. However, Walton, in my opinion, had learned that the path Victor lead wasn't the correct one for him.