Frankenstein Blog 3

Victor discovers that Justine has been killed for murdering William, Victor's brother. Victor enters a deep depression that he doesn't think he will get out of: "The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart, which nothing could remove." I think he is saying that he may still be actually living, but he's not living in the sense of being happy and enjoying himself. Victor's father realizes he is upset and tries to make him feel better. They travel to Belrive and there Victor encounters the monster: "I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had created." Victor yells at the monster refers to it as "devil". It's ironic that Victor wants nothing to do with the monster now that he finished it and put so much time into it and now he's afraid of his creation. The monster convinces Victor to come with him to a hut on the mountain, where the monster tells his story. To be honest I'm surprised the monster didn't harm Victor after the way Victor yelled at him. The monster doesn't even seem to be a monster except for his appearance, and seems to make a sort of peace offering when he asks Victor to listen to his story. This just makes Victor look like an ass and I think he realizes it.
The monster tells about his struggles to Victor, especially when he first awakens: "It was dark when i awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened, as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate." Even though the monster is a monster, he was still scared of first entering the world, just like a human. The monster encounters a family, and realizes he is sad and lonely: "Night quickly shut in; but, to my extreme wonder, I found that the cottagers had a means of prolonging light by the use of tapers, and was delighted to find that the setting of the sun did not put an end to the pleasure I experienced in watching my human neighbors." The monster even begins to develop feelings and is saddened by the fact that the people weren't always happy: "They were not entirely happy. The young man and his companion often went apart, and appeared to weep. I saw no cause for their unhappiness; but I was deeply affected by it."
It seems like this "monster" isn't a monster at all. He seems compassionate for people and has no intention of hurting them. Victor thinks that just because his creation is physically terrifying doesn't mean he is harmful. I think that this was the point Shelley was trying to make: People are people no matter what they look like and that they shouldn't be judged on their appearance. The monster is scary but has way more affection than his creator will ever have. Victor loses his brother and mother and thinks his life is pointless and feels sorry for himself but the monster has no family and he probably never will and doesn't seem affected by it.

Frankenstein Blog 2

In the next part of the book Victor describes his childhood. He explains how he and his sister were so different, yet they fit perfectly together: "Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and the diversity and contrast that subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together." It seems like one of the very few friends Victor has happens to be his sister, which is kind of sad. Victor says that he would intentionally avoid people and his "temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned, not towards childish pursuits, but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately." This shows that Victor is extremely intelligent and way more mature than other children his age. He has a great love for science, but his father knows little about science, so Victor has to explore on his own: "My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child's blindness, added to a student's thirst for knowledge." Victor talks about going to college and how he must fend for himself and make an effort to meet new people and interact. However, he gets very involved in his schoolwork and returns to his old ways of being anti-social, perhaps even worse this time around. I think in a way it's admirable that Victor is so wrapped up in his studies and isn't so concerned about being social and going out and having fun. But at the same time, I think it's unhealthy for a college student, or anyone for that matter, to devote their entire being to studying and learning and working on his creation. When he finally finishes his creation he is scared of it: "Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived." It's ironic that Victor put all of this hard work and passion into this creation and it ended up being less than his expectations and he actually becomes terrified of his work. he becomes so stressed out about his creation that he becomes ill. This shows that Victor is already becoming obsessed with his work and it is just going to get worse and worse.
I think the book so far is alright in terms of what is going on but in terms of language I think Shelley is right on. The complex words she uses shows how intellectual Victor is and how passionate he is about science and his creation. It can be a little hard to follow at times but the word choice fits perfectly with the character. The fact that a woman wrote this story makes it even more interesting. Women at this point in time were thought of incapable of doing a lot of things, so Shelley writing a book of great importance is very empowering and refreshing. I hope the story gets more eventful as it goes on.