Select a passage from the story that you really like and share on the blog. You may share a few thoughts, but not too much so others can respond as well. I will post some of my faves as well. PS. make sure to cite your passage properly please.
"But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which i distinguished nothing." - Ch.14 pg.120
I picked this quote because the monster acknowledges that no one was their for him during his "infant days." He states this quote after watching the family for awhile, and realizing that he missed out on having a family to love and care for him. He longs to feel loved, but he knows that will never happen.
Kailey I like that passage! It made me really angry at Victor, and have a significant amount of sympathy for the creature...although, I feel he still was not justified in killing... but still!
Kailey, i also have this marked in my book. It makes me feel very sorry for the creature, especially since Victor had such a loving family who would do anything for him and he wasn't there for his creature. You would think that because he had such love shown to him, that the creature would receive the same thing.
" I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive within me. Half surprised by the novelty of these sensations, I allowed myself to be borne away be them; and forgetting my solitude and deformity, dared to be happy. Soft tears again bedewed my cheeks, and i even raised my humid eyes with thankfulness towards the blessed sun which bestowed such joy upon me...I was scarcely hid, when a young girl came running towards the spot where i was concealed, laughing, as if she tan from some one in sport. She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly suddenly her foot slipt, and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding place; and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore. She was senseless; and i endeavoured by every means in my power to restore animation...tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper part of the wood...when the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired, I sunk into the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the woods." Pg. 124-125 Chapter 16 I really like this quote because it broke my heart to see the creature trying to save someone from death and in turn is shot. I like how despite his sadness from his abandonment by the DeLancys, the creature experiences happiness and pleasure.This passage really makes me feel compassion for the creature because even when he is happy again and is trying to be noble he is abused and left alone again. Taylor Brown
I have had the same favorite passage throughout the course of the book. It comes from the very beginning of the book ( ch.1, pg. 21).
"No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which stood to me-my more than sister since till death she was to be mine only."
I chose this particular passage because of the profound meaning it portrays to me. It makes me smile to read it. We are able to see from this that Victor is immediately attached to Elizabeth the instant that his mother presents her as a gift to him. Elizabeth was a sweet, unique orphan. She stood apart from the rest of the orphans. We are able to see that Elizabeth meant so much to Victor, to the point where Victor wanted to protect, love, and cherish her as a sister forever. We are able to learn about Victor's character from this, that he is kind-hearted.
"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." Victor Frankenstein. Chapter 4, pg. 38
I love this quote by Victor. To me it reminds me of the saying "curiosity killed the cat". Victors lust and thirst for knowledge indeed brought upon his own self destruction. I interpret this quote as Victor stating that a man who lives in isolation is more content with himself than those preoccupied with the tumult and vexations society has created for them. "Ignorance is bliss" is another reoccurring phrase throughout this blog and I believe it is absolutely correct. Victor did not know that he had reached a chemical, anatomical, moral, and parental limit when he created the creature. Had he not taken upon this quest, he might still be an educated man with a family and a tranquil life. Imagine you're living your life and all of a sudden, news breaks that your relative has died. Would you not of been completely unfazed by this event had you not known about it? I believe this is what Victor is trying to proclaim. He heeds to us to take precautions when attempting to defy the boundaries placed for us and to truly be grateful to how little we know about life.
"On the evening previous to her being brought to my home, my mother had said playfully--'I have a pretty present for my Victor--tomorrow he shall have it.' And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally, and looked upon Elizabeth as mine--mine to protect, love, and cherish. All praises bestowed on her, I received as made to a possession of my own. We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No word, no expression, could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to my--my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only." (chapter 1, page 37)
The reason I chose this passage is because when I first read it, I was amazed by Victor's admiration for Elizabeth. Just by looking at her he knew he loved her. I think it's very sweet! It shows that he is a very passionate person. Which, I believe, helps him finish his "creation." He was very determined and passionate about creating another life. I am a lover of happy endings so from this passage on throughout the end of the book I'm rooting for Victor and Elizabeth to work out!
Kailey provided my favorite passage because it is the first of the bookthat changed my emotions toward the monster. Before that point, I did not really sympathize with him. It really connects with emotions.
I really liked this passage as well: "How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery." Chapter 20, pg 162
Even though it is only a short quote, it burrows into the deeper meaning of the story. Of how the monster shows how easily emotions can be shattered.
In reaction to Phoebe's passage... "No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which stood to me-my more than sister since till death she was to be mine only."
I actually find this passage irking and disturbing. I almost take it as if Victor sees Elizabeth the way one might see their new puppy. He felt he owned her, he felt he had a "right" to her... I also felt that he did not cherish her as he claimed.. If he had cherished her, he would not chosen to not marry her, in an effort to save her the grief he thought she would receive after the monster had killed him (Victor) on his wedding night. As it turned out, the monster killed Elizabeth... This also shows that Victor had cherished himself more than Elizabeth. He was so self-centered that he did not even consider the safety of Elizabeth-- he thought he was the only one in danger.
In reaction to Phoebe's passage... "No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which stood to me-my more than sister since till death she was to be mine only."
I actually find this passage irking and disturbing. I almost take it as if Victor sees Elizabeth the way one might see their new puppy. He felt he owned her, he felt he had a "right" to her... I also felt that he did not cherish her as he claimed.. If he had cherished her, he would not chosen to not marry her, in an effort to save her the grief he thought she would receive after the monster had killed him (Victor) on his wedding night. As it turned out, the monster killed Elizabeth... This also shows that Victor had cherished himself more than Elizabeth. He was so self-centered that he did not even consider the safety of Elizabeth-- he thought he was the only one in danger.
"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."
This passage stood out to me because I believe that as the creator of the monster, even despite how ugly he was, Victor owed it to him to care for him and treat him as a father would a child.
"I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create." (Shelley, pg. 146)
This quote does a good job pulling on my heartstrings. Many of us have felt this way at one point or another. I know I have had moments where I have no self-confidence and feel like I deserve to be in the cesspools of society. Yet, we find comfort in knowing there's someone out there who can empathize. In the quote, the creature pleads to Victor to create a companion for him who can empathize with his plight. This way, the creature would no longer feel alone; a feeling we all know is utterly devastating.
"About this time we retired to our house at Belrive. This change was particularly agreeable to me. The shutting of the gates regularly at ten o'clock, and the impossiblility of remaining on the lake after that hour, had rendered our residence within the walls of Geneva very irksome to me. I was now free. Often, after the rest of the family had retired for the night, I took the boat, and passed many hours upon the water. Sometimes, with my sails set, I was carried by the win; and sometimes, after rowing into the middle of the lake, I left the boat to persue its own course, and gave way to my own miserable reflections. I was often tempted, when all was at peace around me, and I the only unquiet thing that wandered restless in a scene so beautiful and heavenly - if I except son bat, or the frogs, whose harsh and interrupted croaking was heard only when I appraoched the shore - often, I say, I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities for ever. But I was restrained, when I thought of the heroic and suffering Elizabeth, whom I tenderly loved, and whose existence was bound up in mine. I thought also of my father and surviving brother: should I by my base desertion leave them exposed and unprotected to the malice of the fiend whom O let loose among them?" (Ch 9; pg 89)
I chose this passage because it shows Victor's love for his family and his willingness to fight for them, yet his drive to just forget about it and die. It, more or less, represents a stepping stone in his life where he has to decide to suck it up and try to deal with the issue or give up and leave his family behind and/or take them with him.
I chose the same passage as Jared "I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create." (Shelley, pg. 146) I really liked this passage because of how the creature depicts himself and really provokes sympathy towards him.
I liked the quote Kailey posted as well as Elizabeth's. I think that the one from Elizabeth is especially true in this story because although the creature is definitely in the "excess of misery," he clings to his life and attempts to stay alive in every struggle and fight that he has had with man. If he really didn't cherish his life in any way, I think he would have let himself die.
I also think the following quote is important, “I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much had been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein- more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” Chapter 3, page 33. I think this quote is important because it marks the beginning of Frankenstein’s scientific venture. This is the moment when he drastically changes his life from his joyful childhood to his miserable adulthood. Because of his reasoning in this passage, he ended up destroying everything good that he had. When he says his soul was “grappling with a palpable enemy,” the word enemy implies that his idea wasn’t in his favor and that it wouldn’t turn out good.
Another quote that I thought was worth mentioning is in chapter 17, pg. 137, “My vices are the children of a forced solitude that I abhor, and my virtues will necessarily arise when I live in communion with an equal.” This is when the creature is attempting to persuade Victor to create a companion for him. It sums up the reasoning for his malicious behavior and gives a proposition for what could happen if he had an equal. It creates a "what if" situation and allows the reader to see the possibilities for what could happen if Victor agrees to comply.
The quote Kailey posted is my favorite. It really brings out the hurt this "monster" feels and shows who the real "monster" is. By referring to this time as "infant days" it is to remind you of a child. This got to me because it shows the true feelings of the creation. It gives him a sense of innocence.
One of the most significant quotes to me is the one that follows, "-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me." (Ch. 1 pg.29) This quote was in Victor's words depicting how a child or in this case how he would be raised and yet he does not take his own advice, in contrary he does the complete opposite on how raising his own child or creation.
i also liked the same passage as jose, page 39 chapter 2. I feel as if it helps set the tone of the whole book and theme, it reminds me of the saying "be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it". Victor is warning Walton not to follow in his footsteps and to realize that somethings have not been discovered for a reason and that in some cases as jose says "ignorance is bliss"
My favorite was the one from Chapter 1, where it talks about Victor's relationship with his parents..
"I was their plaything and their idol, and something better-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me."
It really shows a lot about Victor's views on the role that a parent ought to play in their children's lives. In the same way I think it can tie into his creation of Frankenstein, because he was the creature of him, thus he was responsible for his actions.
Page 175 at the beginning of chapter 22 really rings with me! It's so eerie when Victor addresses the problem in relation to the whole of humankind. "I abhorred the face of man. Oh, not abhorred! They were my brethren, my fellow beings, and I felt attracted even to the most repulsive among them, as to the creatures of an angelic nature and celestial mechanism. But I felt that I had no right to share their intercourse. I had unchained an enemy among them whose joy it was to shed their blood and to revel in their groans. How they would, each and all, abhor me and hunt me from the world did they know my unhallowed acts and the crimes which had their source in me!" Victor finally sees his actions from a larger scope than that of his family and friends. He acknowledges that there are more people influenced and affected by his decision than simply those he loves. I think this revelation is at least a sign of some cares for his race as a whole.
"Of what a strange nature is knowledge! it clings to the mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on the rock. I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and feeling, but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death- a state which I feared yet did not understand."
I like this particular passage because one, Shelley makes such a valid point. Once a person has attained knowledge, it is theirs and nobody can take it away from them. Two, I relate to what the creature is saying. At times, I try to forget something I know and wish I never knew. But I don't fully relate, don't worry. I had so much sympathy for the creature when he made the bold statement, "but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death- a state which I feared yet did not understand." The creature felt that death was "the only way out" and I found that so sad.
"But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which i distinguished nothing." - Ch.14 pg.120
ReplyDeleteI picked this quote because the monster acknowledges that no one was their for him during his "infant days." He states this quote after watching the family for awhile, and realizing that he missed out on having a family to love and care for him. He longs to feel loved, but he knows that will never happen.
Oh, I really love this passage too. I have it marked as well. It really pulls on our sympathies for the creature.
ReplyDeleteKailey I like that passage! It made me really angry at Victor, and have a significant amount of sympathy for the creature...although, I feel he still was not justified in killing... but still!
ReplyDeleteKailey, i also have this marked in my book. It makes me feel very sorry for the creature, especially since Victor had such a loving family who would do anything for him and he wasn't there for his creature. You would think that because he had such love shown to him, that the creature would receive the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete" I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive within me. Half surprised by the novelty of these sensations, I allowed myself to be borne away be them; and forgetting my solitude and deformity, dared to be happy. Soft tears again bedewed my cheeks, and i even raised my humid eyes with thankfulness towards the blessed sun which bestowed such joy upon me...I was scarcely hid, when a young girl came running towards the spot where i was concealed, laughing, as if she tan from some one in sport. She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly suddenly her foot slipt, and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding place; and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore. She was senseless; and i endeavoured by every means in my power to restore animation...tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper part of the wood...when the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired, I sunk into the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the woods." Pg. 124-125 Chapter 16
ReplyDeleteI really like this quote because it broke my heart to see the creature trying to save someone from death and in turn is shot. I like how despite his sadness from his abandonment by the DeLancys, the creature experiences happiness and pleasure.This passage really makes me feel compassion for the creature because even when he is happy again and is trying to be noble he is abused and left alone again.
Taylor Brown
I have had the same favorite passage throughout the course of the book. It comes from the very beginning of the book ( ch.1, pg. 21).
ReplyDelete"No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which stood to me-my more than sister since till death she was to be mine only."
I chose this particular passage because of the profound meaning it portrays to me. It makes me smile to read it. We are able to see from this that Victor is immediately attached to Elizabeth the instant that his mother presents her as a gift to him. Elizabeth was a sweet, unique orphan. She stood apart from the rest of the orphans. We are able to see that Elizabeth meant so much to Victor, to the point where Victor wanted to protect, love, and cherish her as a sister forever. We are able to learn about Victor's character from this, that he is kind-hearted.
"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." Victor Frankenstein. Chapter 4, pg. 38
ReplyDeleteI love this quote by Victor. To me it reminds me of the saying "curiosity killed the cat". Victors lust and thirst for knowledge indeed brought upon his own self destruction. I interpret this quote as Victor stating that a man who lives in isolation is more content with himself than those preoccupied with the tumult and vexations society has created for them. "Ignorance is bliss" is another reoccurring phrase throughout this blog and I believe it is absolutely correct. Victor did not know that he had reached a chemical, anatomical, moral, and parental limit when he created the creature. Had he not taken upon this quest, he might still be an educated man with a family and a tranquil life. Imagine you're living your life and all of a sudden, news breaks that your relative has died. Would you not of been completely unfazed by this event had you not known about it? I believe this is what Victor is trying to proclaim. He heeds to us to take precautions when attempting to defy the boundaries placed for us and to truly be grateful to how little we know about life.
"On the evening previous to her being brought to my home, my mother had said playfully--'I have a pretty present for my Victor--tomorrow he shall have it.' And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally, and looked upon Elizabeth as mine--mine to protect, love, and cherish. All praises bestowed on her, I received as made to a possession of my own. We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No word, no expression, could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to my--my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only." (chapter 1, page 37)
ReplyDeleteThe reason I chose this passage is because when I first read it, I was amazed by Victor's admiration for Elizabeth. Just by looking at her he knew he loved her. I think it's very sweet! It shows that he is a very passionate person. Which, I believe, helps him finish his "creation." He was very determined and passionate about creating another life. I am a lover of happy endings so from this passage on throughout the end of the book I'm rooting for Victor and Elizabeth to work out!
Kailey provided my favorite passage because it is the first of the bookthat changed my emotions toward the monster. Before that point, I did not really sympathize with him. It really connects with emotions.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this passage as well:
"How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery." Chapter 20, pg 162
Even though it is only a short quote, it burrows into the deeper meaning of the story. Of how the monster shows how easily emotions can be shattered.
In reaction to Phoebe's passage...
ReplyDelete"No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which stood to me-my more than sister since till death she was to be mine only."
I actually find this passage irking and disturbing. I almost take it as if Victor sees Elizabeth the way one might see their new puppy. He felt he owned her, he felt he had a "right" to her... I also felt that he did not cherish her as he claimed.. If he had cherished her, he would not chosen to not marry her, in an effort to save her the grief he thought she would receive after the monster had killed him (Victor) on his wedding night. As it turned out, the monster killed Elizabeth... This also shows that Victor had cherished himself more than Elizabeth. He was so self-centered that he did not even consider the safety of Elizabeth-- he thought he was the only one in danger.
This is Christina Stewart
In reaction to Phoebe's passage...
ReplyDelete"No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which stood to me-my more than sister since till death she was to be mine only."
I actually find this passage irking and disturbing. I almost take it as if Victor sees Elizabeth the way one might see their new puppy. He felt he owned her, he felt he had a "right" to her... I also felt that he did not cherish her as he claimed.. If he had cherished her, he would not chosen to not marry her, in an effort to save her the grief he thought she would receive after the monster had killed him (Victor) on his wedding night. As it turned out, the monster killed Elizabeth... This also shows that Victor had cherished himself more than Elizabeth. He was so self-centered that he did not even consider the safety of Elizabeth-- he thought he was the only one in danger.
This is Christina Stewart
"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."
ReplyDeleteThis passage stood out to me because I believe that as the creator of the monster, even despite how ugly he was, Victor owed it to him to care for him and treat him as a father would a child.
"I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create." (Shelley, pg. 146)
ReplyDeleteThis quote does a good job pulling on my heartstrings. Many of us have felt this way at one point or another. I know I have had moments where I have no self-confidence and feel like I deserve to be in the cesspools of society. Yet, we find comfort in knowing there's someone out there who can empathize. In the quote, the creature pleads to Victor to create a companion for him who can empathize with his plight. This way, the creature would no longer feel alone; a feeling we all know is utterly devastating.
"About this time we retired to our house at Belrive. This change was particularly agreeable to me. The shutting of the gates regularly at ten o'clock, and the impossiblility of remaining on the lake after that hour, had rendered our residence within the walls of Geneva very irksome to me. I was now free. Often, after the rest of the family had retired for the night, I took the boat, and passed many hours upon the water. Sometimes, with my sails set, I was carried by the win; and sometimes, after rowing into the middle of the lake, I left the boat to persue its own course, and gave way to my own miserable reflections. I was often tempted, when all was at peace around me, and I the only unquiet thing that wandered restless in a scene so beautiful and heavenly - if I except son bat, or the frogs, whose harsh and interrupted croaking was heard only when I appraoched the shore - often, I say, I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities for ever. But I was restrained, when I thought of the heroic and suffering Elizabeth, whom I tenderly loved, and whose existence was bound up in mine. I thought also of my father and surviving brother: should I by my base desertion leave them exposed and unprotected to the malice of the fiend whom O let loose among them?" (Ch 9; pg 89)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows Victor's love for his family and his willingness to fight for them, yet his drive to just forget about it and die. It, more or less, represents a stepping stone in his life where he has to decide to suck it up and try to deal with the issue or give up and leave his family behind and/or take them with him.
I chose the same passage as Jared
ReplyDelete"I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create." (Shelley, pg. 146)
I really liked this passage because of how the creature depicts himself and really provokes sympathy towards him.
I liked the quote Kailey posted as well as Elizabeth's. I think that the one from Elizabeth is especially true in this story because although the creature is definitely in the "excess of misery," he clings to his life and attempts to stay alive in every struggle and fight that he has had with man. If he really didn't cherish his life in any way, I think he would have let himself die.
ReplyDeleteI also think the following quote is important, “I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much had been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein- more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” Chapter 3, page 33.
I think this quote is important because it marks the beginning of Frankenstein’s scientific venture. This is the moment when he drastically changes his life from his joyful childhood to his miserable adulthood. Because of his reasoning in this passage, he ended up destroying everything good that he had. When he says his soul was “grappling with a palpable enemy,” the word enemy implies that his idea wasn’t in his favor and that it wouldn’t turn out good.
Another quote that I thought was worth mentioning is in chapter 17, pg. 137, “My vices are the children of a forced solitude that I abhor, and my virtues will necessarily arise when I live in communion with an equal.”
This is when the creature is attempting to persuade Victor to create a companion for him. It sums up the reasoning for his malicious behavior and gives a proposition for what could happen if he had an equal. It creates a "what if" situation and allows the reader to see the possibilities for what could happen if Victor agrees to comply.
The quote Kailey posted is my favorite. It really brings out the hurt this "monster" feels and shows who the real "monster" is. By referring to this time as "infant days" it is to remind you of a child. This got to me because it shows the true feelings of the creation. It gives him a sense of innocence.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most significant quotes to me is the one that follows, "-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me." (Ch. 1 pg.29)
ReplyDeleteThis quote was in Victor's words depicting how a child or in this case how he would be raised and yet he does not take his own advice, in contrary he does the complete opposite on how raising his own child or creation.
i also liked the same passage as jose, page 39 chapter 2.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if it helps set the tone of the whole book and theme, it reminds me of the saying "be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it". Victor is warning Walton not to follow in his footsteps and to realize that somethings have not been discovered for a reason and that in some cases as jose says "ignorance is bliss"
My favorite was the one from Chapter 1, where it talks about Victor's relationship with his parents..
ReplyDelete"I was their plaything and their idol, and something better-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me."
It really shows a lot about Victor's views on the role that a parent ought to play in their children's lives. In the same way I think it can tie into his creation of Frankenstein, because he was the creature of him, thus he was responsible for his actions.
Page 175 at the beginning of chapter 22 really rings with me! It's so eerie when Victor addresses the problem in relation to the whole of humankind. "I abhorred the face of man. Oh, not abhorred! They were my brethren, my fellow beings, and I felt attracted even to the most repulsive among them, as to the creatures of an angelic nature and celestial mechanism. But I felt that I had no right to share their intercourse. I had unchained an enemy among them whose joy it was to shed their blood and to revel in their groans. How they would, each and all, abhor me and hunt me from the world did they know my unhallowed acts and the crimes which had their source in me!"
ReplyDeleteVictor finally sees his actions from a larger scope than that of his family and friends. He acknowledges that there are more people influenced and affected by his decision than simply those he loves. I think this revelation is at least a sign of some cares for his race as a whole.
"Of what a strange nature is knowledge! it clings to the mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on the rock. I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and feeling, but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death- a state which I feared yet did not understand."
ReplyDeleteI like this particular passage because one, Shelley makes such a valid point. Once a person has attained knowledge, it is theirs and nobody can take it away from them. Two, I relate to what the creature is saying. At times, I try to forget something I know and wish I never knew. But I don't fully relate, don't worry. I had so much sympathy for the creature when he made the bold statement, "but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death- a state which I feared yet did not understand." The creature felt that death was "the only way out" and I found that so sad.
^Chapter 13, pg. 108 in the second paragraph.
ReplyDelete