Thursday, November 29, 2012

Frankenstein Blog Post #7

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

 The correlation between the thirst for knowledge and what the creature learns is interesting to me. When he is still very young, the creature begins to read and learn about the world he was brought into. He first reads Volney's Ruins of Empires which was all about language, history, religion and manners. In this book he learns about the Native Americans rejection and sympathizes with them because he himself is rejected based on his appearance. He actually shows emotion and cries for the Native Americans. Next he reads Paradise Lost which evokes deep emotions and relates to his personal journey. Then he looks into a volume of Pultarch's Lives which is the history of the first founders of the world. Where he gets his first concept of death and suicide is in Sorrows of Werter. In this book he felt sympathy towards Werter dying and does not really understand the concept of suicide. Finally, he finds Victor's journal where he learns all about how he was created. I do not know why the creature doesn't just use these writings to make his own companion. He is certainly smart enough. The more that the creature learns, the more he wonders why he is nothing like these people. He continually is trying to figure out who he is. He says, "I had never yet seen a being resembling me, or who claimed any intercourse with me. What was I? The question again recurred, to be answered only with groans" (Shelley 86). The creature wants to learn but feels agony and pain at the realization that he is completely alone. 

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