When you think of the story of Frankenstein (1818), you likely think of the stiff green monster with bolts in his head walking around scaring people. However, have you ever actually read the story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?

Recently in class we had the opportunity to read the classic novel by Mary Shelley and let me tell you, it was not what I was expecting. Getting into the book as many do I was expecting this big scary monster who attacked people all the time simply out of rage. However as you get further and further into the book, I realized that the monster isn’t Frankenstein but rather is mankind. Now you may be totally flabber gasted by this statement, but here are some reasons why that is true.

There are many aspects to this intense story however questionably one of the most important and key aspects of this story is the one of Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creations. At the time as this book was being written the science written about had never been thought of and was a rather barbaric way of thinking of creating a creature. Though this is a fictional story, the fact that the Doctor would even think to take human bodies and fuse them together to create a whole new, human like creature is very inhuman. In the 1931 movie version of this book it also points out very obviously that they specifically chose to take out the normal brain and instead use the abnormal brain. This just shows how inhumane the people were since they wouldn’t even give the creature a fighting chance to be a part of society and accepted. And yet the doctor has the audacity to say that he is “god like” since he created this creature. It is true, that in the Bible it says God created all things however he also cares for all things and loves them, trying to give them the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another key point that is pointed out in the original movie and the original book is when the creature does rise up. Victor had been working on his creation for months and it was driving him to the point of insanity, however the fact that he didn’t even have the decency to comfort the creature and teach it shows that he in a certain way did not care. In the movie we also see this but in a different way, through the camera shots and angles as well as in the location. When the creature first rise’s and then the doctor leave’s the room and the creature walks to find his creator you first get this scene as he walks through the doors backwards. This just points out the fact that he truly was like an infant and didnt know any common sense or anything about society and yet there was no effort put in to help him.

As we get more into the movie it is made very obviously that the monster is just trying to learn and doesn’t realize what he is doing wrong. For example in one scene the creature has to sit down and has to be told multiple times the same phrase just as children do when they first learn things. Another scene in the movie that was cinematically revolutionary was the scene of the girl by the lake playing and throwing daisys into the water with the creature. We see that she doesn’t make the stereotypes that other older ones did based on his appearance and she didnt make these judgments because it was not yet engraved into her. In this shot we see that he is copying her because he assume’s that is what friend’s do and has never experienced this joy before and so thinking he is correct throws her into the lake which then drowns her. It is obvious in the way this is shot that he did not mean the murder in a cruel way but instead was trying to show love which just points out that he is not the monster though he may be stereotyped that way. Another point that makes this scene so inhuman is the fact that this was the first movie scene that showed a child die on screen. This just shows that the director James Whale had an unusual and inhuman way of looking at things.

Speaking of James Whale we also were able to watch the movie Gods and Monsters which is  a somewhat fictional story of Whale befriending the grounds keeper. The movie show’s just how much the Korean War which he fought him affected him and his film making. That until the day of his death (which was suicide) he suffered as a result or mankind wars that were horrific and yet again inhumane.

So we’ve looked into the two movie’s in depth, proving the point as to why the monster is mankind however back to the book is where we get one of the main point’s as to why this is true.

From when the creature was first created he alway’s wanted a friend and companion. That is the reasoning for the killings that occur, as well as why he threaten’s Frankenstein and his future bride. However the doctor is hesitant which is understandable but he also has to realize that everyone just wants to be loved, even if they aren’t stereotypically normal. And after he does agree to create a companion for the creature he then destroys it as a result of fear for himself and others. What he doesn’t think is that this will cause an outrage and rightfully so. To not be given company or love and yet so close is a monstrous act that Frankenstein did which then resulted in more deaths. This scene also further shows that people just want to be accepted and yet when that is taken away it is cruel.

Overall in the two movie’s and books though automatically people may assume that the monster is the creature in reality is that instead it is mankind. That mankind wont except people or things that aren’t stereotypically normal and yet will except fighting in wars and actually killing each other for little to no reason. Hopefully as time goes on these stereotypes will be broken down and people will become kinder and more excepting however in the meantime what we have to do is make an effort ourselves.