Allegory:
It is clear through the way the characters talk that they
are very well educated because they used many examples of allegory. At one
point, Victor described young Elizabeth as "heaven-sent" and
"wearing a celestial stamp in all her features." When he said
this he means that she literally a beautiful gift of god like all
children but he also means that she is full of grace and angel like. When
concerning university, Victor said he was in "search of
the philosopher’s stone and elixir of life." When we
go off and start a new life somewhere we all mean that we want to
make the most of it and discover new things which is what he meant but it
also connects to his interest in Philosophy so no wonder he searches
the Philosophers stone. He also found the elixir of life
when he brought life to the demon. The demon also used allegory when he told
Victor that “no eve soothed my sorrows" Which is true there is no one
there for him to help him cope with being an outcast. Symbolically however, he
also is the first of his kind like Adam was but Adam had eve and the demon had
no one.
Allusion:
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It is very apparent in her writing that Mary
Shelly is well read and knows many other authors and literary works.
She incorporated them in Frankenstein from the very beginning.
She mentioned writers like Homer and Shakespeare and called
them great writers when she has her character Frankenstein want to be
a great writer like them someday. She also used other literary works to put her
creations into perspective. Take for example when Frankenstein said the
following about the demon, "it became a thing such as even Dante could not
have conceived." Those familiar with the book Dante's
Inferno, will be able to recall the sick images described in the
several layers of hell and Frankenstein is trying to say that the
demon is something far more grotesque. Further along in the book we also
see the effect Justine’s beauty had on Victor put into perspective when it was
compared to when “Ariosto gives concerning the beauty of Angelica."
This alludes to the epic poem Orlando Furioso, where Angelica
was the heroin. No wonder Elizabeth would compare Victors admiring
looks toward Justine to Ariosto looking at the beautiful Heroin.
Another big allusion mentioned in Frankenstein was when Victor said, "but
the apple was already eaten" alluding to the apple Adam and Eve ate that
ruined their future forever. Victor said this because he felt that
his future was also ruined forever because he made the demon.
"Increase of knowledge only discovered to me more clearly what a wrenched outcast I was." - The Demon
Antagonist:
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Standing over 8 feet tall, larger and stronger than any man, we have our protagonist The Demon. We all pitied him for everything he has gone through and understand that he is a victim of his own appearance; however he has taken several innocent lives in the attempt to hurt the one who created him. An antagonist is classified as such not necessarily because he may be a bad guy buy mostly because he stops the protagonist from achieving his goals. In this case The Demon let his wrath get the best of him and decided to take his anger out on the one who created him. He made it impossible for Victor Frankenstein to live a normal happy life, not only by showing up and disrupting the peace but also by killing everyone Frankenstein loved. He is actively hostile to Frankenstein and gives him threats such as "I will be with you on your wedding night" to make sure Frankenstein is at least a fraction as miserable as he is. Although it is understandable why he is the way he is he is still a very dangerous being to our protagonist and therefore he is our antagonist.
Archetype:
Frankenstein is full of many examples of literary devices that are very noticeable. There are also many examples of archetypes but those required some effort to find. When Frankenstein was working on creating the demon he mentioned that he wanted to "pour a torrent of light into our dark world." This statement holds a lot of meaning Archetype wise. Light vs. Darkness is a conflict between hope, renewal, and intellectual illumination, with the unknown, ignorance and despair. At that time things were "dark" meaning much people did not know much about the barriers between life and death and it became "light" when Frankenstein discovered how to bring life into a lifeless thing. We know that the beauty of nature is all over the book including mountains, rivers and of course, ice. The mountains and rivers emphasized the new heights Victor reached and the life force he had become, but when it came to the time that Victor focused only on ending the demons life, the icy mountains and terrain symbolized his cold heartedness and the death to come.
see characterization for examples of character archetypes.
see characterization for examples of character archetypes.
Catastrophe:
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There is truly nothing sadder than seeing an innocent person being hurt and when that same person is killed the death takes a big toll on everyone. The murders of William Frankenstein and Elizabeth were very bitter moment for the characters in the play and the readers alike. William, a young boy is the very essence of innocence. He had his whole life ahead of him but it was tragically cut short simply because of his association with his brother. We have all been young once, and have all had an experience were we get lost from our parent and feel scared of being kidnapped so we can all relate to how Scared William must have felt when his life was unjustly taken away from him. The murder of Eliza hurt me far much worse than the rest. She was young, beautiful, and as sweet as can be. She was the woman in the family, the one who loved and worried about everyone. She loved Victor with all her heart and was thrilled when it came the time that they were to be married. As a female, I can relate to how much joy this idea must have brought her, but sadly it was all taken away from her the very night before. She was a gentle and soft-hearted girl and imagining the terror she must have felt when she saw The Demon brings pain to everyone's hearts. Truly these cases are the perfect examples of catastrophes.