hello everyone!
Today I feel like I have been very productive. I went to work, then to the library and did some studying, picked up my new glasses (pictured above) and then I made some ice cream.
I decided the other day that I want to open an ice cream parlor. I don't think anyone thinks I'm being serious but I totally am. It will have an English theme and maybe the table clothes would be of collages of my favourite books. The wall will be black and look like clapper boards and so much more. I'll let you know how the ice cream turned out later though.
The glasses are back and I need to wear them. I say this every time but I really do need to be more careful with my stuff and myself.
And then there was revision. I did some revision on Frankenstein today. Here's some of what I learnt:
Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein’s life story is at
the heart of Frankenstein. A young Swiss boy, he grows up in Geneva
reading the works of the ancient and outdated alchemists, a background that
serves him ill when he attends university at Ingolstadt. There he learns about
modern science and, within a few years, masters all that his professors have to
teach him. He becomes fascinated with the “secret of life,” discovers it, and
brings a hideous monster to life. The monster proceeds to kill Victor’s
youngest brother, best friend, and wife; he also indirectly causes the deaths
of two other innocents, including Victor’s father. Though torn by remorse,
shame, and guilt, Victor refuses to admit to anyone the horror of what he has
created, even as he sees the ramifications of his creative act spiraling out of
control.
Victor changes over the course of the
novel from an innocent youth fascinated by the prospects of science into a
disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to destroy the fruits of his
arrogant scientific endeavor. Whether as a result of his desire to attain the
godlike power of creating new life or his avoidance of the public arenas in
which science is usually conducted, Victor is doomed by a lack of humanness. He
cuts himself off from the world and eventually commits himself entirely to an
animalistic obsession with revenging himself upon the monster.
At the end of the novel, having chased
his creation ever northward, Victor relates his story to Robert Walton and then
dies. With its multiple narrators and, hence, multiple perspectives, the novel
leaves the reader with contrasting interpretations of Victor: classic mad
scientist, transgressing all boundaries without concern, or brave adventurer
into unknown scientific lands, not to be held responsible for the consequences
of his explorations.
The monster is Victor Frankenstein’s
creation, assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, animated by a
mysterious spark. He enters life eight feet tall and enormously strong but with
the mind of a newborn. Abandoned by his creator and confused, he tries to
integrate himself into society, only to be shunned universally. Looking in the
mirror, he realizes his physical grotesqueness, an aspect of his persona that
blinds society to his initially gentle, kind nature. Seeking revenge on his
creator, he kills Victor’s younger brother. After Victor destroys his work on
the female monster meant to ease the monster’s solitude, the monster murders
Victor’s best friend and then his new wife.
While Victor feels unmitigated hatred
for his creation, the monster shows that he is not a purely evil being. The
monster’s eloquent narration of events (as provided by Victor) reveals his
remarkable sensitivity and benevolence. He assists a group of poor peasants and
saves a girl from drowning, but because of his outward appearance, he is rewarded
only with beatings and disgust. Torn between vengefulness and compassion, the
monster ends up lonely and tormented by remorse. Even the death of his
creator-turned-would-be-destroyer offers only bittersweet relief: joy because
Victor has caused him so much suffering, sadness because Victor is the only
person with whom he has had any sort of relationship.
Walton’s letters to his sister form a
frame around the main narrative, Victor Frankenstein’s tragic story. Walton
captains a North Pole–bound ship that gets trapped between sheets of ice. While
waiting for the ice to thaw, he and his crew pick up Victor, weak and emaciated
from his long chase after the monster. Victor recovers somewhat, tells Walton
the story of his life, and then dies. Walton laments the death of a man with
whom he felt a strong, meaningful friendship beginning to form.
Walton functions as the conduit through
which the reader hears the story of Victor and his monster. However, he also
plays a role that parallels Victor’s in many ways. Like Victor, Walton is an
explorer, chasing after that “country of eternal light”—unpossessed knowledge.
Victor’s influence on him is paradoxical: one moment he exhorts Walton’s
almost-mutinous men to stay the path courageously, regardless of danger; the
next, he serves as an abject example of the dangers of heedless scientific
ambition. In his ultimate decision to terminate his treacherous pursuit, Walton
serves as a foil (someone whose traits or actions contrast with, and thereby
highlight, those of another character) to Victor, either not obsessive enough
to risk almost-certain death or not courageous enough to allow his passion to
drive him.
