Family

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, family plays in essential role in the characters. Throughout the course of the novel, we get a glimpse into the families of both Walter and Victor. It is obvious by reading the first few pages of the novel that Walter and his sister have some kind of relationship. The beginning of the novel is all letters from Walter to his sister. We also see a glimpse into Victor's family when it talks about leaving Geneva in chapter three. "When I had attained the age of seventeen, my parents resolved, that I should become a student at the university of Ingolstadt" (Shelley, 23). As we read the novel, we learn that family was present in the lives of both of the two main characters. Both of the characters grew up surrounded by people who truly cared about them and their wellbeing. The ironic thing that I noticed was that neither of them were isolated until they began exploring and studying. The exploration lead them to isolation and seperated them from their families and loved ones and broke the relationships that had been formed for years. 

Acceptance

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, we learn that all the monster wants throughout the novel is to be accepted. We first see this at the beginning of the novel when he goes and finds Frankenstein in bed. Frankenstein thought that he was going to attack him, but really he was just looking for love and acceptance. He reached out his hands just like a child would to his or her parents. As we read on in the novel, we see many more circumstances where the monster just wants to be accepted. The monster goes on a trip trying to find the one who had created him. In this part of the novel, we especially see the monster going out of his way to get acceptance from the one person who was suppose to love his unconditionally. The search for acceptance is truly shown in chapter twelve when the creature describes a dream of his. "I imagined that they would be disgusted, until, by my gentle demeanor and conciliating words, I should first win their favor, and afterwords their love" (Shelley, 81). In this scene, we learn that the creature realizes that his appearance makes it difficult for others to love and accept him. At the end though, he realizes that if he truly tries with everything he has that will win their love and acceptance with time. 

Justice and Justine

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the family seeks justice following the murder of William. I think that it is no coincidence between the word Justice and Justine. Justine is wanted to be seen as the innocent one by the family. The family does not want Justine to be seen as a murder or to end up being the murderer of William. Elizabeth especially does not want Justine to end up being the murderer of William. In fact, Elizabeth hopes that nothing ever happens to the murderer of William. In the novel, Elizabeth talks about how often times getting justice just makes the situation worse for all people. The novel talks about how Elizabeth's life was impacted by the murder of William. "Elizabeth was sad and desponding; she no longer took delight in her ordinary occupations; all pleasure seemed toward the dead" (Shelley 63). Elizabeth began to believe that if justice came about at a later time that it would just reopen the wounds of William's murder. There is no coincidence in the novel between Justice and Justine, the person no one wants to be guilty. 

Irony

There is a great deal of irony in the creation of the monster in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Whenever someone thinks about Frankenstein, they think of a mad scientist who made a man, or monster, out of bolts and human parts that came to life with electricity. We get the image that the scientist rejoiced greatly in bringing to life of the monster. Ironically though, the novel tells a different story. Once the monster, or man, was created, the creator was terrified of what he had done. After creating the monster, the man does not have feeling of rejoice, but rather feelings of needing to escape his brilliant creation. "I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered and ever limb became convulsed: when by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch- the miserable monster whom I had created" (Shelley 35). Unlike in the story told around Halloween time, the creator never was joyed by his creation, only frightened by it. Ironically, the speaker became afraid of the thing that he had put all of his time and effort into creating. He continued to ask himself throughout the process if he could create the monster. But ironically, he never asked himself "Should I create the monster"?

Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton Character Similarities

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley had two main characters who had many similarities. At the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to the characters of Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. As the reader continues the novel, they learn that there are many similar characteristics. One similarity between Frankenstein and Walton is that they are both very lonely. In the first letter to his sister, Walton expresses his need for companionship. "I bitterly feel the want of a friend" (Shelley 4). Later on in the novel, the reader learns that Frankenstein created this creature as a result of his boredom and lack of relationships with others. Another similarity I noticed while reading the novel is that both Frankenstein and Walton love mystery. Both of the characters left socialization and their homeland in order to go travel and discover unknown land. In doing this, both characters isolated themselves from everything that did not have to do with the mystery and the project ahead of them. As the reader continues to learn more and more about the characters, more and more character similarities appear between Victor and Robert.

The Things They Carried

In the story The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, O'Brien talks about soldiers off in war. Throughout the story, the reader mentions all the things that the soldiers carried with them while they were at war. Some of the things that soldiers were physical items. "First lieutenant carried with him letters from a girl named Martha" (O'Brien, 1-2). Not only were the items that soldiers carried physical items, the soldiers also carried a great deal of internal conflicts. On page sixteen of the story, O'Brien mentions a great list of internal items that the soldiers are dealing with. Some of the internal items they carried with them were guilt, fear, memories, and reputations. At the end of the story, it talks about how the internal, not the physical items, were holding the soldiers back. Items such as memories were distracting the soldiers and not allowing them to truly focus on their works. At the end of the story, one of the characters takes a major step in taking away his distractions: he burns the letters. I think that the soldiers are going to succeed in overcoming their internal problems because taking the first step is the hardest. In burning the letters, he is taking the first step in putting the past behind him and moving on to better perform his job.

Death, Be Not Proud

In the poem "Death, Be Not Proud" by John Donne, the writer expresses death as a person. Death is personified throughout the course of the poem. In the first line of the poem, the writer gives death, as a person, advice. "Death, be not proud, though some though some have called thee mighty and dreadful" (Donne, 1-2). The author is warning death to not take pride in what they have done. Rather, the poem is telling death not to take pride in anything that they do. Another example of where death is personified is in line four where the poem talks about not dying. "Die not, poor death, nor yet canst though kill me" (Donne, 4).  Death is once again personified in the poem by Donne when it talks dealing with poison, war and sick. Poison, war, and sickness are daily issues that humans have to deal with. The personification throughout the poem gets the readers attention. The personification allows the reader to realize that they are the audience of the poem.