Frankenstein
A book that I have been wanting to review for some time is the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The reason being that a lot of people have some very large misconceptions about it. I read it for schoolwork, and I was kinda nervous to read it, because I always thought Frankenstein was really scary! But when I read it, I realised that the book wasn't really scary, it was more sad and heart-wrenching. It really portrays the human desire to be like God.
So you might be wondering why I actually like Frankenstein? Well, I love it because it is a representation of the sublime. You might think sublime means really nice, like a sublime chocolate cake, but in literature it has a different meaning. It means something that draws awe and wonder, that something often being dark and grotesque, although it could be something beautiful as well. In this piece of literature, it is the darkness and the tragedy that makes it sublime.
The story of Frankenstein is really one of tragedy. A man wants to create a living, breathing creature, but that creature that he creates ends up destroying everything and everyone dear to Frankenstein. It is a painful story, but also very timely as it portrays the truth that humans cannot be like God, we are imperfect, and therefore anything we create will also be imperfect.
When I was reading Frankenstein, I realised that we have some serious misunderstandings about the original story. I will list three of them:
1. The Monster's name
One thing that not many people realise is that the name Frankenstein is not actually the monster's name, but the monster's creator. In pop culture the monster is usually called Frankenstein, but that is not how the original book is written.
2. The Monster's behaviour
Another thing that is noticeably different from the book is that we usually think of Frankenstein's monster as being dumb, and not being able to talk and think. But in the book, he is able to speak, and read, and he is actually incredibly eloquent when he talks. He is able to use the power of persuasion on Frankenstein, and he is in general an incredibly smart creature.
3. The genre of the book
Of course this book is horror, but not in the same way we think of it today. In our culture, horror is usually very gruesome and graphic, but Frankenstein is horror of a different kind. It is the kind of horror that is more psychological, and it plays with your mind.
The last thing I want to mention before I go is the story of how this book was created. Mary Shelley and some of her friends were stuck inside on a rainy day, and they decided to have a story competition to see who could write the best horror story. So Mary told her story about Frankenstein, which was called 'The Modern Prometheus' at the time. The amazing thing about this is that another very influential novel came out of this competition as well, that novel being 'The Vampyre' Which is the story that inspired the writing of Dracula.
Overall this book was very interesting, and it had a great ending as well! There I go again, talking about endings! But the whole book was very enjoyable and I would recommend it for ages 14 and up as it is graphic in some parts. This book gets an 8.5/10 from me.
So you might be wondering why I actually like Frankenstein? Well, I love it because it is a representation of the sublime. You might think sublime means really nice, like a sublime chocolate cake, but in literature it has a different meaning. It means something that draws awe and wonder, that something often being dark and grotesque, although it could be something beautiful as well. In this piece of literature, it is the darkness and the tragedy that makes it sublime.
The story of Frankenstein is really one of tragedy. A man wants to create a living, breathing creature, but that creature that he creates ends up destroying everything and everyone dear to Frankenstein. It is a painful story, but also very timely as it portrays the truth that humans cannot be like God, we are imperfect, and therefore anything we create will also be imperfect.
When I was reading Frankenstein, I realised that we have some serious misunderstandings about the original story. I will list three of them:
1. The Monster's name
One thing that not many people realise is that the name Frankenstein is not actually the monster's name, but the monster's creator. In pop culture the monster is usually called Frankenstein, but that is not how the original book is written.
2. The Monster's behaviour
Another thing that is noticeably different from the book is that we usually think of Frankenstein's monster as being dumb, and not being able to talk and think. But in the book, he is able to speak, and read, and he is actually incredibly eloquent when he talks. He is able to use the power of persuasion on Frankenstein, and he is in general an incredibly smart creature.
3. The genre of the book
Of course this book is horror, but not in the same way we think of it today. In our culture, horror is usually very gruesome and graphic, but Frankenstein is horror of a different kind. It is the kind of horror that is more psychological, and it plays with your mind.
The last thing I want to mention before I go is the story of how this book was created. Mary Shelley and some of her friends were stuck inside on a rainy day, and they decided to have a story competition to see who could write the best horror story. So Mary told her story about Frankenstein, which was called 'The Modern Prometheus' at the time. The amazing thing about this is that another very influential novel came out of this competition as well, that novel being 'The Vampyre' Which is the story that inspired the writing of Dracula.
Overall this book was very interesting, and it had a great ending as well! There I go again, talking about endings! But the whole book was very enjoyable and I would recommend it for ages 14 and up as it is graphic in some parts. This book gets an 8.5/10 from me.
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