Frankenstein (blog 3)

This section just completely blew what I thought I knew about the story out of the water. I mean you think you know a story and then there is just this one section that slaps you out of  nowhere and apparently you were completely wrong. honestly this was probably the biggest shock a book has ever given me.

First of all, Coming into this book I already had this idea of what Frankenstein's monster looked like. I mean, doesn't everyone? A huge green guy with huge scars and bolts sticking out out of his neck. I started to question this as I got into the book because that wasn't really the image the book was giving but I thought hey, that's a reasonable interpretation of the text. So obviously, the monster must be the stiff, lumbering and unintelligent being we've all grown to love, right?

No! Now this is the part that flipped the entire book for me. Frankenstein goes out to this really remote place and finds his monster there unsurprisingly. He then decides to yell at him. "'Devil,' I exclaimed, 'do you dare approach me? And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm weakened on your miserable head? Be gone vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust! And, Oh! That I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!'" (page 95). I could see why he would be mad and want to yell, but when I read this I just sort of shook my head at him there. I thought that this was a stupid decision and would probably just result in the primitive monster killing him or something along those lines. "'I expected this reception,'" (page 95) Most shocking words in the book. I read this and had to do a double take. Not only did this completely change the direction of the book for me, but it also simultaneously destroyed everything I thought or had previously assumed about the story of Frankenstein. I mean I only knew the gist of it anyway seeing as the only version of the story I have previously seen is "Young Frankenstein". I mean in that story it is a huge accomplishment to get the monster to dance and mumble to "Putting on the Ritz" or whatever the correct spelling of that title is.

Coming into this story I thought that the general idea would be something along the line of obsession leads to evil or something. But now seeing as the monster has feelings, is learning, and wants to explain himself to his creator I find it hard to see him as an embodiment of evil. I'm not saying that it isn't possible but I have a hard time seeing the story going that way now. Lastly I would just like to applaud this book for challenging everything I thought I knew about it. I know that's not what the book came in to do since obviously it came first but still for it to be such a shock to me it would have to be a little shocking to someone who may have read to back then. This is all Hollywood's fault!