The Frankenstein book and movies all portray Monstrosity in their own way, but two of these fail to get the point across. I feel Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein portrayed monstrosity the best out of all three of these sources. In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, she suggests that to create a monstrosity you have to become a monstrosity yourself.
Young Frankenstein and the 1931 movie of Frankenstein didn’t quite capture this theme of monstrosity as well as Mary Shelly. First, let’s start with the one that did not quite capture the theme of monstrosity as well as the book, which is the 1931 movie version of Frankenstein.The 1931 version of Frankenstein did a good job capturing certain aspects of the theme of monstrosity, but not as good as the novel. In the beginning of Frankenstein the movie, Frankenstein and Frits, Frankenstein’s assistant, are trying to steal a dead man’s brain. To steal organs from a dead man to experiment on is an example of dangerous knowledge. That’s not the only thing it reveals about our main character Frankenstein.
To steal a man’s brain isn’t something a sane man would do; no he would have to be twisted.This is the first example of the theme; monstrosity in the movie, because it shows us the monster Frankenstein has become to his work. In the movie Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s soon to be wife talks to one of Frankenstein’s old colleges and they discuss Frankenstein’s mad dream. “We had to drop him because his crazy request…Frankenstein’s crazy dream is to take human life, destroy it and then recreate it; there you have his crazy dream. ” This is a quote from one of Frankenstein’s colleges. This quote describes how he became mad with recreating, or rather reincarnating human beings.
This is an example of Frankenstein becoming a monstrosity himself. He starts requesting human limbs and parts to experiment on. It got so bad the professors even had to drop because of his crazy dream. He’s becoming a monster, with the lust to create a real monster. Before Frankenstein created the monster he was visited by Elizabeth, his soon to be wife, and one of her friends, who was to be Frankenstein’s best man. When they visit Frankenstein in his laboratory, Frankenstein’s best man said; “Henry, you’re crazy! ” and Frankenstein replies; “we’ll just see if I’m crazy.
’This quote explains how Henry is going crazy, as his best man states. Henry thinks of it differently though, he sees it if he fails, he is crazy, but if he creates life from death, it will make him a genius. He is denying his the monster he is becoming to society, and acknowledges himself as a genius to science. After everyone calls him crazy and his work is mad, Frankenstein tries to example himself and why he is “crazy”. “Haven’t you ever wanted to look beyond the clouds or know trees burn.
When you talk like that people call you crazy.”Frankenstein is trying to explain and sort of justifies his reasons behind his madness. He just wants to explore the boundaries of human life, and possibly cross the line and recreate a creature from dead human tissue. Though, experimenting on dead human flesh definitely crossing the line when it comes to science and the exploration of knowledge. Experimenting on dead tissue is just another example of the monster Frankenstein has become to his experiments. Frankenstein finally uses to storm to create his creature and bring his experiment to live.
In amazement he shouts “It’s alive! It’s alive! ” celebrating his success in creating life from dead tissue. The quote isn’t just what Frankenstein says, but it’s his entire reaction. He nearly fails on his knees exclaiming his joy and success in creating this creature. All Frankenstein has been doing in testing and stealing human body parts to create this thing, and when he finally succeeds he is overwhelmed with joy.
This show all the monstrous stuff he’s done just for science and this experiment. He’s truly become a monster to create a monster.Now let’s talk about the one that did capture the theme of monstrosity the best, and that is Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (the book). Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein best captured Frankenstein and how he became a monstrosity to society, and a slave to science.
It described sort of like a bubble Frankenstein put himself in. He would just fill this bubble with his crazy lust for knowledge. When Victor Frankenstein goes off a University in Ingolstadt, he begins studying human anatomy and how death of decay of human life.He then gets obsessed with this, making rapid progress but ignoring his social life and him family in Geneva.
These are the beginning signs of Victor’s obsession with science and reincarnation. He is becoming a monster to society, ignoring the outside world and working on nothing but his experiments. This is the starting process of Frankenstein’s madness and his monstrous studies. After years of tireless work, Frankenstein masters all the professors have to teach him. Hidden away in his apartment Frankenstein begins constructing an animate creature.
Even more obsessed with this creature he totally neglects everything else; family, friends, studies, and social life. He grows increasingly lonely, pale, and somewhat of a monster. This is a perfect example of how to creature a monster to have to become a monster. When Frankenstein becomes mad with knowledge and wanting to learn the unknown he says something.
Something I think most scientists want to experience and do, he says; “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. ”
