Frankenstein

Nikhil Sharma
Heather Sweeney
AP Lit A
December 4th, 2012
The Two-Faced Monster

Although it is not commonly seen as a natural trait in many, it becomes apparent

in the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, that even the most unpleasant of friends can be very similar. The idea for Frankenstein all started out on a stormy night as Mary Shelley was at the residence of a close friend. The weather outside the home was stormy forcing the group of friends to seek indoor activities. To pass time together with the storm going on, they all took turns in reading each other ghost stories from an old volume. The next activity was given a challenge. Who could write the best story. After a couple nights, Shelley had a dream in which she saw the monster; immediately she began writing the story. Her story came to be on of the worlds best selling novels even until today. Throughout the book, the monster and Victor are almost indistinguishable in the reader’s eye. Not only are they similar in their relationship with nature, but also with their desires for companionship and the hatred for enemies.

In the novel, both characters share the same trait of needing nature to cool off

when there is a problem. This need plays a towering part in the monster's life as he travels around; however, it also helps Victor through many of his own tough times. When Victor becomes tense, his preferred setting is the lake in Geneva. “...all around was calm; and the snowy mountains, ‘the palaces of nature,’ were not changed. By degrees the calm and heavenly scene restored me...” (Shelley 174). For Victor, nature

is able to restore his state of mind and reset his thoughts, which allows him to keep moving forward. For the monster, nature became his friend as he lived in the wilderness rather than with human civilization. Nature was a key part in the monster's trek as it was enough to maintain the monster’s spirits, even through the persecution. Both characters need nature to...