Frankenstein Final Assessment
Jason Bazzone
The Creature
The most important lesson I learned from reading Frankenstein is that for human being, friendship is necessary to be happy. The creature says "and instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all of mankind?"(Shelly page 124) because he can never be happy without any friends. Even people who claim that they are happy without any friends really are not. The creature also says to Victor "My creator, make me happy.... Let me see that I excited the sympathy of some existing thing; do not deny me my request."(Shelly page 125). He is asking Victor to make him a companion because life without anyone to be his friend is miserable.
Friendship
I think the message of Frankenstein is that the most important thing in life is friendship. There is many other messages Shelly is trying to show you, but I think the most obvious and most important is friendship. In the beginning R. Walton says in his letters "I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection."(Shelly page 4) He is telling you that he has no one to share his happiness with if he succeeds, and no one to try and cheer him up if he fails. He also says "You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend." (Shelly page 4) That shows that he is a little embarrassed to admit but he is very lonely and desperately needs a friend.
Quotes
- "I swear by the sun, and by the blue sky of heaven, and by the fire of love that burns my heart, that if you grant my prayer, while they exist you shall never behold me again." The creature is begging Victor to make him a companion because that's the only thing he desires in his life. He is miserable and does not enjoy life without a friend.
- "My companion must be of the same species and same defects. This being you must create." The creature says that he needs a friend who will relate to him and not think he is hideous and disgusting. He wants someone who will treat him as an equal.
Modern Day Connections
- http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-importance-of-friendship/ - This website tells you that even modern day you need a friend if you want to be happy and you have to actually be able to interact with them. So social media friends don't count.
- http://listaka.com/top-15-reasons-why-friends-are-important-part-of-your-life/ - It tells you that there are many important reasons why people need friends. They need someone to except them and someone to lean on when they are stressed out.
Works Cited
- "Top 15 Reasons Why Friends Are Important - Listaka." Listaka. N.p., 25 June 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
- "The Importance of Friendship." Psych Central. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
- Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 2000. Print.
- "Frankenstein Final Assessment." Smore. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.