An Unholy Mess

“Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice. But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled the innocent as they slept and grasped to death his throat who never injured me or any other living thing…You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself.”

-p 210

While mulling over the denouement of Shelley’s Frankenstein, I was finding it incredibly difficult to place sympathy with either Victor or his creation. Both are flawed in nature and morality; neither one is truly heroic. Victor is primarily driven by his senses of ambition and pride. He selfishly risks all those dear to him in favor of accomplishing his goals first. In the end, it is this obsession with ambition and pride which leads to the demises of his loved ones and, ultimately, of himself. The monster, on the other hand, seems to be benevolent at first. However, he becomes hardened by rejection and self-loathing. While this would initially evoke sympathy, his murderous acts of revenge turn off any possible sympathy that could have been devoted to him. In the end, the audience can only look on, shaking their heads as both beings blindly succumb to their tragic flaws in a vicious cycle of destruction that only ends in their mutual demises.

Any Questions? (Rhetorical Question)

“And now, with the world before me, whither should I bend my steps?...How was I to direct myself?”
-p 133

One of the creature’s more interesting mannerisms in telling his story is his penchant for asking rhetorical questions. Mary Shelley writes the creature’s monologue in this style to increase reader sympathy. This occurs because the creature repeatedly asks Victor these questions to appeal to his own sense of sympathy. The monster is not only telling his story; he is pleading for Victor’s understanding. He is hoping that by asking these questions, Victor will understand the monster’s sense of a lack of direction and helplessness. He hopes that Victor will sympathize with the monster’s lack of guidance and mercifully provide the monster with a benevolent protector. In doing so, the creature also evokes sympathy from the reader, who also is asked these same rhetorical questions. The unique aspect of the frame story allows Shelley to apply these rhetorical questions not only in a pragmatic view which carries function within the plot, but also evokes sympathy from the reader.

Jerk (p 146, Question 4)

While reading Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband," one of the aspects of the story that struck me the most was Edie's rather vicious tone. As "the hired girl," one would expect Edie to have had more of a sense of respectful detachment from the Peebles. Instead, she speaks with a tone of condescension, describing the Peebles as "not knowing any better" about farm life. Her self-righteousness is made even more evident by her disgusted description of Loretta Bird as "swollen up with pleasure at being in on this scene" of Edie's humiliation. Edie even goes on to state that she "could have slapped her." Edie truly is anything but sympathetic, and her status as "the hired girl" simply exacerbates this already unfavorable portrayal of her. As she states repeatedly, Edie does not really fit in among the Peebles or among Loretta. Her unsympathetic, condescending attitude simply reinforces the perception that Edie seems disgusted with those around her.