Victor Frankenstein Essay -- Literary Analysis, Mary Shelly

Question #7- What difficult circumstances is Walton encountering when he meets Victor Frankenstein? In the letters that Robert Walton sent to his sisters, there is legit evidence that he was encountering difficult circumstances when he met Victor Frankenstein. When Walton's vessel was sailing to the Northern Pole they encountered heavy fog and lots of ice. Walton's exact words were, "...we were nearly surrounded by ice" (8). and he also exclaimed, "...we were compassed round by a very thick fog" (8). Also, while they were trapped in the ice surrounding them, they saw a gigantic figure going on along the ice which befuddled the crew because as Walton had said in his letters, "We were, as believed, many hundreds of miles away from any land" (8). Question #8- How does Shelley emphasize the extreme isolation of the vessel? Shelley emphasizes the extreme isolation of the vessel in a few different ways. In the fourth letter when the fog and ice surrounded the vessel Walton said roughly, "...we beheld, stretched out in every direction, vast and irregular plains of ice, which seemed to have no end" (8). Another way that Shelley emphasizes the extreme isolation of the vessel is when Walton said sadly, "Shut in, however, by ice, it was impossible to follow his track" (8). Shelley used words like "no end" or "impossible" made the vessel seem extremely isolated. Question #9- As he begins his tale, Victor Frankenstein suggests that he has something in common with the Captain. Explain. In the last letter that Robert Walton wrote to his sister, Victor Frankenstein does suggest that he has similarities with the Captain. After spending lots of time with Walton, Victor breaks down and says to him, "Unhappy man! Do you share my madnes... ...or came home so urgently. Question #19- In what way does Victor consider himself responsible? Victor considers himself to be responsible for the murder of both William and Justine. On the night Victor returns to Geneva, he saw the frightening monster around where William had been murdered (50). Victor concluded that it was all his fault because if he hadn't of created the monster, his brother wouldn't of been killed. The monster framed Justine of murdering William by putting his picture of his mother in Justine's pocket (56). This made Justine look guilty and the court sentenced her to death because of it (60). At the end of chapter 8, Victor Frankenstein bestows the responsibilities of the deaths by directly saying this, "I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts" (60).