Frankenstein’s Monsters
“All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind” - Swami Vivekananda. As with any adaptation there are a variety of similarities and differences between Mary Shelley’s original novel Frankenstein and the modern day film, Victor Frankenstein. For the movie, director Paul McGuigan had his own interpretation of Shelley’s novel. He took the novel’s characters and storyline and made it his own. The substance of each story is the same, but they have depicted certain aspects of the plot in different ways. The portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the movie Victor Frankenstein is both similar and different in a variety of ways when comparing the life of Victor, the creature’s behavior and appearance, and overall …show more content…
The creature in the book of Frankenstein, had a life of his own. With no one to nurture the monster, which should have been Victor’s responsibility, the creature was forced to figure out basic survival, sensations, and relationships completely unassisted. The novel’s creature possessed a strong moral foundation. When he stole food from the De Lacey’s and saw the hardship he’d brought on them, he immediately felt guilt and worked to make amends by doing chores and taking only what was necessary. Shelley’s creature also had outstanding intellectual ability. The creature was able to study the human race by eavesdropping on the De Lacey’s. In the time he spent with them he learned how to read and write and speak several languages. This is a much different creature than the one that’s seen in Victor Frankenstein. He was also quite thoughtful, and longed for a place in a world of humans. The creature once said, “My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination?” (Shelley 117).The film actually had to different creatures. Both creatures did not experience any sort of moral or intellectual growth that the book’s monster does. They were simplistic and violent. Due to this, the monsters were only alive briefly, before Victor was forced to kill them. They barely had a life Some components of the creature remained the same in the film …show more content…
In Paul McGuire interpretation of Shelley’s work, he makes several changes that don’t necessarily align well with original work. In the original adaptation, the plot line begins from Victor’s point of view. He describes his background, the events leading up to his monster’s creation, and the fallout thereafter. The novel also switches to Frankenstein’s point of view for a couple chapters where it’s revealed how he survived and grew until he was eventually reunited with his creator. The plot structure is radically different in the film adaptation. In the movie Victor Frankenstein rescues a young deformed virus freak named Igor. Harnessing his apprentices mental ability, while simultaneously healing him of his ailments, Victor and Igor grow in their friendship. With Igor’s help, Victor was able to create his monsters. Film critics believe the plotline, “takes a different look at the Frankenstein origin story, focusing less on the monster, more on Frankenstein himself, and the heart of the attention is placed on Frankenstein’s relationship with his assistant, Igor” (Johnson 1). It’s obvious that there is a large difference in each version storyline, yet many of the important characters and themes like scientific limitation, can still be found in both works.
Overall it’s clear that there are both similarities and differences between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and it’s most recent film adaptation Victor Frankenstein.
“All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind” - Swami Vivekananda. As with any adaptation there are a variety of similarities and differences between Mary Shelley’s original novel Frankenstein and the modern day film, Victor Frankenstein. For the movie, director Paul McGuigan had his own interpretation of Shelley’s novel. He took the novel’s characters and storyline and made it his own. The substance of each story is the same, but they have depicted certain aspects of the plot in different ways. The portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the movie Victor Frankenstein is both similar and different in a variety of ways when comparing the life of Victor, the creature’s behavior and appearance, and overall …show more content…
The creature in the book of Frankenstein, had a life of his own. With no one to nurture the monster, which should have been Victor’s responsibility, the creature was forced to figure out basic survival, sensations, and relationships completely unassisted. The novel’s creature possessed a strong moral foundation. When he stole food from the De Lacey’s and saw the hardship he’d brought on them, he immediately felt guilt and worked to make amends by doing chores and taking only what was necessary. Shelley’s creature also had outstanding intellectual ability. The creature was able to study the human race by eavesdropping on the De Lacey’s. In the time he spent with them he learned how to read and write and speak several languages. This is a much different creature than the one that’s seen in Victor Frankenstein. He was also quite thoughtful, and longed for a place in a world of humans. The creature once said, “My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination?” (Shelley 117).The film actually had to different creatures. Both creatures did not experience any sort of moral or intellectual growth that the book’s monster does. They were simplistic and violent. Due to this, the monsters were only alive briefly, before Victor was forced to kill them. They barely had a life Some components of the creature remained the same in the film …show more content…
In Paul McGuire interpretation of Shelley’s work, he makes several changes that don’t necessarily align well with original work. In the original adaptation, the plot line begins from Victor’s point of view. He describes his background, the events leading up to his monster’s creation, and the fallout thereafter. The novel also switches to Frankenstein’s point of view for a couple chapters where it’s revealed how he survived and grew until he was eventually reunited with his creator. The plot structure is radically different in the film adaptation. In the movie Victor Frankenstein rescues a young deformed virus freak named Igor. Harnessing his apprentices mental ability, while simultaneously healing him of his ailments, Victor and Igor grow in their friendship. With Igor’s help, Victor was able to create his monsters. Film critics believe the plotline, “takes a different look at the Frankenstein origin story, focusing less on the monster, more on Frankenstein himself, and the heart of the attention is placed on Frankenstein’s relationship with his assistant, Igor” (Johnson 1). It’s obvious that there is a large difference in each version storyline, yet many of the important characters and themes like scientific limitation, can still be found in both works.
Overall it’s clear that there are both similarities and differences between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and it’s most recent film adaptation Victor Frankenstein.