Barbara Johnson: Three Key Ideas about Frankenstein

1. Motherhood: impossibility of finding an adequate model for what a parent should be

2. Woman Writer and Feminism: hidden femininity within a book of men

3. Autobiography: A tale of 3 autobiographies (Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, nameless Monster) and how events from Mary Shelley's life story are subtly used.

The information I learned from this critical analysis really opened my eyes to the reasons behind the book. Learning the back story of how Mary had mixed feelings about child birth helped me relate to the story about why Frankenstein was disgusted with his creation as it relates to a representation of maternal rejection. The analysis also helped me connect the death of Mary's mother when she was an infant with the fact that none of the the characters had mothers. This critical analysis gave me a new understanding of the novel.

The Mind of Frankenstein: Creating the Monster

In this passage, Mary Shelley really shows the complex attitude Victor Frankenstein had towards his work at this early stage. She shows through his narration that Frankenstein was obsessed with his work as it made him feel powerful in that he was the only person in the world with the key to creating life. Frankenstein saw himself as more than a creator or a father, but he was a god. He wanted to be worshipped by his creation because it was he who would give life to this being. He sought praise and felt like he deserved because he was making life out of nothing. Subconsciously, Frankenstein knew that he was doing something dangerous and reckless as he refers to his hands as “profane fingers.” He also describes the horrors of his secret toils. Frankenstein knew that he was being crazy, nevertheless, he carried on with his task. He shows how crazy he really was as he describes how he would go to graves to find bones and body parts for his creation. What he was doing was horribly and morally wrong. Frankenstein subconsciously realized this, yet he was too blinded by power and thirst for knowledge to stop what he was doing. He describes his state of mind as he was in a passing trance. No longer relying on his thoughts but going through an unhealthy routine with little to no rest. He mentions how this obsession took control of his life as that he put his health behind his other tasks and grew pale with study. The desire and passion for knowledge can be a good thing, but Frankenstein showed how it can be taken to the extreme and quite possibly destroy someone’s life. This all-consuming passion caused him, as he describes, “to lose all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.” This is a fascinating passage because it dives into what was going through Frankenstein’s mind as he continued to work on his creation.

Does a Monster Have to Be Bad?

A character that really intrigued me in Frankenstein was the monster created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein views this monster as a horrific and disgusting creature that is deceitful and completely evil. When the monster gave his story, however, I got the impression that overall he was a good creature who made bad decisions after the hurt he felt from rejection clouded his judgement of what was morally right. When he told his story about watching, learning, and loving this family only to be abused when he revealed himself, I was touched and felt sympathetic. Frankenstein thinks that the monster is just a master of deceit, but I believe that he expressed what he genuinely felt. If he felt nothing, he would have never visited Frankenstein after he died on the boat. It was Frankenstein who simply could not look past the ugly exterior to see the beautiful personality the monster had. I do not think that the monster should have gone around killing everyone that Frankenstein loved, but I can still understand the hurt he must of felt before going on a murder rampage. I think that if the monster had been loved and cared for, the entire fiasco that occurred could have been avoided.

10 Books Most Memorable to Me

1. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. For a while I put off reading as something that was more of a chore than an enjoyment. I picked up this book and I could not set it back down. It took me a day to finish the first and a total of 3 days to read the rest of the series. It changed my entire perspective of reading and influenced me to begin reading books by different authors.
2. The Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer. As embarrassing as it is for me to admit, the twilight saga is very memorable to me. Before the Hunger Games trilogy, the Twilight Saga is what first sparked my reading in middle school. I was obsessed the the stories until the first movie came out. I saw it and thought it was one of the worst movies I ever saw in my life. It was just atrocious. Nevertheless, the books still remain very memorable to me, no matter how horrible the writing might be.
3. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins. Although this book is also under The Hunger Games series, I felt that it should have its own spot because it impacted me on a different level than the first two books. While the beginning books were purely entertaining for me, I felt the final book had a deeper meaning. It really dove into the political issues and showed extremists on opposite parties. It showed me that there are extremes on both sides of the political spectrum.
4. Blink of an Eye, Ted Dekker. This book was one of the best books I have come across. It was captivating from the very first chapter and it felt like the ultimate novel containing everything from action to romance. 
5. Prophet, Frank Peretti. Although I have not read this book since the seventh grade, this book still remains clear in my memory. This book actually influenced my thoughts on abortion. It opened to my eyes that abortion was more than a belief on life versus choice but it is also a matter of health. Part of the story revolved around a politician's daughter who died after giving a partial-birth abortion. This novel might have been a little mature for my twelve-year-old self, but there is no doubt that it influenced me profoundly.
6. Nightmare Academy, Frank Peretti. I read this book in sixth grade and it is probably so memorable to me because it really freaked me out. I don't remember much about it except the general plot and this horrible scenes that haunt me to this day. 
7. House, Ted Dekker. I read this book in seventh grade and I loved it because it was and still remains one of the scariest novels I have ever read. After reading Nightmare Academy, I wasn't sure if I was into scary novels, but this novel changed my mind. It was so suspenseful the entire time and I was so captivated by it. I'll admit I had a few nightmares, but I believe that they were worth reading this book.
8. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote. This novella was just beautiful. I read it because I planned to watch the movie afterwards and they were completely different. In my opinion, the novella was a masterpiece while the movie was almost degrading to the original story.
9. Macbeth, William Shakespeare. Normally I am not a fan of tragedies, but I found this story completely fascinating. This was also the first work of Shakespeare that I was able to read without any sort of help from sparknotes, so I felt very accomplished after finishing this book.
10. Thr3e, Ted Dekker. This book is very memorable for me because of the amount of twists this story held. There were new plot twists and surprises with every chapter. It was a crazy thriller that I probably won't forget any time soon.