Foreshadowing
![Creating Frankenstein](/uploads/4/8/7/1/48712891/1757296.jpg?250)
In Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the following quote is one of many examples that shows foreshadowing: "One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race." This quote, mentioned in Letter 4 of this novel, foreshadows the possible disasters that are about to take place in the course of this novel. That said, it is not sure at this point of what tragedies or "bad" things await. The quote also states that, although Frankenstein will receive knowledge about science and creation of life while creating PIECES, he will also hurt beings his own kind with IT.
Another instance where foreshadowing is seen is when Victor Frankenstein thinks that, because of his creation of Pieces, two deaths will be caused. After receiving a letter from his father, in which the tragic death of William is described, Frankenstein immediately leaves for Geneva. Upon his arrival, he learns about poor Justine who has been accused of his brother's death, and is soon to be put on trial. It is at the beginning of Chapter 8 that Frankenstein finally feels guilty of the death of his brother and the death of Justine, which is about to happen, and thinks that "It was to be decided whether the result of my curiosity and lawless devices would cause the death of two of my fellow beings."
Another instance where foreshadowing is seen is when Victor Frankenstein thinks that, because of his creation of Pieces, two deaths will be caused. After receiving a letter from his father, in which the tragic death of William is described, Frankenstein immediately leaves for Geneva. Upon his arrival, he learns about poor Justine who has been accused of his brother's death, and is soon to be put on trial. It is at the beginning of Chapter 8 that Frankenstein finally feels guilty of the death of his brother and the death of Justine, which is about to happen, and thinks that "It was to be decided whether the result of my curiosity and lawless devices would cause the death of two of my fellow beings."
Allusions
![Picture](/uploads/4/8/7/1/48712891/1428736528.png)
The quote- "Like one who, on a lonely road, / Doth walk in fear and dread, / And, having once turned round, walks on, / And turns no more his head; / Because he knows a frightful fiend / Doth close behind him tread." - in Chapter 5 is an example of Allusion. It shows a man walking on a road, in fear of death following him behind. After feeling ashamed of his creation of PIECES, Frankenstein tries to maintain as much distance from IT as possible. Therefore, he goes to a different room in his house and, when IT comes to him like a baby coming to his father, he takes off from the house, leaving PIECES behind. As he is walking on the road, he thinks of his creation at every moment and fears that IT is following him, just like Death.
"I have ten thousand florins a year without Greek, I eat heartily without Greek." Taken from the novel, The Vicar of Wakefield, this quote acts as an allusion in Frankenstein in Chapter 5. After walking lonely on the road, Frankenstein sees a carriage coming towards him. After a halt, a man comes out of it, who turns out to be Henry Clerval, Frankenstein's best friend. Upon seeing him, Frankenstein feels a sigh of relief as, in the times of sadness, it is a friend who helps in relieving the sadness and pressure. Thus, they both meet and refresh old memories for a few moments. After a while, Clerval tells his story about "how great was the difficulty to persuade my father that all necessary knowledge was not comprised in the noble art of bookkeeping..." It is in this conversation that he presents us with the above quote and, thus, supports his claim by stating that it was not necessary for him to learn Greek, in order earn wealth and meet with the average-life necessities.
Symbols
|
Lightning and storm are two elements that symbolize PIECES. In Chapter 7, as Frankenstein is heading home to give consolation, he is feeling sad of his brother's death and guilty of creating PIECES. As he approaches closer to Geneva, he passes the lake and villages of Belrive and Copet but, since the city gates remain close during the nighttime, he spends the night outside, but close to, Geneva watching the storm that slowly approaches Mount Mole. In the quick light of storm, he sees a figure transiently moving through the trees and up the mountain, until it vanished. It is in this brief moment that Frankenstein finally finds PIECES and the MURDERER of his brother.
Fire is also a symbol that represents danger as well as light. After the murder of William and the prosecution of Justine Moritz, everyone is feeling depressed and gloomy, especially Victor and Elizabeth, but mostly Victor. Upon his arrival to Geneva, he has to stay outside the city gates of Geneva where, in a brief moment, he finally sees PIECES. In that brief moment, his body bubbles up with anger and hatred of that ugly thing that is roaming around and killing people. Later on, he eventually sees IT running towards him and, after exchanging few words of hatred and anger, PIECES threatens to kill all the relatives should Victor not cooperate with IT and listen to ITS story. As PIECES is telling the story, IT eventually tells him that, with nothing to warm IT up, fire was the only thing that both helped (keeping IT warm in cold weather) and wounded (burnt the skin when hand was placed in the fire) IT. |
Theme
|
One of the themes in Frankenstein is an importance of friend during bad times. Right after creating PIECES in Chapter 5, Victor feels terrible and ashamed of his creation and, thus, decides to neglect PIECES. Therefore, he leaves his house and, as he is walking down the road, he sees a carriage coming towards him. To his surprise, his friend, Henry Clerval, emerges from it. He feels so happy at that point that it, universally, reminds us of the importance of a friend and tells us that it is a friend whom we need during bad times. A friend is a special being who, if we see him/her, could make our self forget about hardship and sorrow that we might be going through. Victor goes through this very feeling when he sees his best friend and, from that point, stays happy and content until he receives the letter from his father.
Another theme is that there is always someone who will take care of you. In Chapter 6, Elizabeth explains in a letter about Justine Moritz and how she was not able to get along with her mother very well. Upon that, she came to the Frankenstein's for shelter and, in a few days, considered them as her family. But, all in all, she at one point felt that there was no one in this world who could really take care of her. But, that is not true because, like the Frankenstein's who took care of Justine, there is always someone that could take care of you even if you feel neglected and isolated from everyone else. |