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Mishael Liu

ENG1DB-07

Ms. Sandford

May 20th 2011

Word Count: 926

J
 Essay: Why is Similarities Significant in the Book?

Similarities in books lets readers compare characters in order to know the

situations around a book. The similarities can be positive or negative, interesting or

important. In Mary Shelly¶s J
 , the similarities between Victor and his

Monster not only tell the story, but enhance the book for better. This is because the

similarities between Victor and his creation plays a role in creating conflict and tension

in J
 , making it a book that catches the reader¶s attention.

Both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster have been isolated in different ways,

but both share a similar result due to isolation, leading to one conflict triggering another

and creating one big problem for both characters. At the University of Ingolstadt, Victor

believes that through his studies and thirst for knowledge, he will be able to bring the

dead back to life once his creature is complete. This leads to conflict during and after

the creation process. During this stage, Victor has no other intentions other than

finishing his creation. Because of his persistence and imaginations, Victor isolates

himself from society and his family in order to finish the creature. Victor even states

after remembering his father¶s words,

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I knew well therefore what would my father¶s feelings, but I could not tear
my thoughts from employment, loathsome in itself, but which had taken an
irresistible hold of my imagination (Shelly, 40).
This proves that he avoids everything to get the job done. When the Monster is

complete, Victor saw a different perspective of the monster, saying ³But now that I had

finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my

heart.´ (Shelly, 42) showing that he never intends on making such a horrid beast. As a

result, it creates problems for him, the creature, and the world. Victor does not realize

what he put himself into. Once he makes the decision, there is no turning back. At that

stage, he has little communication with family such as Alphonse and Elizabeth and he

shuns himself from society by staying in his lab. Making it worse, Victor is unpleased

about the Monster¶s turnout, so he abandons it and stirs up conflict with the monster.

When Victor leaves his creation, the Monster has no one to take care of him. Instead,

he is isolated from society due to his unpleasant appearance. With no one¶s liking, the

Monster looks for aid everywhere but instead finds misery and rejection from the village

and the De Lacey family. Finally, the Monster¶s liking for humans alters after an

unfriendly thanks. As he spots the girl drowning and saves her, the thanks he receives

was a shot from a man. It ultimately enraged the beast, disliking the humans for their

actions by saying, ³I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I

now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone.´

(Shelly, 121) At that moment, sympathy is given to the Monster for what Victor and

society had done to him. Fortunately, the Monster is able to learn through Felix¶s

teachings. Now as he understands the situation, the Monster focuses revenge on Victor

for being a wretched creator. After knowing about Victor¶s horrible actions, the Monster
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seeks vengeance on Victor by messing with his mind, which from that point built up

tension up to the climax.

Victor and his Monster¶s desire for revenge plays a significant role in building

tension until the climax, where one side will make a decision that may possibly set the

stage for the conclusion. The monster is the first in wanting revenge on his creator. This

is executed by eliminating each member close to Victor, thus mentally tormenting Victor.

It starts of with the murder of William, which Justine was accused and executed for.

Then it leads to the death of Henry Clerval at which Victor was blamed for. Finally, the

Monster finishes his revenge by killing Elizabeth. As Victor describes, ³She was there,

lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and

distorted features half covered by her hair´ (Shelly, 173) he became lifeless inside due

to what occurred. From the emotional troubles given by the Monster¶s revenge,

J
 readers anticipate what the end will be. Victor could have prevented all of

it if he were to help the Monster. Instead, he plans on fighting back. Victor has other

plans for his creature. Instead of manipulating what the Monster did to him, he just kept

the Monster lonely and shunned by society, by refusing to create the Monster¶s

companion. At first, Victor agreed to create the companion; in the process, he realized

the consequences involved in bringing the companion to life. In the lab, Victor breaks

the promise for happiness by tearing apart the half-finished creation. The decision Victor

made was the turning point of the book, where it then leads to the conclusion of the

book. Soon after, the Monster states, ³«But remember, I shall be with you on your

wedding night.´ (Shelly, 147) Through this, assumptions can be made on the ending of
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J
 . In the cycle of revenge both sides end the book in despair by building

strong excitement, leading to a surprising twist that ends with their unfortunate deaths.

At the end, both were miserable. Fortunately, their similarities gave J
 

a dark storyline, making it a good gothic story. If Victor acted differently, the story would

have completely changed. As it is, J
  shows conflict and tension through two

similar sides. The result is a terrifying tale.

 Work Cited Page
Shelly, Mary, J
, Signet Classics: New York, New York, USA:
2000. Print