9 thoughts on “Frankenstein, 1931. Dir. James Whale”
In this video, we can see that Frankenstein have invited people over to witness his experiment of creating the monster; however, in the book this is not the case. Also, Frankenstein in the film seems to have a ambition of pursuing God’s work of creation, but in the book, Frankenstein created the monster without any real purpose but merely out of curiosity and the pursuit of science. This change from the book to the film really shift the whole focus of the story because the book,Frankenstein, is really about the journey of Frankenstein who is the creator of the monster and not the monster itself. Before I read the book, I have been given the impression from various posters and movies that Frankenstein is the name of the monster and after I read the book, I find it different and surprising to know that it is actually the name of the creator rather than the created. I guess it is more interesting and practical for the movie to focus on the monster due to it limited resources and time frame while a book would have much more time talking about Victor as well as the monster and their entire journey.
Frankenstein to me was always known as a vicious monster. From reading the book and watching this video, my whole mind set of what I believed I knew has changed. In the book, Frankenstein turns out to be his very own creator, meaning Frankenstein himself. In the book he says “how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe…?” He seemed more disappointed than excited at what he has done. While in the video, he seems more excited and eager to show his experiment that he’s worked on. In the video, he considers it more of a creation of God. In the book, his creation is beyond more of what he expected. Also, in the book he doesn’t seem to want anyone to see what he has done and in the video he is very proud to show off his creation. In the book he says “…but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” To me it seems like everything he imagined his creation would be was not the way he thought it turned out to be. In the video, we more of a sense of who the monster really is. While in the book we get more of an insight of Frankenstein’s thoughts, feelings and his point of view. I think Mary Shelley chose it this way to let us all wonder what the real truth could possibly be in regards to Frankenstein.
Frankenstein in novel is an ambitious scientist; the purpose of his creation is just to win the admiration and to meet his curiosity. The movie adds more humane description. In the narrative, the film begins with Frankenstein’s childhood. He had a mother who loved him more than herself and a father who dedicated to save people. It provided the possibility for Frankenstein to create a creature. His mother’s death made him raise a strong desire to break the natural laws of life. The movie even used smallpox, cholera as the background of the society. Director succeeded in getting us no longer asking “Why does he want to create it “.
The novel not only attracts its readers in the content and meaning, its unique narrative approach is also a major feature which attracted its reader. On the use of narrative of three different people, the novel formed a three-dimensional structure. The outermost is the wrote letters of Captain Walton to his sister, which records the whole story by the plot with Walton; the middle layer is Frankenstein, who told his own bizarre experience to the captain; the innermost layer is the monster talked about his experiences. This close and complete three-dimensional structure makes the whole story more attractive. But the movie apparently cannot use this method.
Zhao Wang
In the 1931 film adaptation of the book, we see that Frankenstein was not alone and working secretly in his laboratory as Mary Shirley described it. As it mentioned in the book that he created a gigantic monster.He said that he hesitated to make the creature looks as him or not but finally he decided to produce something different from a normal human being: “I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature; that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionally large.” By that description I was expecting to see a creature likewise in the video, but what they showed did not match with what was writing. Another point that differs from the text and the film was that Frankenstein explained that he saw the inanimate being opened first his eyes then moving his limbs other than the inverse. The only resemblance between them it is that Frankenstein was shocked after seeing what he had accomplished. However in the book he was terrified of the living thing and uncertain of the future contrary in the film his stupefaction was by the fact he could give life and perceive himself as God and the one and only one. The book describes the monster’s creator as a humble person who seeks for knowledge. At the opposite the film projects the author as a self-conceited man in search of glory.
“Frankenstein Film & Text Comparison”
In the first movie scene, Frankenstein was very lucky to have his family and friends surround him to see the creation. In the book, it mentions that he did it alone. After his creation he shows a feeling of mental strength by saying that “Now I know how it feels like to be god”. However, he was also ashamed for his creation because in the book they ended up being enemies to each other. Basically, Frankenstein is the Monster’s Creator, he is the Genius, but he is also evil at the same time. In fact, I felt that the movie shows much more fascinating amount of details compared to Shelly’s brief description of the scene in the book.
In the second movie scene, Frankenstein seems very energetic at his own work and he knows what he was doing. And the description of the movie relates to what he was creating alone in the movie. But the movie clips looks much more complicated than the way book describes it. At the end of both movie clips he enjoyed his creation of himself. Moreover, both movie clips are nothing like the book.
Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the creature. In the film, Victor created the monster with other people around him in a room, not as Mary Shelley mentioned in the book that Victor was alone by himself. After he successfully turned the monster alive, he seems to be very excited and proud of himself by creating this creature. In the book, when Victor saw his creation, he seems to rejected it and felt awful about the creature. Shelley described the monster with many details about the appearance of this creature. In addition, Victor shouted out “Now I know how it feels like to be God” toward everyone and the God. From the film, Victor wanted to prove that he can be like the God. From the book, Victor created the creature because of his passion toward science and his curiosity. Both the film and book showed that Victor only care about his experiment/accomplishment by creating a creature and not thinking about the consequence of creating this creature. In my opinion, I think Mary Shelley named the main character Victor Frankenstein for some reasons. Before I start the book, I always think that Frankenstein was the monster. In this case, I think Shelley wanted the reader to think about that Frankenstein meant the monster. Since “Victor” meant victory, this concluded that Victor successfully created the monster (himself). However, I think Victor Frankenstein is the main monster in the film or the book. If he didn’t abandoned his baby, then his baby would not turned into a monster and killing his family. By the way, this is how Mary Shelley wanted all of us to think that the most horrific thing is not the others, it is the one inside our heart/mind.
Zhenhua Hong
The difference between this film adaptation and the original reading is that in this clip, Victor Frankenstein is accompanied by several other people during the creation of Frankenstein. This did not happen in the novel. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein disconnected himself from society and was alone when he brought Frankenstein to life. Nobody knew that he created the monster. This changes the storyline because Victor’s secrecy about the monster that he created was a major aspect of the story. This scene also shows Frankenstein’s body being lifted into the ceiling where it was to be struck by lightning. The difference between the film adaptation and the novel is that this clip was more complex. The creation of Frankenstein in the novel was less exciting and very vague. Mary Shelley never specified how the body came to life. The scene was most likely added for dramatic effect and to entertain the viewers. Another difference is that the film adaptation showed Victor Frankenstein shouting, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” This was put in to dramatize and amplify the climax. Even though, Victor never said this in the novel, I thought that it made the scene much more intense than the book.
One of the most common misconceptions of the novel Frankenstein is that the Monster himself is given that name, although it actually belongs to our narrative scientist. I believe that people always contribute the name to the Monster himself in order to make him more humane and sensitive, something the film version desires also. Victor Frankenstein in the film screams the iconic, “it’s alive, it’s alive,” so excitedly and passionately, you can see that he’s actually looking forward to interacting with his creation. His family is standing around watching the experiment occur, a loving unit so different from our novel’s protagonist. Unlike the film version, novel Victor had a difficult upbringing, taking an interest in alchemy not because of his mother’s death but because of his father’s disinterest in the sciences. He felt as if he had something to prove, yet once he succeeded alone, he was frightened. The only true comparison of the novel and film is that both Victor’s wanted to pursue taking on the role of God, yet novel Victor did so unconsciously while film Victor did so intentionally.
I love comparing films after reading a novel because it shows you a number of different things. It gives you another view of how the characters and the setting looked while you could’ve had a completely different idea of how it looked in your mind. Frankenstein always seemed like a scary character to me. Now that I have read the book, my outlook of Frankenstein has changed completely. It actually helped me understand the story a little more because I realized that Frankenstein wasn’t the actual monster that was created but in fact the protagonist who created the monster. One difference between the novel and the film is the film makes it clear to us that Frankenstein had people in his laboratory and that his creation wasn’t hidden. His reaction to his creature in the novel and in the film are complete opposites. He seems proud of himself in the film after he sees his success but in the novel, he does not seem happy about what he has done at all.
In this video, we can see that Frankenstein have invited people over to witness his experiment of creating the monster; however, in the book this is not the case. Also, Frankenstein in the film seems to have a ambition of pursuing God’s work of creation, but in the book, Frankenstein created the monster without any real purpose but merely out of curiosity and the pursuit of science. This change from the book to the film really shift the whole focus of the story because the book,Frankenstein, is really about the journey of Frankenstein who is the creator of the monster and not the monster itself. Before I read the book, I have been given the impression from various posters and movies that Frankenstein is the name of the monster and after I read the book, I find it different and surprising to know that it is actually the name of the creator rather than the created. I guess it is more interesting and practical for the movie to focus on the monster due to it limited resources and time frame while a book would have much more time talking about Victor as well as the monster and their entire journey.
Frankenstein to me was always known as a vicious monster. From reading the book and watching this video, my whole mind set of what I believed I knew has changed. In the book, Frankenstein turns out to be his very own creator, meaning Frankenstein himself. In the book he says “how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe…?” He seemed more disappointed than excited at what he has done. While in the video, he seems more excited and eager to show his experiment that he’s worked on. In the video, he considers it more of a creation of God. In the book, his creation is beyond more of what he expected. Also, in the book he doesn’t seem to want anyone to see what he has done and in the video he is very proud to show off his creation. In the book he says “…but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” To me it seems like everything he imagined his creation would be was not the way he thought it turned out to be. In the video, we more of a sense of who the monster really is. While in the book we get more of an insight of Frankenstein’s thoughts, feelings and his point of view. I think Mary Shelley chose it this way to let us all wonder what the real truth could possibly be in regards to Frankenstein.
Frankenstein in novel is an ambitious scientist; the purpose of his creation is just to win the admiration and to meet his curiosity. The movie adds more humane description. In the narrative, the film begins with Frankenstein’s childhood. He had a mother who loved him more than herself and a father who dedicated to save people. It provided the possibility for Frankenstein to create a creature. His mother’s death made him raise a strong desire to break the natural laws of life. The movie even used smallpox, cholera as the background of the society. Director succeeded in getting us no longer asking “Why does he want to create it “.
The novel not only attracts its readers in the content and meaning, its unique narrative approach is also a major feature which attracted its reader. On the use of narrative of three different people, the novel formed a three-dimensional structure. The outermost is the wrote letters of Captain Walton to his sister, which records the whole story by the plot with Walton; the middle layer is Frankenstein, who told his own bizarre experience to the captain; the innermost layer is the monster talked about his experiences. This close and complete three-dimensional structure makes the whole story more attractive. But the movie apparently cannot use this method.
Zhao Wang
In the 1931 film adaptation of the book, we see that Frankenstein was not alone and working secretly in his laboratory as Mary Shirley described it. As it mentioned in the book that he created a gigantic monster.He said that he hesitated to make the creature looks as him or not but finally he decided to produce something different from a normal human being: “I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature; that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionally large.” By that description I was expecting to see a creature likewise in the video, but what they showed did not match with what was writing. Another point that differs from the text and the film was that Frankenstein explained that he saw the inanimate being opened first his eyes then moving his limbs other than the inverse. The only resemblance between them it is that Frankenstein was shocked after seeing what he had accomplished. However in the book he was terrified of the living thing and uncertain of the future contrary in the film his stupefaction was by the fact he could give life and perceive himself as God and the one and only one. The book describes the monster’s creator as a humble person who seeks for knowledge. At the opposite the film projects the author as a self-conceited man in search of glory.
“Frankenstein Film & Text Comparison”
In the first movie scene, Frankenstein was very lucky to have his family and friends surround him to see the creation. In the book, it mentions that he did it alone. After his creation he shows a feeling of mental strength by saying that “Now I know how it feels like to be god”. However, he was also ashamed for his creation because in the book they ended up being enemies to each other. Basically, Frankenstein is the Monster’s Creator, he is the Genius, but he is also evil at the same time. In fact, I felt that the movie shows much more fascinating amount of details compared to Shelly’s brief description of the scene in the book.
In the second movie scene, Frankenstein seems very energetic at his own work and he knows what he was doing. And the description of the movie relates to what he was creating alone in the movie. But the movie clips looks much more complicated than the way book describes it. At the end of both movie clips he enjoyed his creation of himself. Moreover, both movie clips are nothing like the book.
Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the creature. In the film, Victor created the monster with other people around him in a room, not as Mary Shelley mentioned in the book that Victor was alone by himself. After he successfully turned the monster alive, he seems to be very excited and proud of himself by creating this creature. In the book, when Victor saw his creation, he seems to rejected it and felt awful about the creature. Shelley described the monster with many details about the appearance of this creature. In addition, Victor shouted out “Now I know how it feels like to be God” toward everyone and the God. From the film, Victor wanted to prove that he can be like the God. From the book, Victor created the creature because of his passion toward science and his curiosity. Both the film and book showed that Victor only care about his experiment/accomplishment by creating a creature and not thinking about the consequence of creating this creature. In my opinion, I think Mary Shelley named the main character Victor Frankenstein for some reasons. Before I start the book, I always think that Frankenstein was the monster. In this case, I think Shelley wanted the reader to think about that Frankenstein meant the monster. Since “Victor” meant victory, this concluded that Victor successfully created the monster (himself). However, I think Victor Frankenstein is the main monster in the film or the book. If he didn’t abandoned his baby, then his baby would not turned into a monster and killing his family. By the way, this is how Mary Shelley wanted all of us to think that the most horrific thing is not the others, it is the one inside our heart/mind.
Zhenhua Hong
The difference between this film adaptation and the original reading is that in this clip, Victor Frankenstein is accompanied by several other people during the creation of Frankenstein. This did not happen in the novel. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein disconnected himself from society and was alone when he brought Frankenstein to life. Nobody knew that he created the monster. This changes the storyline because Victor’s secrecy about the monster that he created was a major aspect of the story. This scene also shows Frankenstein’s body being lifted into the ceiling where it was to be struck by lightning. The difference between the film adaptation and the novel is that this clip was more complex. The creation of Frankenstein in the novel was less exciting and very vague. Mary Shelley never specified how the body came to life. The scene was most likely added for dramatic effect and to entertain the viewers. Another difference is that the film adaptation showed Victor Frankenstein shouting, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” This was put in to dramatize and amplify the climax. Even though, Victor never said this in the novel, I thought that it made the scene much more intense than the book.
One of the most common misconceptions of the novel Frankenstein is that the Monster himself is given that name, although it actually belongs to our narrative scientist. I believe that people always contribute the name to the Monster himself in order to make him more humane and sensitive, something the film version desires also. Victor Frankenstein in the film screams the iconic, “it’s alive, it’s alive,” so excitedly and passionately, you can see that he’s actually looking forward to interacting with his creation. His family is standing around watching the experiment occur, a loving unit so different from our novel’s protagonist. Unlike the film version, novel Victor had a difficult upbringing, taking an interest in alchemy not because of his mother’s death but because of his father’s disinterest in the sciences. He felt as if he had something to prove, yet once he succeeded alone, he was frightened. The only true comparison of the novel and film is that both Victor’s wanted to pursue taking on the role of God, yet novel Victor did so unconsciously while film Victor did so intentionally.
I love comparing films after reading a novel because it shows you a number of different things. It gives you another view of how the characters and the setting looked while you could’ve had a completely different idea of how it looked in your mind. Frankenstein always seemed like a scary character to me. Now that I have read the book, my outlook of Frankenstein has changed completely. It actually helped me understand the story a little more because I realized that Frankenstein wasn’t the actual monster that was created but in fact the protagonist who created the monster. One difference between the novel and the film is the film makes it clear to us that Frankenstein had people in his laboratory and that his creation wasn’t hidden. His reaction to his creature in the novel and in the film are complete opposites. He seems proud of himself in the film after he sees his success but in the novel, he does not seem happy about what he has done at all.