Week One: Frankenstein

We are all familiar with Frankenstein’s monster. He is a big disfigured soul, usually green, that is so repulsive, no one would give him the time of day. I have never read Frankenstein before this point and I was surprised it was nothing like the idea of Frankenstein that I came across growing up. The Frankenstein of my childhood was always presented as the misunderstood tortured soul that the village, even with pitchforks and torches at first in hand, eventually learn to accept. But this monster I read about in the book was truly rotten to the core. Yes, he went through hardships that he did not deserve and he did not ask for the life he was given. But he surely made the decision, out of pure vengeance, to kill the people that Frankenstein held dear. I am not saying that Frankenstein did the right thing by creating the Monster and that he does not hold some sort of responsibility to his creation, but rather that both Frankenstein and the Monster are both truly monsters in their own right.  

Frankenstein is really a story about consequences of our choices and actions. Everything has a consequence! We, as humans, often take things into our own hands. We like control, power. Whether it be in the little things like what and when we eat dinner, or the big things, like what job we are going to have, people naturally want control. Why wouldn’t you? But sometimes taking things upon yourself is not what is best. We are flawed after all; we are not unadulterated. Sometimes what we tell ourselves is best is truly not.


Frankenstein would soon realize this life lesson. He took the extraordinary task upon himself of creating life. This, as we know, did not run out the way he planned. The creature was repulsive, I don’t know how Frankenstein could have thought the monster would turn out any different. But then I think “Isn’t that just like life though?” It drew a parallel to real life and the decisions we make. We rarely can correctly predict the horrible outcomes our decisions could create. Why would we make them if we did? In a fast-paced world, it’s hard to take the time to think through decisions and think, “Is this really the best thing?”. We go off instinct and instincts are often very wrong.  We live in a flawed world. We all accept that, but it’s not until we stop and take responsibility for our actions, that this crazy world will get any better.

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