"The Novel Frankenstein is as relevant and terrifying today as it was when it was first published in 1818"

Essay by Si1708Junior High, 9th gradeA-, July 2005

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The story of Frankenstein was first written by Mary Shelley as a challenge from her friend Lord Byron while in Geneva on holiday with her husband Percy Shelley. The challenge was for each of them to write a horror story. Mary Shelley took up this challenge and Frankenstein was born. She started the story in 1817 and it is thought she took many ideas from Percy Shelley's Prometheus Unbound and most of Frankenstein became based on the limitations of being a human being. That same evening the three had a discussion about the principals of life, going to bed on the thoughts of the Prometheus Unbound and the thinking about the principals of life, Mary Shelley had a dream about Frankenstein and then the next day she announced to her two male friends that she had begun writing the story 'Frankenstein'. There are three different narrators in the play; these narrators are Robert Walton, who narrates the four letters at the start of the book, Victor Frankenstein who narrates the book and also Victor's Monster.

The use of Robert Walton is effective as it sets up the scene for Victor's story and it is through Victor's story that we learn about the monster. Through this Mary Shelley is able to put her views across to the reader.

A key chapter in the story is chapter 5, it is in this chapter that Frankenstein creates the monster and brings it to life. To make this chapter stand out as terrifying she sets the scene to engross the reader then she keeps the reader hooked with terror, to introduce this terror at the beginning of chapter 5 Mary Shelley writes, "Already one in the morning, dark and raining candle nearly burnt out, a dreamy November night" this sets the scene...