Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Creation's Diction - Frankenstein

"'Be calm! I entreat you to hear me, before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it,'" (69).

Upon Victor's first true interactive encounter with his creation, they converse with each other and the monster tells him a long story about his journeys over the past couple of years. What I find unusual is that Victor's creation speaks just as eloquently if not more so than Victor himself. How is it that this monster can speak this way when he has basically been alone his whole life which has lasted a mere two years? It bothered me to read these words spoken by this creation. I was expecting at least some more simple diction and phrases, not words like accumulation, entreat, and anguish. Some people I know today barely know what those words mean, let alone a monster that has only been alive a few years. It kind of made me lose some of my engagement in the book. The conversation became less believable which made it more difficult to continue on. But then again, little things like this probably bother me far too much. Others may not have been affected at all.

4 comments:

  1. I like your diction of calling it "the creation." it doesn't have the negative connotation of "monster" or as Victor says, "demon"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Look past the eloquent diction and read what he is explaining! He explains that he has spent his two years studying the Delaceys and reading advanced literature. These two things are what built the Monster's advanced speech.

    ReplyDelete
  3. also, he clearly was already advanced in his brain development when he was created using the brain of someone else

    ReplyDelete