Comparison Between the Film and the Book Frankenstein Essay Sample

Throughout the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, There is an abundance of gothic characteristics that are shared within the film, novel and graphic novel. For the movie and graphic novel, the story contained  cinematic scenes that demonstrated gothic elements. The filming locations played a key role in the gothic tone and setting in the film. Most scenes were shot during dark, cloudy and undesirable weather. As for the graphic novel, the illustrations were quite similar to the film's cinematic shots. A consistency of darker colors being incorporated into the majority of the illustrations which bring out the dark and miserable tone of the story.

The locations that are present in the story or film add a great amount of character to the gothic genre. The large but empty mansion that the Frankenstein family lives in , while it may appear as a beautiful and perfectly sculptured house. The amount of horrors that have occurred in that house, such as the death of victor's mother and the death of William, has participated in altering the house into a place of terror.  It is no longer a place of comfort or memories, just pure horror and fear. The school that victor attended in Ingolstadt presented a gothic feeling, The old rustic buildings that consist of gray bricks and mostly dark colors along with the cloudy weather was all a part of a recipe for a good gothic feeling in this story.

During the monster's travels. He experiences a wave of emotions for the first time. The monster already knew he was different from other humans early on. But he wasn't aware of how horrendous his appearance was until he saw his own reflection in a puddle. This is when the monster experiences fear and a sense of sadness after getting a glance at his deformities. The monster soon after striving to learn the English language in hopes that it'll help distract others from his physical attributes and not get judged so quickly.  After the monster has an understanding of the English language, he quickly realizes that people don't care that he can speak their language, and that he's still a monster in their eyes. Once he's been mistreated on a number of occasions , this is when the real monster is created, He starts to experience rapid feelings of hatred towards victor for turning him into a heinous creature that everyone seems to despise. The only way the monster knew who was responsible for his hideous looks was when he learned how to read while hiding in the couple's house. He came across some fiction books and found one of Victor's notes that documented the creation of the monster.  

Once the monster discovers the truth of his existence, that is when the story gets much darker. After learning to read and write the monster has also developed emotions, but after learning about how he was created, rage and vengeance is all that is occupying his mind. He wants nothing more than to return the favor to victor, and get revenge. 

For the majority of the story from when victor went to school to the very end, is accompanied by dreadful weather. If this story had been occurring with beautiful weather conditions, then the story wouldn’t have anywhere near the amount of misery or down mood that is possesses due to the horrific events followed by the weather that fits the events.

Some examples of the weather supporting the gothic theme are when the monster went on his journey through the snow and compares it to how he is treated by humans. and the disturbing part is that the monster would rather suffer the wrath of the outdoors than be ridiculed by normal people who notice his differences. . This goes to show how the weather sets the mood in Frankenstein. 

The emotion in this story is quite heavy with all characters. whether it’s Victor is striving to do better with his studies at university that later jeopardizes his family’ and many others well being. Or it’s the monster discovering that he’s just a science experiment and nothing more than that. All of the aspects that have been chosen all work together. It’s obvious that Victor's ambition to progress his studies and ideas is what has made him the real monster.  Although Victor wasn’t aware of this until he made another creature like the first monster, it had finally clicked in his mind that he was the problem, and not his creations. while it’s clear to the reader that victor is the real monster early on.

After reading both Frankenstein the novel and graphic novel and watching the film. they all share the main story with a few minor differences but they all contain very similar gothic attributes. viewing the story through 3 different forms helped create a better visual for the reader, which overall enhances the gothic theme that Mary Shelley was aiming for.