Frankenstein has had a lasting impression on audiences since its publication in 1818. This continuing popularity is for many reasons. On the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel that shows audiences there is a way to defy death, but on a deeper level it reveals many things about human nature and emotion. This is why I feel the novel has persevered through so many years and still enjoys wide popularity.

Beginning on the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel about how to defy death. Human kind has been fascinated with this notion since the beginning of time. One only has to look at the ancient Egyptians and their belief of the afterlife, along with many other cultures and their beliefs of a life after death to see that overcoming death has fascinated people for centuries. This fascination can be looked at on several levels. First of all, death is frightening. It is something that is not understood completely by humans. Humans are scared of what they do not understand. This is portrayed in Frankenstein when the creature is shunned by society simply because he looked different from them and they did not understand him. People are scared of what they do not understand, whi

Immortality has long been a goal of many humans and stories of it have intrigued people for ages. Stories of the so-called "fountain of youth" and others like it are examples of the human obsession with the notion of immortality. Frankenstein is another one of these stories. The idea that life can be created from something lifeless is an intriguing notion to a race that has long been fascinated with the idea that life could be eternal. This intriguing concept lies only at the surface of the novel, and is only one reason why this novel has enjoyed continuing success.

Considering these feelings of abandonment and his banishment from society, one can begin to understand why he chose to act the way he did. One may even begin to wonder if he felt he had any choice at all. All the emotions that the creature feels and the actions that he takes seem similar to the feelings that humans encounter when they are put in the same situation, and the actions that we may consider but because we have been taught values and morals we do not carry out. One must remember that the creature has not been taught these morals and values. So Shelley's novel shows us what humanity could be like if we were not taught right from wrong and had to cope with the kind of emotions that the creature has to cope with without any help from anyone around us. The novel reveals many things about humanity that are not often discussed or thought about by humans. It offers insight into the mind of a very humanlike creature and the emotions and decisions he makes based solely on the experiences that he has had and what he feels is right. Frankenstein is an "account of the monstrous potential of human creative power when severed from moral and social concerns has made it a modern myth that recurs persistently..." (906).

The issues of abandonment in the novel offer insight into human emotions. Victor's creature feels abandoned by his creator and does not know how to deal with these feelings. He does not even kn

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Approximate Word count = 1346
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)