frankensteinscreationblog

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I attended Panel 1: Frankenstein and Its Influences on Thursday and it was well worth my time. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s information that they had to share from topics about linguistics, Agrippa, and duality between Frankenstein and the creature. I was very impressed with how prepared all the panelists were, especially our classmate Pierre-Louis who read his close reading essay at the beginning of his presentation. Overall, I was enlightened about a lot of things that I didn’t know relating to all the knowledge that went into Frankenstein.

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This is Ms. Baca and Ms. Stover who were only a few of the people who helped put this event together, and are standing right behind the mic set up for the dramatic reading. The dramatic reading was very entertaining with some readers getting more into the text than others. All who participated were amazing and some of the passages included were the lightning incident, Frankenstein becoming fascinated with the human frame, Frankenstein’s nightmare and meeting his creature, and even the books that framed the creature’s knowledge of the world. They basically chose the highlights of the novel to best tell the story in the 2 hour time frame they had, and I think the passages chosen were excellent.

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It was very interesting to see what the graphic design class came up with, and even more cool to see people walking around and reading all our posters at the opening reception. There were definitely some posters that I liked better than others but overall I can see that hard work was put into these posters on both sides and I’m amazed at how they came out. I am also curious as to who designed my poster because it says “unknown”, but I heard in class that some people’s names were wrong on the posters so maybe mine didn’t get put on there.

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I think this page shows Josephine’s true character come out, as she doesn’t even let Pliers explain why he couldn’t be there for them. From this point onward, I see the “mad scientist” appear in Dr. Baker with her going on a rampage and saying how she wanted to kill the Director herself and anyone in her way because the “world has been testing me (her) for far too long”. I thought that with her being as intelligent and goal-oriented as she is that the death of her son wouldn’t deter her from morals and doing the right thing. Now all she wants is vengeance for one man’s mistake of accidentally killing her son. She’s become completely irrational and I almost feel sorry for Akai as he is stuck with her consciousness for however long he exists. 

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Destroyer hits on many controversial issues like immigration, the black lives matter movement, and now drugs. Mother’s little helper was coined in the 60s and is a variety of sedatives and tranquilizers used for everything from severe mental illness to recovering alcoholics to distressed middle class women. In 1969, Valium became mother’s little helper used by both men and women to relieve stress. I find it interesting how LaValle chose to include this and also say that Akai’s body produces it on its own, causing him to never need sleep. I feel like Josephine did this on purpose, maybe as comfort to never feel alone or maybe just because she could since it harms normal nervous systems and Akai’s is definitely not normal anymore.

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These are quotes pulled from the original Frankenstein, which I find interesting because it seems as if Dr. Baker and her son idolize Frankenstein and use him as inspiration for what she is trying to do now. Dr. Baker and her son just banter back and forth with quotes from Frankenstein and I think it shows how their relationship is largely based on their shared interest in science and creation. Also, does anyone else find it a little creepy how there are skeletons hanging in the background? I mean I know she must’ve had to search for body parts for her son but I wouldn’t think that many would be necessary. 

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Thought this link was super cool and had to share it because who doesn’t want to make their own celebrity Frankenstein?? Anyways, I found “Celebrity Frankenstein” to be a warning of sorts about many modern issues we face today. Like how fame and drugs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and especially the matter of how fast food is detrimental to you. A doctor from Mississippi told the main character that “one more hamburger will kill you”, which is how he decides to end his terrible life. I found it even more amusing that Volk ended the story with McDonald’s slogan of “I’m loving it”, because I feel that it makes the story almost too real for us readers who are looking at it today since obesity is a rising epidemic in America.

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Kurt Vonnegut’s “Fortitude” was not at all what I expected. It was interesting to see Vonnegut’s twist on Frankenstein though, especially as it very different from the real story. I don’t know about anyone else, but the ending kind of threw me off and I didn’t quite catch what actually happened. I didn’t realize that Sylvia shot Frankenstein and that’s why they accelerated the process of when Frankenstein would join her. All I know is that if Frankenstein really wanted Sylvia to be happy then he wouldn’t be keeping her alive against her will, but it also proves the truth in the name of the play. Sylvia shows great fortitude as she continues live a pointless existence as just a head with her organs splayed out in a separate room, unable to free herself from this world.

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Happy Halloween! I felt inspired by the theme of our class and decided to carve my pumpkin as the “monster” from the 1931 movie. I find it very interesting that this rendition of the monster is the most popular and is recognizable by almost anyone. It must’ve been tough for Judge to create a new one for Mary’s Monster with there being so many already in the world. Either way it’s amazing how an anonymously published novel from 200 years ago is still relevant today, and books like Mary’s Monster just help bring Frankenstein and Mary Shelley to the minds of young adult readers who may be influenced to read the real thing. 

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I thought the movie was amazing but may have been inaccurate in some parts. I noticed quite a few differences from Judges’ book so I don’t know which is actually correct. What I’m mainly wondering is why Fanny wan’t in it, and why Percy wasn’t more moody. I noticed that Percy got more temperamental towards the end, but at the beginning when he met Mary he was way more happy and suave then I thought he would be. Also, why was Byron so weird?? I assume they did research on how he acted so I just want to know why so many women fell for him as he was odd and rude at times.

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Quote: “I have come home to find my Creature is the center of attention!” (295)

This seems to be one of the few times that Mary is genuinely happy. The success of her novel has brought her joy even after losing Shelley. As we discussed in class yesterday, it appears that the only times she was happy was when she was writing with Shelley and while her children were alive. I almost don’t want to think about what would’ve become of Mary is she hadn’t experienced this redemption and success. Do you think she would have edited Shelley’s unpublished poems if she hadn’t felt urged by her own success?

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Quote #1: “Observing the plight of the poor and oppressed, he challenged the world to overthrow tyrannical monarchies.” (26)

Quote #2: “At first his mood is as sullen as the lead-colored sky, but I watch the brightness enter his eyes when Shelley talks about imagination and his belief that poetry can be used as a weapon against tyranny.” (199) 

Both Godwin and Shelley hoped that writing would be able to alleviate the issue of tyranny and had made it a goal to try and help the cause. I found it shocking how similar these men appear when I began comparing them. Both have endured some sort of scandal when it comes to who they married; Godwin married a woman with a married man’s child and Shelley already had a wife, child, and baby on the way when he ran off with Mary. Maybe these events allowed them to see how those outcast and struggling to make ends meet live, inspiring them to want to stand up against the tyranny. Since they are both writers, it makes sense that the way they’d want to combat it is through poetry and books on political justice.

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Quote: “Even more, I feel injured that his love is like a breeze blowing through trees, setting leaves to dance before ripping them from their limbs.” (162)

I imagine this is how Mary was feeling as she was grieving the death of Clara. She was left alone by her two friends who decide to turn away from her and pursue each other. I think it’s even more crazy how Judge chooses to use this simile to portray how Percy abuses love. She makes it so harsh by saying how Percy dangles love in front of women and then just rips it away like it never meant anything to him. I can only imagine how Mary felt realizing that no matter how much he hurt her, there was nowhere left for her to go. She had been ruined and was basically stuck with him for life.

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I think this poem really shows the connection that Judge is making with Frankenstein and where Mary got her inspiration from. Like how Judge says Shelley was fascinated with galvanism and even believes that it’ll be used to “bring the dead back to life” which is what Frankenstein does with his creature. I believe this is really important as it conveys the nature of Mary and Shelley’s relationship which is based on their shared passion for knowledge. The first stanza also shows how Mary finds refuge in beautiful landscapes like the river, which is embedded in her elaborate descriptions of nature in Frankenstein.

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Quote: “Fanny believes she is a burden to parents who don’t see her as their own.” (69)

I found it surprising that Fanny appears to be feeling worse than Mary. I know that their stepmother was a nightmare and treated Mary badly but I didn’t think she was that terrible to Fanny as well. Then when Mary was shipped off to Scotland Fanny was the only target left for Mrs. Godwin to terrorize. This may have helped Mary as her and Fanny have similar feelings about not belonging to their family, so they can form an even closer relationship since they’re the only “real” family they’ve got left.

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Quote: “She conceived me. I took shape like an infant, not in her body, but in her heart, growing from her imagination till I was bold enough to climb out of the page and into your mind.” (7)

I found it very interesting how Lita decided to have the creature speak in first person, and have him speak for Mary in first person when she tells us about her life. It shows how she wanted to emulate what Mary Shelley did with Frankenstein and all the overlapping narratives, and I also think that using first person helps the reader more engaged in the story. This quote also shows how Lita relates the birth of the novel which took 9 months with the creation of the creature as he says “she conceived me” and that he was “growing from her imagination”.

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This picture book by Bailey and Sarda was very entertaining. The illustrations are amazing and really helped me visualize everything Bailey stated about Mary’s life. I was also surprised at how much information was packed into such a concise book, which contained some facts that I didn’t even know. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein may be a picture book advertised for children but is definitely captivating for any and all ages.