Frankenstein and Mediums

Art

This picture displays Frankenstein as barley conscious. It does not portray his full knowledge and his sharp senses. The artist uses the yellow color and shading to give him a rotten dead look, that emphasizes the fact he was made from dead bodies. It shows scars on his forehead to help display the fact that he was sewn together and all the pieces didn't quite come together perfectly. There are also bolts in his neck that connect to his heart. These are present to transfer the lightning into the dead heart to get it beating again.

Literature

The Re-animator by H.P. Lovecraft is very similar to Frankenstein because the men in it reanimate dead bodies. They have numerous encounters where they bring a dead person back to life but the person is screaming and violent. One incident is when they reanimate a man that goes by the name Halsey. He ends up being very violent and he goes on a cannibal killing spree. He eats 16 people. Other experiments go bad also, causing them to go on killing sprees also. This is all because they wanted to create things that they probably shouldn't have been. It is the opposite of the creature in Frankenstein in that he is misunderstood, conscious, and he's naturally not violent. These creatures like Halsey are unconscious killers.

Music

In the song Rabbits are Roadkill on Route 37 by AFI we experience the feelings of someone who as been abandon by someone they love, leaving them with bitter feelings of self anger and worthlessness.

Desperation, devastation

All I truly know

Is isolation, self-damnation

All life that I know

Was shed and worthless now

This song helps us better identify with the monster in the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Victor Frankenstein abandons his creation which left the creature with feelings of isolation, self damnation, and worthlessness and truly turned him into the monster that we see in the book. Now nobody is saying his feelings are enough to justify the murders and horrid acts. However, trying to understand the way the creature feels after being abandon by Victor makes it a bit harder to hate him

Similarities

Some people might be confused how all three of these relate because they don't seem to have much in common. It makes more sense to compare two at a time. For example, the yellow tones of the artwork give it a vintage feel. This pairs nicely with the book The Re-animator from the 80's. When inspecting the tone and word choice of Rabbits are Roadkill on Route 37 by AFI you can sense the sadness and devastation behind the song. This directly correlates to the art depicting the creature in Frankenstein. His face holds these emotions that are expressed in the music. As you can tell there are many similarities between these mediums and these are just a few.

Ruth D, Jake H, Renae N, Jane H

Art

 













This art piece focuses on nature and the themes of abandonment and isolation which are strongly portrayed in the novel. The art piece shows one lonely tree on a small and shaded island. The tree is like the creature because it doesn't belong in a group of trees. There are dark clouds covering the sky except for one spot where the sun is shining through the clouds and brightening the once-shaded tree.

 

  Music 

 

This piece of music has an eerie feeling throughout. It shows the creepiness  through the background sound of electronic keyboard. This song actually tells the story from the creatures point of view in the lyrics. They use older sounding instruments to get an antique and eerie feeling. Some notes are purposely played off key to capture the effect of an under toned scream. Another connection to the book is that in the song the creature asks for a woman with a dead girls heart. The metaphors in this song are deeper than the book itself and create a  fuller feeling of uneasiness.

   

Literature

Frankenstein
The monster has escaped from the dungeon
where he was kept by the Baron,
who made him with knobs sticking out from each side of his neck
where the head was attached to the body
and stitching all over
where parts of cadavers were sewed together.

He is pursued by the ignorant villagers,
who think he is evil and dangerous because he is ugly
and makes ugly noises.
They wave firebrands at him and cudgels and rakes,
but he escapes and comes to the thatched cottage
of an old blind man playing on the violin Mendelssohn's "Spring Song."

Hearing him approach, the blind man welcomes him:
"Come in, my friend," and takes him by the arm.
"You must be weary," and sits him down inside the house.
For the blind man has long dreamed of having a friend
to share his lonely life.

The monster has never known kindness ‹ the Baron was cruel --
but somehow he is able to accept it now,
and he really has no instincts to harm the old man,
for in spite of his awful looks he has a tender heart:
Who knows what cadaver that part of him came from?

The old man seats him at table, offers him bread,
and says, "Eat, my friend." The monster
rears back roaring in terror.
"No, my friend, it is good. Eat -- gooood"
and the old man shows him how to eat,
and reassured, the monster eats
and says, "Eat -- gooood,"
trying out the words and finding them good too.

The old man offers him a glass of wine,
"Drink, my friend. Drink -- gooood."
The monster drinks, slurping horribly, and says,
"Drink -- gooood," in his deep nutty voice
and smiles maybe for the first time in his life.

Then the blind man puts a cigar in the monster's mouth
and lights a large wooden match that flares up in his face.
The monster, remembering the torches of the villagers,
recoils, grunting in terror.
"No, my friend, smoke -- gooood,"
and the old man demonstrates with his own cigar.
The monster takes a tentative puff
and smiles hugely, saying, "Smoke -- gooood,"
and sits back like a banker, grunting and puffing.

Now the old man plays Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" on the violin
while tears come into our dear monster s eyes
as he thinks of the stones of the mob the pleasures of meal-time,
the magic new words he has learned
and above all of the friend he has found.

It is just as well that he is unaware --
being simple enough to believe only in the present --
that the mob will find him and pursue him
for the rest of his short unnatural life,
until trapped at the whirlpool's edge
he plunges to his death.


This poem is all about the stereotypical Frankenstein. The poem describes the monster with a square head, green skin, and metal knobs protruding from his neck. As always he is chased out of town by a mob with pitchforks and torches. It describes the creature as a dumb being who can barely talk and doesn't know what to do with himself. He meets an old man in a cottage who teaches him how to drink and eat. The monster and the old man become friends since the old man is lonely and desperate for a friend just like the monster. At the end, the monster soon realizes that the angry mob will find him and kill him, so he has to make the best of what he has.

 

Similarities

All three of these art pieces all relate to Frankenstein and the themes found in the novel. Both the song and the poem both describe the story of the creature, what he looked like, and how he was treated by society. The visual art, music, and literature all give off a creepy, eerie feeling. They portray the themes of isolation and loneliness that are also found in the book. The song and poem tell how the creature is alone and wants to be accepted by someone. This relates to the tree in the artwork because the tree is all alone too. These three mediums are all similar because they relate to the novel Frankenstein.
 

Morgan S, Anika K, Maddy S, Kade O

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ART~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~“Wander Above the Sea of Fog” By Casper Fiddich~

This piece of art is actually the cover of the novel. It shows a young man standing on rocks leading to what looks like a cliff. It is a very gloomy picture that has a very depressed theme going on. The man looks onward into the fog and looks to be thinking above everything. It was painted in the same era the book Frankenstien was written in. ~Kade 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MUSIC~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~“Mad World “ by Gary Jules~

The song “Mad World” by Gary Jules is about a man being isolated from society as the people around him are consumed in their own worlds. The artist creates a mournful, melancholy feel though its slower tempo and its minor key. The melody in this song is very repetitive, showing how the artist tries the same things over and over again, but to no avail. However, despite his recurrent, unsuccessful attempts, he still maintains the hope that he will be freed from isolation. This song gives off an air of observing and spectating the flurry of life as a though one is disconnected from it. Overall, the mood is pensive, brooding and isolated 
from the surrounding world.~ Anika

~~~~~~~~~~~~LITERATURE~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~“Writing on Fear of Death” By Sri Chinmoy~

"Writing on Fear of Death" strongly highlights Frankenstein’s fear. In the story, it states directly that death is natural and not detrimental. Frankenstein’s creation represents his ambition to overcome natural death, yet throughout the book we see that nature is positive towards connection with humans. Creating the monster was Victor’s attempt to overcome death by going against nature. This excerpt's emphasis on overcoming the fear of death connects to Frankenstein’s ambition and work, yet the importance of natural ways is very much overlooked.~ Maddy

~~~~~~"Writing on Fear of Death"~~~~~~

By Sri Chinmoy

Death is natural. Nothing natural can be detrimental. Death is rest. Rest is strength in disguise for a further adventure.   
At the present state of human evolution, to conquer Death may be an impossibility. But to overcome the fear of death is not only practicability, but inevitability. 
Death is normally the sign that the soul, under the particular circumstances, has exhausted the possibilities of its progress in a particular body.



~~~~~~~~~SIMILARITIES OF THE MEDIUMS~~~~~~~~~

 

Though all the mediums listed have many similarities, a few maintain a strong connection including isolation, depression, and gloom. In the art example, it’s a gloomy looking painting that brings in the sense of nature or natural things into the real every day life that people in the Romantic Era focused on. In the music example, it says things that can be categorized as depression and gloom and isolation; it gives an example of depression when he says that "he hangs his head". It also brings up a theme of isolation in the song because he says that he is "nervous" to be around people, a form of isolation. The tone of the song is set in a minor key thus making is sound sad and gloomy. In the medium of literature, it brings up the day to day fear of death that is just a part of life. In all three mediums, life, isolation, depression, and gloom are common themes that connect them.~ Morgan

Trevor Gregg, Tayler H. Madeline D. Samantha J.

Frankenstein Visual Art

"Back to Democracy" Artist: www.matavuvale.com

            This picture portrays Frankenstein monster in a different way than most artists portray him. This picture is dark and has a softened and curious tone to it. It still has rugged pieced together qualities. The viewers eyes are often drawn to the huge cut around his face. The most prevalent part of the picture are his eyes. While they still have dark qualities they also show innocence and intelligence.

Frankenstein Music

Dear Frankenstein by Creighton Doane

             This song is almost as if it is through the creature’s perspective and how it was hurt. The lyrics give the song an overall feeling of darkness and of the Gothic style. The lyrics portray this gothic feeling by accurately describing the rejection that Frankenstein’s creature feels throughout the book. Creighton Doane expresses sadness and being neglected/ abandoned, as does the creature in the book. Doane talks about Frankenstein being “selfish,” which is another theme that comes into play when he runs away from the creature in the novel. The songwriter also portrays prejudice when he writes about Frankenstein not wanting him. The creature goes through this with Frankenstein and with people in general, and just as Doanne also writes, considers killing himself. 

Frankenstein Literature

“Three Worlds”  by Paizli Palmrose

             This poem gives the unique perspective of seeing the world in three different ways. The first world is a happy and loving world where there is an acceptance of all. This is in opposition to the second world which is prejudiced,  and fearing, and creates boarders between the people. The first world is like the world that the creature witnesses while watching the cottagers and their lives, while the second represents the creatures life and his separation. The third world is where the first and the second come together and the second can be accepted into the first in harmony. This third world is what the creature desperately wishes for , that he, the ugly and terrible can be accepted in to the lives of the loving and beautiful.

Comparison of 3 Mediums

         All three mediums show the monster ina different light, and explore different ways of looking at him. The art shows his hideous body, but under close inspection reveals a deep thinking and smart monster. The song talks a lot about how the monster is hurt and how he is a victim, and that Frankenstein himself is the real monster. The poem looks at the world of the monster, the horrible ugly one, but also looks at the possibilities of better worlds with the monster, if people overcame their prejudices towards him. All of the mediums definitely take the side of the monster, and view Frankenstein as the real evil, prejudice one. They all portray the monster as ugly, and hideous, but not as bad or evil, just hurt and segregated against. Overall they all do a good job on displaying the true monster of the book, not the distorted one most see on media today.

Nellie F, Drew B, Logan C, Julia R

                                      Visual Art

The Art of Frankenstein, David Plunkert:

Plunkert’s depiction of the monster has a sickening effect on the viewer. The use of the dull yellow color in background makes you believe the illustration has been around for a while. Also, his collage type effect of showing many medieval medical devices adds a gruesome factor to the picture.  Along with the medical instruments Plunkert’s use of showing the head being pierced together proves that Frankenstein’s monster is more mechanical that it is a living human.

                                             Music

“My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark”, Fall Out Boy:

In the song "My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark" by Fall Out Boy, it talks about being alone and angry. When it says "I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart" I think of how the monster feels about Victor. He hates him because he created him then abandoned him. It's Victors fault he is miserable so he wants revenge or for Victor to fix everything. It says "Burn everything you love" I reflect on the part in the book when the Monster burns the DeLacey's cottage. He burned it because he loved them and they left him.

                                 www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMYZxdhiPJE

                                         Literature

Frankenstein, Edward Field:

In this poem, Victor is described as a Baron.  A baron is the lowest grade of nobility.  This title shows Victor as the low, corrupt member of society.  It also uses the adjective: ignorant, while describing the villagers attacking the monster, showing that they won’t ‘open their eyes’ and try to understand the monster.  They pursuit him only because he is ugly and makes ugly noises.  This alone shows a theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein of how hard it is to fit in while mankind is so ignorant and focuses only on the appearance and not the personality.

The monster has escaped from the dungeon
where he was kept by the Baron,
who made him with knobs sticking out from each side of his
neck
where the head was attached to the body
and stitching all over
where parts of cadavers were sewed together.

He is pursued by the ignorant villagers,
who think he is evil and dangerous because he is ugly
and makes ugly noises.
They wave firebrands at him and cudgels and rakes,
but he escapes and comes to the thatched cottage
of an old blind man playing on the violin Mendelssohn's "Spring
Song."

Hearing him approach, the blind man welcomes him:
"Come in, my friend," and takes him by the arm.
"You must be weary," and sits him down inside the house.
For the blind man has long dreamed of having a friend
to share his lonely life.

The monster has never known kindness-the Baron was cruel-
but somehow he is able to accept it now,
and he really has no instincts to harm the old man,
for in spite of his awful looks he has a tender heart:
Who knows what cadaver that part of him came from?

The old man seats him at table, offers him bread,
and says, "Eat, my friend." The monster
rears back roaring in terror.
"No, my friend, it is good. Eat-gooood"
and the old man shows him how to eat,
and reassured, the monster eats
and says, "Eat-gooood,"
trying out the words and finding them good too.

The old man offers him a glass of wine,
"Drink, my friend. Drink-goood."
The monster drinks, slurping horribly, and says,
"Drink-goood," in his deep nutty voice
and smiles maybe for the first time in his life.

Then the blind man puts a cigar in the monster's mouth
and lights a large wooden match that flares up in his face.
The monster, remembering the torches of the villagers,
recoils, grunting in terror.
"No, my friend, smoke-goood,"
and the old man demonstrates with his own cigar.
The monster takes a tentative puff
and smiles hugely, saying, "Smoke-goood,"
and sits back like a banker, grunting and puffing.

Now the old man plays Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" on the
violin
while tears come into our dear monster's eyes
as he thinks of the stones of the mob, the pleasures of mealtime,
the magic new words he has learned
and above all of the friend he has found.

It is just as well that he is unaware-
being simple enough to believe only in the present-
that the mob will find him and pursue him
for the rest of his short unnatural life,
until trapped at the whirlpool's edge
he plunges to his death.

                                        Similarities

These three pieces are all similar in the way that they portray Gothic aspects.  Each of these have dark themes as a part of their work. They all are have the idea of horror incorporated into it. Each either talks about or shows creepy and possibly disturbing aspects. For example the picture shows creepy tools along with a creepy head, and the poem talks about the monster and the "knobs sticking out of his neck", and the song talks about darkness and the devil.  All of these have creepy attributes to them and correspond with the Gothic theme that is also in Frankenstein.

Bailey Gass, Courtney Cheney, Carly Larson, Jon Wallace

Literature: The Return of Frankenstein by: Edward Field 

In this poem he did not wish for them to feel such hatred towards him. He then understood that all they really wanted to do was, in fact, be rid of him. His once soft heart had been hardened by their betrayal; he now shared their hatred. Fighting the urge to turn into what they thought he was, but failing, due to their misjudgment. He turned toward his last option, to become that monster. He was now in charge of his own destiny and he intended for justice to be served. They would live in terror, in fear, of the monster they had created.

The Return of Frankenstein

He didn't die in the whirlpool by the mill
where he had fallen in after a wild chase
by all the people of the town. Somehow he clung to an overhanging rock
until the villagers went away.
And when he came out, he was changed forever,
that soft heart of his had hardened
and he really was a monster now.
He was out to pay them back,
to throw the lie of brotherly love
in their white Christian teeth.
Wasn't his flesh human flesh
even made from the bodies of criminals,
the worst the Baron could find?
But love is not necessarily implicit in human flesh:
Their hatred was now his hatred,
so he set out on his new career
his previous one being the victim,
the good man who suffers.
Now no longer the hunted but the hunter
he was in charge of his destiny
and knew how to be cold and clever,
preserving barely a spark of memory
for the old blind musician
who once took him in and offered brotherhood.
His idea -- if his career now had an idea --
was to kill them all,
keep them in terror anyway,
let them feel hunted.
Then perhaps they would look at others
with a little pity and love.
Only a suffering people have any virtue.

Music: Music choice: Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Ray

When age they are no longer young or beautiful. They look old, wrinkly, and basically just not very attractive. Although Frankenstein was not young or beautiful to begin with, he does not feel any love and never has just as the artist in this song is questioning. In this song that artist wants to know if when she is no longer young or beautiful, will anyone still love her? The answer is no; as shown in the book Frankenstein.


Art: Lazarus Rising: Ron English

This picture portrays the way that Frankenstein's monster was constructed and the inhumanity of it. This picture makes him seem more like a machine rather that a living creature. The artist portrayed the horror of it all very well because he has put random body parts around the picture. The head in the picture is also very scary because of its expression and the way you can see all of its internal anatomy. He made his art into a sort of collage which is good because the monster is a collage of many different people.





  
Similarities:

The similarities in all of the parts are all based on the fact that Frankenstein was trying to be normal and trying to fit in. However as he is not human and he looks old he receives no love and is hated throughout the lands. This is really sad as he really just wants to fit in. Society has its way of making it extremely difficult for anyone that is not "normal" to fit in and join in on society. The art style also shows that he is a very inhuman creation and is more of a machine than a creature. These pieces also show how societies cruelness the constant belligerence of the people to try and provoke the creature into being a monster as to prove their points and ridicule him of his outbursts of anger.

 















 

Marcus T, McCall C, David S, Spencer C




Art

 


This painting of Frankenstein includes a lot of different colors and not just the green and yellow you would expect. Colors such as red, turquoise, mustard yellow and an olive green are present on his face and surroundings. There is no such thing as "coloring in the lines" on this piece for unclean paint strokes continue to be almost scribbled around his head. Frankenstein looks very serious and miserable as colorful tears fall from his eyes.

 

 

Literature

Hansel and Gretel got left on a bridge,
scary place,
chilly like a fridge,
Owls howling in the moonlight.
They're so scared,
But they see a bright light,
The ginger bread house,
In it an old witch quiet as a mouse,
As they walk up,
She walks out
Now she invites them to eat the couch
While their back is turned she grabs an axe
Now from behind their skulls are cracked
she starts chopping wack wack wack,
Into the stew their meat goes,
it is so yummy to an old raggity hoe
"A Sick And Twisted Mind In A Rhyme" by Matthew Petranovich

This poem takes an older normal story and puts a twist on it. In this story the monster is actually possible, an old woman, rather than a gruesome demon. There is a lot of rhyming and similies since it was in a poen. This is short but has underlying themes of betrayl and decievement.

Music

Promises by Nero

The lyrics of this song are more relevant to Frankenstein then the music is. ONe extremely relevant part is when it says "that you never want to leave my side, as long as I don't break these promises." This is relevant because by creating life, Victor subconciously made a promise to sustain and keep close to it. Victor, after he creates the monster, abandons it and therefore breaks his promise. He also broke his promise of being responisble for the monster after it kills William. Also, he lets Justine die which is leaving her side and not being a trustworthy man.

Similarities

Comparing these mediums, one can see the obvious similarities to Frankenstein. The art and literature both have gothic feels to them. The music has is similar to the book because it relates to Victor breaking his promises. Victor never mad spoken promises, but by creating life he was obligated to care for his creation. Even though the music is more of a modern type, if you try really hard, you can maybe see some gothic parts to it like with literature and art.