Sydney O, Sarah Y, Kiersten N, Jake R

Art 1 Title:  James Cagney’s Frankenstein

Unique Attributes Paragraph:
In this piece, the creature is in black, locked in chains, and glaring at a man in white. This man in white who is staring the creature down represents Victor Frankenstein. It shows the tension between them and their loathing for one another. There is a shorter man glaring at the creature. This man represents all of the people the monster interacts with. In one hand, the short man holds a torch representing destruction of the creature and their dislike towards him. The chains, bars, and black clothes represent sadness, loneliness, and restrain.

Literature 1 Title: Frankenstein Edward Field

Unique Attributes:

This poem shows the themes of prejudice, and the symbol of ugliness.  Frankenstein’s ugliness changes the perceptions of the people in the poem, just like the people in the book.  Just like the blind man in the book, the blind man in the poem has no prejudice since he can’t see Frankenstein.  The blind man’s blindness symbolizes the prejudice of the mob which blinds them.  This poem is Gothic in its description of how Frankenstein was created by cadavers.  It is interesting in the end where he recognizes his need to leave, yet there is no haste in his words.

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.

Music 1Title: Hold On, Good Charlotte

Unique Attributes:

This Gothic piece of music exemplifies the themes that are present in Frankenstein with lyrics such as, “this world is cold” and “you’re feeling lonely”.  The music is very emotional and shifts between a slow peaceful feeling and a rushing torrent of anger.  This shows how we have two sides to ourselves.  We have an outside, which may seem harsh and ugly at the beginning, and an inside that expresses our true feelings.  The song’s sorrow and theme represent many of the emotions that the creature feels during the book.

Similarities:
The pieces of Art, Literature, and music displayed above are great examples for Frankenstein because they illustrate and represent the reoccurring themes in the novel. They demonstrate feelings of prejudice, ugliness, isolation, and power. It is noticeable by any viewer that Frankenstein is a creature who is discriminated because of his complexion. It can soon be learned that he is lonely and acts out with terror because that is the only connection he has with society in the world around him.  The pieces seem like they are all told from his point of view and have an underlying feeling explaining that he is not horrific, he is simply misunderstood. The same themes commonly recognized throughout Mary Shelly's Frankenstein are still found in  these three pieces.The creature simply has no tie to love and affection therefor he knows he lives in a beautiful and powerful world but the only part that he has felt is the danger and the longing for what he can't have.