Frankenstein And Of Mice And Men Essay

, Research Paper

?Frankenstein and

Of Mice And Men are different in almost every way.? They are written in different times, by

different classes of people and in different areas of the world where life is

dissimilar to the extreme.? The primary

characters are nothing like each other, and the books are written in

contrasting styles.? Frankenstein is

about a scientist who inadvertently creates a monster in his pursuits of the

reanimation of deceased creatures.? It

is concerned with the life of the scientist and his anguish when the creature

that he has made turns evil, and homicidal.?

Of Mice And Men is

about two migrant ranch worker?s quest to actualise the ?American Dream? whilst

trying to avoid tribulation on the ranch where they are earning their

living.? However,there are some similar themes

in the two novels, for example, the loneliness ofthe primary

characters, and the way society reacts to something that is considered

?atypical? by their standards.? In this essay, Frankenstein and Of

Mice And Men will be critically compared and contrasted.? Themes in the novels will be taken into

account, as well as the use of language and the social and historical

background to the novels.?This

will be closed by a conclusion where the main points will be brought up again.Isolation is one of the most frequent

occurrences in the two novels.? In Of

Mice And Men, Lennie is disassociated from the others, not because he wants

to be, but because of his low intellect he is considered ?different? by the men

on the ranch, and society.? This is much

like the situation of Frankenstein?s monster.?

Because of his displeasing appearance, he is abhorred by society and forced

to live away from it, secluded in forests and so on.? ??Finding the door open, I entered.? An old man sat in it, near a fire, over which he was preparing

his breakfast.? He turned on hearing a

noise; and perceived me, shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut ran across the

fields…??.Other characters in Of Mice And Men, for

example Crooks, are victims of this forced isolation.? Crooks is a black man in a predominantly white area.? Black people had been brought to America due

to the Slave Trade, but even though it was abolished, black people were still

seen as slaves, and below white Americans.?

???Cause I?m black.? They play

cards in there, but I can?t play because I?m black.? They say I stink.??Another character that is a target for this is

Curley?s wife.? She is not different

like the other?s for her colour, or appearance, but because she is a

woman.? Even though gender is

approximately even in the world at this time, women were seen as inferior to

men.? The men went to work and to

socialise and the women were to stay at home.?

Because Curley?s wife lived on the ranch with no other women she was

isolated because she wasn?t a man.? ?I

never get to talk to nobody.? I get

awful lonely?.? Her ?unimportance? is

confirmed by the author by his not disclosing her name.? She is only referred to as ?Curley?s

wife?.? Curley?s property.Lennie doesn?t react to this isolation because

of his mental inadequacy.? He isn?t

aware of other people?s feelings because he doesn?t have the ability to

understand the meanings of other people?s actions and words.? ??Used to play jokes on ?im ?cause he was

too dumb to take care of ?imself.? But

he was too dumb even to know he had a joke played on ?im.??Crooks and Curley?s wife take the treatment

harder.? Because of the constant loneliness

they become bitter and twisted, their personalities changed by the way they

have been dealt with.? Neither of them

can see why people have acted the way that they have to them and can?t see that

they are any different to the rest of them.?

??You can talk to people, but I can?t talk to nobody but Curley.? Else he gets mad?.Frankenstein?s monster is more like Crooks and

Curley?s wife in the way that he reacts to the loneliness and isolation.? He begins life with the intentions of

benevolence and integrity but society?s reaction to his appearance makes him

bitter and twisted.? He is denied any

human pleasure and this gives him the misconstrued view that nobody else should

have any either.? ??My heart was

fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and when wrenched by misery

to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change, without

torture such as you cannot even imagine??.?

This results in a killing spree and the prolonged mental torture of

Victor Frankenstein.The characters of Lennie and Frankenstein?s

monster are sometimes similar.? They are

both killers.? Lennie kills Curley?s

wife and the monster kills William, Elizabeth, Henry, and his actions result in

the framing and subsequent death of Justine.?

However, their motives are entirely

different.? Lennie?s mental retardation

prevents him from understanding how his strength can affect people.? ??I didn?t wanta,? Lennie cried.? ?I didn?t wanta hurt him??.? He doesn?t deliberately kill Curley?s

wife.? On the contrary, Frankenstein?s

monster kills with malice.? He begins

the novel with good intentions, but as he is repeatedly rejected by society, he

turns bitter and kills because of self-pity.?

Here you can again compare the monster with Crooks, as he is

increasingly resentful through sustained rejection.? ??Sometimes [a guy] gets thinkin?, an? he got nothing to tell him

what?s so an? what ain?t so??.Lennie and the monster are also forced to copy

others in learning how to behave and speak.?

However as Lennie is less intelligent, he only copies, not learns from

it, whereas the monster takes in all the information and learns to talk and

think for himself.? ??I discovered the

names that were given to some of the most familiar objects of discourse; I

learned and applied the words??.Other themes in the two novels are

contrasting.? In Frankenstein,

the main story-line is to do with science and the resulting constitution,

trying to ?play God?.? This is due to

the era that the book was written in.?

Science was very important in the 19th Century and this shows in the

mentioned theme.? This is very different

to the theme of the ?American Dream? in Of Mice And Men.? The novel was written around the time of the

Great Depression, and many people longed for a ?picture perfect? life.? This is reflected in this theme.This leads into the social and historical

backgrounds of the novels.? These are

greatly influential over the novels, partly determining the themes, language,

story and mood.? Frankenstein,

for example was written in 1817, published in 1818 in London which was showing

great advances in the world of science.?

People looked to science for answers and it seemed to pave the way to

the future, therefore people were very interested in anything to do with

it.? The novel is based around science

and without it the story wouldn?t be feasible.?

People who would read this sort of novel at the time would be upper

class, and therefore well-educated, and the story is of an upper class

scientist, which at the time the readers would be able to relate to his

circumstances.Frankenstein was

also written during the Romantic period, which influenced the novel.? The Romantic period usually produced work

that was very dramatic and passionate, and Frankenstein is an example of

this.? Mary Shelley played around with

the idea of ?over zealousness? in following one?s dreams and abstractions, and

it?s results.? It has a lesson to be

learnt from this.Of Mice And Men was

written in the late 1930?s, during an era that was full of unemployment and

poverty, much unlike when Frankenstein was written.? People looked to any alternative that they

could and dreamt of a better life.? Most

people dreamt of owning their own land, and earning some kind of cultivated living.? This was becoming increasingly unlikely as

land became settled.? The way the novel

ends is typical of the time.? Towards

the end, things start to look up for George and Lennie, but it concludes in all

of their dreams being dashed and they return to the loneliness that they feel

at the start of the book.? ??You an? me

can get that little place, can?t we, George??

You an? me can go there an? live nice, can?t we, George?? Can?t we???

Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the

bay.? He knew.?? The author is portraying the popular opinion

of the time, that things don?t get better, no matter how hard you try.? People who would read Of Mice And Men

would be unlike those who would read Frankenstein.? They would be of a lower class, going

through the same things as the primary characters in the novel.? It is written in a simpler manner, with lots

of speech, and description of the surroundings.? The two novels are both written in very

different styles.? Frankenstein,

as it was written in the Romantic period was exceedingly formal and overdone.? As the author was intellectual and

well-educated, the language is sophisticated and would be well-received by

educated people.? ?These sublime and

magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of

receiving.?Of Mice And Men is

written by an author who isn?t well-educated and has less complex

language.? It has a lot of simple

dialogue which helps you understand the way people feel about each other, and

the way the story is heading, and there is much description to help set the

scene.? ?It was quite dark now, but the

fire lighted the trunks of the trees and the curving branches overhead.? Lennie crawled slowly and cautiously around

the fire until he was close to George.??

Not much happens in the book without there being dialogue so it could

easily be turned into a play. In Frankenstein, the writing is

portrayed in a narration of first person.?

This changes around from Walton to Frankenstein to the monster, but

because of this the book is seen almost as a diary.? Because of this it is easy for the author to express inner

emotions and feelings.? ?Great God!? Why did I not then expire?? Why am I here to relate the destruction of

the best hope, and the purest creature of earth??? These emotions go from extreme to extreme frequently, typical of

the Romantic period.? In Of Mice And

Men, because there is a lot of dialogue, and the characters aren?t erudite,

they can?t get across how they feel and the readers aren?t able to see very

deep into their feelings.? ?George said

quietly, ?What the hell you yellin? about???

Lennie got up on his knees.? ?You

ain?t gonna leave me, are ya, George?? I

know you ain?t??.? Steinbeck uses third

person narration during the whole book.?

This gives the feeling of being ?in? the book.In Frankenstein, you wonder why the

author included the character of Walton in the novel.? Why complicate further an already complicated story?? As Shelley wrote the novel in the first

person, you see things from Frankenstein and the monster?s point only.? You are never told about their feelings: you

have to feel them yourself.? By having

Walton in the story, in first person, you get a chance to be a bystander as in Of

Mice And Men.? You are

Walton, and therefore inside the book as a bystander.To conclude, the books are very different,

however they are sometimes very similar.?

The novels often mirror each other.?

For example the way Crooks and Curley?s wife react to the loneliness in Of

Mice And Men is comparable to the way Frankenstein?s monster reacts to

it.? Also, the way Lennie is isolated

from the others in Of Mice And Men is similar to the way Frankenstein?s

monster is isolated because of the way he looks.? On the contrary though, the novels are

divergent in many more ways.? For

example the stories are very different, set in unlike times, places and with

very different classes of characters.?

The novels are written in contrasting styles, Of Mice And Men

being simple and Frankenstein having very intricate language. ? However, both penetrate quite deeply.? Mary Shelley warns of the dangers of excess

of passion, and John Steinbeck tells of the effects of the Great Depression.