frankenstein

Between the two novels, Paradise Lost and Frankenstein, there are many striking similarities. What makes

these two books so wonderful to read is the author's ability to write about the ultimate struggle; the struggle

between God and Satan, or Good and Evil. The characters in Paradise Lost and in Frankenstein seem to be

very similar to one another. God and Victor Frankenstein have many similarities. One of their similarities is

that they are both creators of new life. The monster, Victor's creation, also shows remarkable similarities,

but not with God. The monster shows similarities with Satan and Adam. At first these characters seem very

plain and tasteless, but as the stories go on and the characters become deeper beings, the interest in them

quickly picks up.

As creators of another creature, God and Victor Frankenstein are very similar to one another, but at the

same time, they also have their differences. In Frankenstein, Victor's childhood appears to be the ultimate

reality. Victor's family is one of the most distinguished families in his birth town of Genevese. Victor's

parents are kind, and Victor has many friends that surround him. The pleasantness of Victor's childhood

is much like how Milton portrays the Garden of Eden before Satan enters. Both settings are pure, happy,

and filled with love. While the beginning settings of both of these novels are similar, the characters

themselves are also a lot alike. Paradise Lost and Frankenstein are both stories of creators, and their

creations. In Frankenstein, Victor is the creator of what is known as "the monster". In Milton's Paradise

Lost, God is the all-mighty creator of Satan, Adam, and Eve.

Unlike God though, Victor has a choice to become God-like. Victor holds the power to create just as God

does, but Victor's power is only present through science. By choosing science, Victor Frankenstein seems

to become God. Victor gives existence to something that was once inexistent, which gives him a God

complex. Even though Victor is considered a creator just like God, Victor almost seems to be a grim God

or a "fallen God". Victor can be considered a fallen God because he does not care for or watch over his

creation like the God in Paradise Lost does. The relationship between creator and creation differ between

the two novels as well. In Mary Shelly's novel, Victor and the monster have physical interactions with each

other, while no matter what kind of exchanges Milton's God and Satan have; God will always win in the

end.

"Devil" is the initial word Victor speaks to his creation. By calling his creation "devil", it seems as if Victor

permanently assigns his creation an identity with no chance to change it. This word does indeed seem to

portray the monster's fate. The monster sickens every person who meets him. In revenge to their rejection

of him, the monster destructs characters around him. This causes people to see him as a devilish being. In

Frankenstein, the monster is forced into evil by man's unkindness toward him. It is different in Paradise

Lost though. Satan is ruined by his rejection to worship God. The monster had no choice but to become evil,

where Satan did. In the end though they are both deemed horrible creatures.

Many times the story of Paradise Lost is referred to in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. By bringing both stories

together it seems to help intermix the characters. What makes Satan and the monster so much alike though

is when the monster says, "Evil thenceforth will be my good." Satan said something incredibly similar to

this in Paradise Lost!

A slight difference in these two amazing novels is that in Paradise Lost, Adam and Satan were two very

separate characters, but in Frankenstein they seem to be one in the same within the monster. In Milton's

poem Satan was purely evil and Adam was quite sinless. Mary Shelly seems to have the monster mutate

from one to the other. She does this by having the monster start out pure and sinless, but because of such

rejection from other characters he turns to evil. By turning evil, the monster is mutating into a Satan-like

character. Just as Satan and Adam both fall from God's grace, the monster appears to fall from the grace of

his God and his creator as well, Victor. Because the stories are so similar, it's almost as if the monster is

living the epic poem Paradise Lost!

In both novels the reader is able to feel sorrow for the evil beings. The reader almost feels compassion for

the beings suffering. Is this because we, as people, better relate to sin? It seems that the reader wants to side

with evil because even when our key examples, Adam and Eve, seem faultless, they can't refuse to into a