Loss of Innocence

"I've been feeling under pressure... I've been feeling under pressure..." - Logic

What's the difference between our struggles and those of our parents? We often hear stories about how our ancestors fled great wars, apartheids, and unfavorable conditions to come to the United States, where we now reside. The generic, "Do you know why we came to this country? To give you a better future." In the bay area, a place filled with heavy diversity and international aquaintence, we are always pressured by those around us, especially our parents, to drive to succeed in life. We've all had those awkward moments when we don't quite get along with our parents, but we find ways to deal with them peacefully.

See not all that parents are that understanding, and I'm sure many of you readers out there can relate. The subjectivity of our feelings towards certain issues depends upon what we are influenced by while growing up. Unlike how the monster is pressured in a very negative environment right from creation, we are often loved and nurtured by our guardians in any ways they can afford. We are brought up in a great society full of inovation and creativity, but do our conclusions come out the same? Victor's hatred towards his being, his evident "son," eventually pressured the monster into rebelling, hating Victor, and eventually blackmailing him through the death of his loved ones. Now while that idea may be a bit extreme, it may apply to us in certain ways.

While the monster had an accelerated life, we grew up nurtured by our environment in Evergreen. We eventually learned more about the world and ourselves, and then had times of disagreements with our parents, often regarded by medical experts as a time of "puberty." The monster's puberty can be seen as his time of revolt and understanding. He finally accepts what others think about him, but seeks for love and compassion for others to accept him for who he is. This dilemma is seen variously throughout the book when the monster searches for his purpose in life, but is bricked by the limitations given to him by society and his creator.

Now we may not always get along with our parents, and often times we fundamentally disagree upon ideals in the roles of education. Our parents often times value our education as a meter for our future success, which can be a valid stance in some cases, but equally unfair and burdensome upon ourselves. In a world where grades mean life or death and the difference between an "A" and a "B" can determine our grounding for the day, we as students at EV are held to a very high standard of expectations by our parents. I even surveyed 10 households in my neighborhood near evergreen elementary, and of the 20 parents i asked, 18 of them said that they would be extremely dissapointed if their child came home with an "F" on a big test or assignment. And that conclusion is perfectly reasonable, but then again we have to dig deeper into the circumstances of the grades themselves.

We are discouraged by society to be happy when we get a "D" on a calculus test, when we are not even given the necessary time or teaching to succeed in that concept.

We are discouraged by society to be happy when we get second place in a dance competition because we didn't get first.

We are discouraged by society to continue at the first glimpse of failure because we do not think we are capable of doing or succeeding at something.

Whoever helped set this notion into our society was really trying to mess us up. If we believe in ourselves like this, then how are we any better than the monster? The monster's internal conflict to find it's identity and capabilities/desires and its external conflict against the opinions of the world set him up to do amoral things. He took the lives of people and blackmailed his creator, all because he wasn't given the opportunity to find his true self. While Victor is on his tour he often contemplates the ideas of failure, stress, and death, which attribute a very negative tone to the tone of the book. The mood makes us question our own actions and whether or not they may impact others in the depth of Victor's problems. We are sucked into this problem, again this catch 22 of: What can we do to succeed?

I am a firm believer in the idea that we create our own paths. I know you may think it's hopeless. I know you may think it's the end of the world right now. I know you may think that a "C" or "D" in a class can't be improved or that you have no path to travel down without failure.

Just know that in the end you will find a way. Through all the darkness, all the sadness, and all the pain in your life right now, we will always be by your side the next day. We will always support you no matter the backlash. We will always help you find a way, and you will.

We have yet to see how Victor find's his way, but we're sure as hell not going to put the novel down now. We're just a little under pressure.

--

Special K

P.S.

On a more analytical side, I left this part out of the main body because I didn't want to deter any readers that would get bored, Victor's intense struggle and his idea of feeling under pressure stems from his struggles in chapter 17. As the monster shares it's cryptic fascination of love and its drive to be loved, Victor is stuck again between a catch 22. He must either create another life and possibly let loose another maniacal machine of mayhem and destruction or let his entire family die under the wrath of his wicked creation. Victor's drive to solve the monster's problem is lead by the monster's critical blackmail approach that allows it to strategically blackmail Frankenstein for his own personal good. This reallt exemplifies the true hidden intellect that the monster has and attains over his short lifespan. It comes to the realization that it will never be accepted until it is first truly loves. Again much like us, support in many different forms drives us to succeed and be creative as a whole. Without that small outreach for us to connect with and depend on, our lives lose a lot of meaning and we sometimes lose a motivation/drive to succeed or do anything at all.

Hey y’all it’s a me Mario(no, not really it’s Harry F’n Potter actually)I’m back and taking a closer look at my roots. Uh huh, you heard right, straight back to magic, mythical beasts, and terrifying enemies for us. To be completely honest I only chose this because I really, really like How To Train Your Dragon and what better way to show that than by connecting it to loss of innocence in Frankenstein. And lo and behold there’s a surprising amount of connections between the two, despite some major differences.

So, to draw a couple parallels between the two, both the monster and Hiccup are very much isolated and shunned/ridiculed by society. Although reasons for doing so are different it results in the same thing, an ardent yearning for companionship and acceptance. Both are driven to extremes to fulfill this need and are, for the most part, rebuked by their peers for their actions, beliefs, physical appearance. They two turn to socially questionable activities or thoughts to alleviate this pain they go through. I perceive this as loss of innocence in that they both are in situations that should be inducing wonder and awe in their natural world; not jaded cynicism or befriending huge firebreathing reptiles. Due to their situations they’re forced to stop deluding themselves and are given a harsh dose of reality effectively strippiing them of their “innocence.”

In Frankenstein this is seen through the monster’s insistence on having an equal to talk with without fear of rejection and even, possibly, to love. This intense need, along with extenuating circumstances, pushes the monster to abandon any morals he previously had and threaten to kill not only Victor but his family. Chapter fifteen is one such occurrence, The monster finally plucks up the courage to attempt to make contact with the french family he has been stalking. However, his hopes are dashed when almost immediately after he is spotted the family members that can actually see react exactly like all the other humans he has encountered. An all encompassing hate is festering in the monster quickly replacing the previous notion that humans are a superior race to be admired; and the only cure to this ailment is, in his mind, an equal that only Victor can provide.

In How To Train Your Dragon Hiccup is, to put it simply, the village idiot, always getting into trouble with his ridiculous schemes(e.g. In the beginning of the movie when he ends up letting a whole ton of dragons get away with the livestock) He is constantly bullied by his peers, even his cousin Snotlout; and not even his father accepts him, as seen by Stoick’s refusal to listen to Hiccup’s protests to dragon slaying training. He faces rejection from almost all avenues, his sole friend being a middle age cripple with a propensity for the disgusting(Gobber). So, desperate and lonely, Hiccup eventually befriends a dragon, sworn enemy of the vikings. But not just any dragon he finds a night fury, the most feared and dangerous variant of dragon. When found out he is viciously disowned by his father and is emotionally devastated. AN event not dissimilar to when the monster discovers Victor’s intense disdain for it, despite him being a father figure of sorts. This type of loss of innocence, that which is seen when a child is denied the unconditional love of their parent(s), is a pivotal scene in both Frankenstein and How To Train Your Dragon.

Despite having dramatically different endings(I think) I feel we’ve benefitted from this comparison just in the sense that we better understand the circumstances and feelings behind events in Frankenstein. The similarities between the two let us compare different situations that deal with much of the same elements and thus make it easier to spot important parts in the story.