Observing artist's creative differences about the same story can be an interesting experience. Being aware of two different versions of one story may cause the observer to feel differently toward the same character. The monster in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, and the monster in James Whale's film Frankenstein can be viewed as two completely different characters. The two monsters have different motives for killing. The creature in each version of the story is rejected by the people and is labeled as a monster weather he deserves the title or not. Each monster kills but they have different motives for killing. In the film the monster attacks because he is given the brain of a criminal not because he is shunned by society; therefore it is harder for the viewer to sympathize with the monster.
In the Shelley's novel, the scene of the monster's first breath of life is quite horrific. " By the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs" (58). That is the point in the novel when she starts to describe the features of Frankenstein's creation. At this point, she makes it easy for the reader to generate an unpleasant vision of the discolored being. The reader is not given much information on what body parts were used to build the monster. He or she only knows that Frankenstein had used the body parts of large males. This scene in the book is very important because this is the first time Frankenstein sees his creation living and breathing. What he does next will determine the outcome of the monster's life.
Mary Shelley makes it very obvious why Victor Frankenstein's creature is unforgivably murdering people. As soon as the monster comes to life it is rejected by his only parental figure. "Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep" (59).
