Frankenstein on the Web

Raymond Luk

rluk@usc.edu

Frankenstein Short Paper

When searching for a term or an idea on the internet, there are myriad ways in which to research that topic. One of the most popular ways to perform these searches is through the use of search engines such as Google and Yahoo! Utilizing such a medium is beneficial in two ways; it allows the user to make the parameters of the search as broad of as narrow needed and it may return useful results that the user wasn’t directly looking to find. Since there are numerous ways in which to search for these topics, there are equally abundant results for those searches. In searching for information on a literary such as Frankenstein on the internet, it is important to be specific with the keywords.

When typing only Frankenstein in the search field, the results yielded ranged from an online copy of the entire novel to film information for the 1931 production. While the breadth of the results is wide, a few of the websites contained information that was both interesting and thought-provoking. From the many websites that were returned from the search, there was one website that was more interesting than the others.

The first such was website was Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature . When the student clicks on the link, he encounters a rather plain main page; it lacks any eye-catching graphics such attractive color combinations or flashing images designed to appeal to a viewer’s senses rather than their mind. The site is divided into four categories: The Birth of Frankenstein, The Celluloid Monster, Promise and Peril, and Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus. The first link credits the creation of Frankenstein and his creature to Mary Shelley and dispels the notion that Hollywood is the creator. It also explains important events in Shelley’s personal life as other ideas society during her lifetime that influenced many of the themes in the novel.

The second of the four links is The Celluloid Monster. This link is particularly interesting because of its stimulating title. In order to fully understand this section of the website, the student must learn what celluloid means. Celluloid is essentially a compound created from multiple components. When searching throughout this part of the site, the student realizes the importance of this title. It contains the many incarnations of Frankenstein’s creature. Consistent with a common misconception about the novel, many of the images of “Frankenstein” are actual that of Frankenstein’s creature and not the scientist himself. While it is an inconsistency, it does not detract from the information the website provides. Captions from old magazine articles such as “Can Science Raise the Dead?” and the idea of eugenics bare striking similarities to Victor’s using science to act as god.

The third, most fascinating section of the website, Promise and Peril, attempts to explain two of the novel’s key themes, how far can science go before it has gone too far and who decides what is too far? It gives past examples of innovations and discoveries in science and the reactions of that era’s society. The site goes on to demonstrate that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during a time when the innovations in science were seen more as a violation of the laws of God than as a salvation from disease. Then the website goes on to give more modern examples of highly debated scientific advances. It presents the example of using animal parts