Jay R
Instructor Donna Reis
Hum 105-77B
26 May 1998

1. Technology plays an important role in Shelley's novel, yet it is not the physical definition but the more abstract definition of technology, the idea of technology as a science, which has the greater impact on Victor Frankenstein. In the first five chapters, Frankenstein uses technology as the reason for pursuing his experiment. Victor argues that he will "pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." (33) In doing so he feels that he is making the greatest contribution to the advancement of technology.

2. In the film starring Robert De Niro, technology and science are used to make the creation of Frankenstein's monster, the creation of life, more believable. Professor Walden explains to Victor (and the viewer) that the body is a "chemical engine" that runs primarily on electricity. Moreover, through Victor's frog experiment we are given evidence that the key to creating life is amniotic fluid. Victor combines his discovery with the power of electricity from eels and with his "raw materials" to create a life that in some ways appears to be very human.

3. In Shelley's novel there is very little detail on how the monster is actually created. Victor goes only as far as to vaguely describe the process as using "the instruments of life" in order to "infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing." (42) Yet in the film we are given a much clearer and much deeper description of his project. From Victor's conversations with Professor Walden, to his experiments with electricity and amniotic fluid, to the gathering of "raw materials" to create the monster, the reader is able to understand how Victor Frankenstein created life from death. By expanding some of the key events in the novel, the film is able to convey a greater feeling of realism, which is necessary for a successful horror story.

4. Because the technology used in the novel is more abstract (-involving more thought than action), the story appears to be about the emotional and moral conflicts that take place inside the mind of Victor Frankenstein. Through Victor's obsession with science and technology, the reader is able to recognize a story about one man's struggle with knowledge, power and responsibility, and the consequences when that knowledge and power are not used wisely. The film, on the other hand, uses technology as a means of showing how a life is created and destroyed. By spending more time in describing the monster's creation process, the film makes the monster appear more human. And by making him more human, the film then becomes a story of self-discovery for both the creator and creation, where the viewer feels for both Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster.

Jay R <jgr5@cornell.edu> hum10577su98