ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Playlist Frankenstein: Shmoopversations 14 videos
We’ll preface this video about Frankenstein’s preface by saying that Mary Shelley is an awesome woman, and she wants everybody to be aware. Che...
Dearest Shmooper, Watch the video to find out more about the epistolary, layered, narrative of Frankenstein. Or watch a cute kitten video on Yout...
Imagine Frankenstein characters as zombie/werewolf hybrids: one side wants brains, the other hearts. How to choose? Also, what to name them? Zomwol...
Frankenstein: The Protagonist of Frankenstein 398 Views
Share It!
Description:
The protagonist of Frankenstein is obviously Frankenstein...or is it Walton? ...Or maybe it’s the creature… We’d say nothing’s ever easy, but what could be easier than clicking on the video to find out?
Transcript
- 00:01
We speak student!
- 00:04
Why had the world condemned me?
- 00:09
Because I was the first man to create another living being.
- 00:17
The first unnatural man.
- 00:20
Frankenstein a la Shmoop
Full Transcript
- 00:23
Who is the protagonist in Frankenstein?
- 00:27
This is a question that you'll get asked all the time.
- 00:29
Who's the protagonist? Who's the antagonist?
- 00:31
And the answer's always just that it depends
- 00:33
on what you think.
- 00:34
So, you know, yes there are wrong answers.
- 00:37
But with Frankenstein, we have basically three possible answers
- 00:40
for who the protagonist is of the book.
- 00:42
We have Walton, the one who's telling the story.
- 00:45
In reality, it is his story.
- 00:47
It starts with him and ends with him.
- 00:49
And Walton is the only one in the entire book
- 00:53
who turns back when he realizes
- 00:57
that his pursuit of knowledge is getting out of hand.
- 00:59
He's on his way to make big discoveries,
- 01:02
and then he realizes it's not gonna end well
- 01:04
and he turns back.
- 01:05
He's the only one in the story to make that realization.
- 01:08
We could call Victor Frankenstein the protagonist.
- 01:11
He is the one who created life,
- 01:14
so we can kind of say he's the one who created the story.
- 01:16
This is the story about how his actions are going to turn out.
- 01:21
And he does go out on a semi-admirable note.
- 01:24
We could say that the Monster is the protagonist.
- 01:26
He, in the end, is really the one we're rooting for.
- 01:31
And, you know, that's kind of a big part of the protagonist.
- 01:33
Is the person, even if they're terrible and evil
- 01:36
and Satanic in this case --
- 01:38
If we can get behind them and root for them
- 01:41
as the hero,
- 01:43
then they can be called the protagonist.
- 01:45
We can also, in order to determine the protagonist,
- 01:47
try and figure out who the antagonist is.
- 01:49
Is the antagonist science? Is it fate?
- 01:52
Is it Victor Frankenstein?
- 01:54
So depending on who we think the antagonist is,
- 01:57
the protagonist changes.
- 01:58
Why it matters is because
- 02:01
if we think of the monster as the protagonist...
- 02:04
He kills like eight-ish people by the end of the book.
- 02:08
There's a really large body count in this book.
- 02:11
We don't really notice it when we're reading,
- 02:13
because it's written in fancy 19th century prose,
- 02:16
but it's a pretty violent book.
- 02:17
And if our protagonist is someone who kills
- 02:20
Victor's entire family,
- 02:22
what are we supposed to think about that?
- 02:24
So it kind of does create some,
- 02:26
you know, ethical issues, depending on who we think of as the protagonist.
- 02:29
- Yeah. Almost an antihero. - Yes, definitely an antihero.
- 02:33
Who is the protagonist in Frankenstein?
- 02:36
Who or what is the antagonist in Frankenstein?
- 02:40
Why does it matter?
- 02:44
Why had the world condemned me?
Related Videos
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.
Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...
