The Family Ties in Frankenstein, Metamorphosis and Mother...

Family Ties The idea of using a family based theme in literature has been around for a long time. When an author is writing a novel or even a play, it is very easy to include a strong family dynamic to it. The family is something that nearly every person can relate with in one way or another. This comfort springs forth emotions in the reader or viewer that make the story easier to follow along with. There are many examples of this throughout this course, but this paper will focus on how three of them use the family dynamic to connect with the reader: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children. One does not have to read far into Frankenstein to get a feel for this idea. The†¦show more content†¦Right from the beginning of the first chapter, we are given a history of Victor’s childhood and family life. We learn about how Victor’s father, Alphonse, and his mother, Caroline, became to know e ach other and eventually get married. We also learn about another character, Elizabeth, who eventually ends up being adopted into the family. It becomes clear that Shelley started out with this family information in order to draw the reader into the story. Although the entire story is completely lacking of a strong female character, we are still presented with the mother and the adopted sister, in an attempt to try and help the reader of the story connect with Victor and his childhood (Komisaruk). Later on in the story, Victor Frankenstein creates the monster. The monster eventually asks Victor to create a mate for him. He wants the feeling of a female monster to love and share his life with. Again, this is something that the majority of the readers can relate to. Shelley’s wants the reader to have an emotional connection with the monster. At first glance, one would not imagine that they would have anything in common with a homemade creature, but it is proven to be different upon further reading. Nearly everyone wants the felling of having someone to love and have them love you. The monster is no different, so maybe he is not too different from the reader after all? Overall, Shelley uses the family in an attempt to make the reader feel comfortable