The Misidentification of Frankenstein

         Before I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I had always envisioned that almost archetypal in itself green, big-headed, ogre-like creature that walked around like a zombie, hands stuck out in front of him. Movie Directors and creators have not done a good job at venturing beyond this portrayal either. The only pictures of Frankenstein I have seen are of a big green monster with corks coming out the side of his head in tattered clothing. A Halloween has not gone by where someone assumes the stereotypical Frankenstein character. Even I always pictured the mad scientist bringing a giant green monster to life named

Frankenstein. However, once I actually read Frankenstein, I realized that not only was I mistaken of Frankenstein's identity, but also about millions of other people out there. In actuality, everyone's wrongly naming this nameless monster as Frankenstein. So, how did this grand identification go on for so long? Now, I cannot even fathom in the future someone calling themselves "Frankenstein" without me saying "Well, you know Frankenstein was actuality the creator of the monster that you call yourself". This myriad of wrong ideas about the Frankenstein story is probably a conglomeration of bad plays and movies. It is amazing too me that more people don't know who Frankenstein actually is. The classic fictional story is about as popular and overdone as Cinderella

           I used to think of Frankenstein as a brain dead, zombie like creature but I totally disagree now that I have finished the book. In a way, Frankenstein is almost more human than his creator in his sensitivities. He has an appreciation for nature and the living things around him despite the lack of parallel that can be drawn between the natural realm and the artificial that he has been brought up into. He desires the same consumption of knowledge as fulfillment as his creator Victor. This could be noticed especially when he watched from afar, the practices of the DeLacey family. He wishes to learn the language of humans adn mimic their behaviours. Furthermore, he recognizes that Victor is his creator and supposed to be a father figure like that you would find in traditional human family roles. When Victor doesn't fulfill this role at all, the monster is left degenerate with the same feeling of rejection as an orphan who is mature enough to realize that they have been given up by their parents. Especially, in a world that feels so much to not be his own, he just wishes for connection to someone or something.

             As much as people think they know Frankenstein, it has become one of the most commonly mistaken characters of all time. Nevertheless, I find it very very ironic that  throughout the progression of the novel, the creature finds himself without an identity and yet throughout pop culture the character has been given the erroneous identity of his hated creator. It almost further elaborates upon Shelley's emphasis on the duality of their characters and their essence of the same being.