Frankenstein ~ Week 1

Invade you were wondering, I am reading Frankenstein with Melanie due to the fact that I am currently quite cozy with The Odyssey.

I was very excited to be reading Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein.". This is mostly because I am always looking for excuses to read the classics. My excitement was somewhat reduced when my mother insisted that she read the book as well in order to have discussions about it. Not to worry, she can never uphold goals that don't require her humdrum career in marketing. Besides that, I dove into Frankenstein with great enthusiasm.
I was quite surprised to see that the first chunk of the story had absolutely nothing to do with the tall green monster, as I had anticipated. Instead, the first bit is a collection of letters written by a Captain Robert Walton to his beloved sister in England. Through these letters, I learned that Walton wishes to make scientific discoveries in the North Pole. He finds himself longing for a friend, and later befriends his vessel's crew.
I find that this book is not quite scary, but would be more accurately described as "haunting." The event if seeing a strange, giant figure in the distance, where no human should be, is nerve-racking. Though this scene foreshadows the monster part of the story, events tend to move slowly, leaving the reader in wonder for dozens if pages.
I question why the later-introduced Dr. Frankenstein goes into so much detail about his childhood. I understand that certain parts of it connect to his creepy creation, but other details are somewhat unnecessary.
In later chapters, the story does begin to fit the description of a horror story, when the monster is created, but that us not exactly what I chose to focus on as the reader.
I am more interested in the fact that Dr. Frankenstein obsessed over something for so long that he blocked out every other aspect of his life. However, when his much-anticipated creation was made, he was afraid of the appearance of his hard work. I find this almost symbolic as to what we consider worthy if praise and what to be ashamed of. Dr. F. shunned his project after seeing that it did not fit his complete expectations for such a difficult achievement. It is almost like a parent birthing a child and seeing that it had many uncomfortable physical flaws, then casting it off in their minds. I may be looking at this from an incorrect angle, but that is how I see it.
I also wish that people would appreciate this book for its brilliant take on science and technology, rather than a playful ghost story. Very few books manage to hold an interesting surface story while concealing an impressive theme on the underbelly of the book. Many people neglect the scientific part of Frankenstein and focus solely on the scary part. I'm glad that I have the opportunity to read this book for myself, in order to observe this concealed theme.

Sayonara!