Topic > Robert Walton's Role in Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the novel is Robert Walton's point of view. Walton uses his letters during his journey to the Pacific Ocean to allow the reader to understand the tragedy of both the Monster and Frankenstein from an unbiased perspective, giving humanity a ray of hope as a kind and compassionate being. Both men, although they have similarities, are very different. Robert Walton makes humanity seem merciful and understanding. Walton wants to go to a land and accomplish things that no man has ever done. He wishes to improve life existing on earth as it is. Frankenstein even goes so far as to describe how different he is from Walton, “you seek knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I earnestly hope that the gratification of your desires may not be a serpent that stings you, as mine has been” (Shelley 25). Robert Walton's character is heavily structured on the letters he wrote to his sister. In a letter to his sister Margaret, he expresses how loneliness consumed him. “I desire the company of a man who can sympathize with me; whose eyes would answer mine. You may consider me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly miss a friend" (Shelley 13). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Victor Frankenstein fulfills his desperate need for a friend, as they both complement each other through their loneliness. As for the Monster, his loneliness was never satisfied, because his own situation condemned him to an eternity of solitude Shelley gives the role of narrator to Walton, makes sure that each character's story comes from an equal opinion, and that the fact that Walton tells the story from his perspective allows the reader to form their own opinion about Walton himself, Frankenstein, the Monster or other characters. By giving Walton this role, Shelley uses it as a way to introduce the story of Frankenstein gets to tell himself what happened to him, but throughout the novel the monster does not never been able to say that his loneliness had been destroyed and that he had found a companion. Walton provides a sympathetic view of the Monster's anguish: "At first I was touched by the expressions of his misery," and is cast aside, "when I remembered what Frankenstein said of his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I cast my gaze again upon the lifeless form of my friend, indignation rekindled within me” (Shelley 272). This shows how the monster felt whenever he encountered humanity. Walton is able to completely conclude both the Monster and Frankenstein's story By giving this role to any other character as Frankenstein, he could simply end the novel with his death and leave the Monster high and dry want to know more about the Monster's future, but if Frankenstein had been the main narrator, the reader would have been left wondering how the Monster's story ended future troubles. My work is almost complete. Neither your death nor that of any other man is necessary to consummate the series of my being and accomplish that which must be done: but it requires my death" (Shelley 274). Keep in mind: this is only one example. Get a paper customized now by our expert writers. Get a custom essay Robert used this as a way to tell the reader that after Frankenstein's death, the revenge that the Monster wanted on him would die. This conclusion allows the, 8(2), 30-39.