Ogi Juwana

Period 5
Frankenstein Essay
Frankenstein vs. Invisible Monster
Contrary to the general conception of monsters in the early 1800s, the monster in
Frankenstein is depicted as a monster with emotion. Even up until this day, the depiction of
monsters in pop culture is often depicted as a soulless creature. Though it is a rare
occurrence to see a depiction of a monster with emotion, Marry Shelleys formula in
depicting the monster is often replicated by a few authors. Chuck Palahniuk is one of the
prime examples. Through Invisible Monster, Chuck Palahniuk recreates the anxiety and
depression that the monster felt through the character of Shannon McFarland.
Love is one of the central themes in both novels. In Frankenstein, Marry Shelley
depicted the monster as a creature who felt the need of love, something that the monster had
never experienced ever since its creation. Through the chapters of Frankenstein, the monster
is often seen complaining about his condition; a condition where no one was able to love him
due to his grotesque features, the source of intimidation to most people. Similar to the
monsters situation in Frankenstein, Shannon McFarland, the anti-hero of Invisible Monster,
also wanted to feel the true love- though her situation might have been slightly different
compared to the monster in Frankenstein. Shannon was not a monster. However, after she
was involved in a car accident, Shannon lost her flawless figures and turned into a disfigure
goddess. Similar to the monster in Frankenstein, Shannon also lost the will to live once she
found out how disfigured she was. Shannon thought love was the only thing that could keep
her alive; though her disfigure features intimidated everyone from loving Shannon.
Other than love, betrayal also seems to be the theme of Frankenstein and Invisible
Monster. Hoping its creator would grant his wish, the monster asked Victor to create him a

mate. Unfortunately, the monsters enquiry of wanting somebody to love was not well
received by Victor. Instead of creating a mate for the monster, Victor decided to run away and
hoping that the monster would have never caught him. However, the fire raged in the monster
once he found out that Victor ran away from the monster. The monster decided to take
revenge, by killing the people that Victor loved. Eye for an eye. What the monster wanted
was for Victor to feel the monsters misery. Victor eventually lost everyone who he loved,
from his father (though it was not caused by the monster), his best friend, to the love of his
life, Elizabeth. Similar situation happened with Shannon. Shannon, who used to have a
decent life, felt ignored after the car accident she was involved in. Everyone who she once
loved was slowly fading away from her life. Her best friend and her boy friend, that used to
be with Shannon all the time, left Shannon. Not only did Shannon lose the people she loved,
Shannon also felt the sour taste of betrayal when she found out that her boyfriend had an
affair with her best friend. The people who Shannon loved betrayed her trust and love.
However, as opposed to the monster, Shannon was incapable of getting revenge due to her
condition though the fate of her boyfriend and her best friend was, in fact, in Shannons
hand.
The main difference between the monster of Frankenstein and Shannon McFarland
would be the power to control the others. Though Victor was the creator of the monster,
Victor was controlled by the monster as if a master controlling a puppet. The monster pulled
Victors strings through his intimidation. The monster left Victor to have no option but to
heed (or at least to pretend) the monster. When he failed to heed the monsters warning,
Victor started to lose the person he loved; which implies the monsters power over Victor.
Though the monster showed no mercy to Victor throughout the chapters, the monster finally
gave in and forgave Victor- though it was mainly motivated by the fact that the monster was
aware that Victor was in the same position with him. The monsters decision to forgive Victor

could also imply the monsters ability to love- something that the monster had wanted to feel
in a while. In contrast to the monster in Frankenstein, Shannon McFarland was actually
controlled by Brandy Alexander, a stranger to Shannon. Shannon did not know who Brandy
was; all she knew was Brandy Alexander was trying to save Shannons life. Every step that
Shannon made was to be approved by Princess Brandy. Shannon hated the way Brandy
treated her, but Shannon had no option. Not to mention that Shannon loved the attention
given by Brandy; the love that Brandy gave to Shannon despite of Brandys absurd treatment.
Though Invisible Monster and Frankenstein carry different main themes, the
similarities between the anti heroes can be related to one and another. The frustration of both
anti-heroes is an effect of the way society treats them. All they wanted was to be loved just
like a normal human; though people gave them hard time in having faith in humanity when
most people judge the others mainly based on skin deep; the true reflection of our todays
society.