The Differences Between the Novel and Film Versions of Frankenstein

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The book Frankenstein is considered to be seminal masterpiece in the genre of horror stories. It was first published in 1818 and since then has horrified readers ever since. The movie Frankenstein (1931) is also considered to be a staple of the horror genre in film. It is now one of the most iconic films of all time, instantly recognized by everyone. Although both of them are regarded as classics in their respective mediums there are many differences between the two. Some of the changes are small but many of them are very noticeable. Some of these differences enhance and some detract from the movie version. The first notable difference between the 1931 movie version of Frankenstein and the book version is that in the book the daemon did learned to speak by studying books such as Paradise Lost and other classic works. It appears to be completely fluid in English from his conversations he held. However, in the book the daemon is illiterate and only makes primitive noises such as grunts. I believe that this change was warranted and enhanced the movie. This is because I found the fact that the monster learned to speak English by studying books such as Paradise Lost to be extremely comical, and I believe that making the monster incapable of speech dehumanizes it more for the audience, thus making the monster more repugnant to the audience. The second difference between the 1931 movie version of Frankenstein and the book version is that in the book the monster’s actions are a result of his outrage at the poor treatment and his physically revolting appearance. However in the movie the monster acts the way it does because of its poor treatment at the hands of Frankenstein’s assistant Fritz. In the movie Fritz supplies dim-wittedly supplies Frankenstein with the brain of an executed criminal to be used in his experiment. It can thus be reasoned that Frankenstein’s

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