The moster says " I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart" (Ch17). The monster will not be sated until he harms Frankenstein beyond repair. He is obsessive with Frankenstein's demise.

More evidence: The moster stated "I will revenge my injuries... I will cause fear" (Ch 17) The monster is unkind and out to cause harm.

The monster was filled with volatile emotions; one moment he would be hopeful and next full of rage. He had a barbaric nature that was unwarranted. He does not deserve sympathy because he was innately bad. He received bad treatment and his was response was “This was the reward for my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing teeth” (p. 219) The monster, when hurt, immediately jumps to a vow of “eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (p. 219-220). The monster does not merit sympathy because he chose his violent path that left him desolate.

The monster was benevolent in the beginning. The monster “had been accustomed, during the night, to steal a part of their store for [his] own consumption, but when [he] found that in doing this [he] inflicted pain on the cottagers, [he] abstained and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots” (p. 172). The monster was inherently compassionate to the point of obsession. He felt that people he had never even spoken to were his family. He became fixated with the cottagers, and when they were terrified by him, the monster was devastated. The monster’s whole world came crashing down. He then looked for someone to blame. He became obsessed with taking vengeance. The monster’s obsessive nature triggered misfortunes. This does not warrant sympathy because his misfortunes were due to the nature of his being.

I believe Victor Frankenstein is the antagonist, not the protagonist. He was the instigator of all the mishaps so far in the story. "The wretch, the filthy demon to whom [Frankenstein] had given life" was "the murderer of [his]brother" (p. 116). Justine was convicted of a murder she did not commit because Frankenstein created a monster capable of killing that no one else knew of. Victor could only "spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to [his] unhallowed arts" (p. 137). He even admits it was his fault they died. Frankenstein left the monster to his own devices where people "attacked [the monster], until grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, [he] escaped to the open country" (p.164). Frankenstein's abandonment of his creation was the root of his problems. The monster had no one to look after and care for him, so he was left for the world to cast out and mistreat. This turned him into someone out for revenge.

Although it may seem that Dr. Frankenstein is the protagonist, the protagonist is the monster. He is the good guy of this section of text. The monster "had been accustomed, during the night, to steal a part of their store for my own consumption, but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots" (p. 172). The monster was new to the world and knew nothing of it, but he was compassionate and caring. It was the mistreatment of his creator that led him to murder a young boy. Frankenstein abandoned the monster creating problems for himself; it was not the monster's fault Frankenstein had bad things happen in his life.

Frankenstein and Clerval are opposites of one another. Frankenstein is narrow-minded and obsessive where Henry is unselfish and able to take care of more then one thing at a time. Frankenstein has extreme focus; he cannot focus on more than one thing. This is seen in his inability to think about anything but his monster. He "had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body" (p. 87). His creation was not what he expected, so he tried to rid himself of it completely. Frankenstein could only concentrate on his failure to the point of sickness that "confined me for several months" (p. 93). He was obsessed with himself. On the other hand, Henry looked out for those around him. His "whole winter, instead of being spent in study, as you promised yourself, has been consumed in my sick room" (p. 94-95). Clerval took care of Frankenstein, but he also made sure to take care of Victor's family. He wrote letters to them to keep them from worry. The differences of their characters give the reader a point to develop their feelings from. The stark contrast between Victor and Henry exaggerate the imperfections of Victor's character. The reader can then come to the interpretation that Victor may be the bad guy in this story.

I agree with, but I feel that their areas of study reveal a lot about their specific characters. Frankenstein loved science which is all about the world not the people with in it. He dealt with the inner workings of nature, but not the people in it. He neglected those around him for his passions. Henry, on the other hand, was studying "literary pursuits different wholly from those which had occupied me. He came to the university with the design of making himself a complete master of the Oriental languages" (p. 104). Henry was learning how to better communicate with foreign peoples. He cared about people and did not neglect them in pursuits. The differences in their studies showed the differences in their characters. This leads the reader to the interpretation that your interests reveal part of your character and that scientists have a disposition towards obsession.