Tag Archive: the creature



Lyrics Written and Sung By Cathryn Flores

Musical Instrumental from Billie Eilish’s “Come Out and Play”


Musical Intro

Verse 1:


I sit here

And feel the wind blow

Upon this mountain

My mind is free to soar

But I stay here

Without a shoulder, to lean on.


I’ve got to find out

Everything for myself

Verse 2:


I hear the birds

Chirping loudly

Can’t distinguish it but

I think the word is


I’m in a crisis

Tell me what to do!



And I know,

This world is crazy

I’m not wanted

But I must stay here

If Victor doesn’t want me,

That’s fine

I’ll figure this for myself.

Navigating this life as a fool

But I’m only a fool

to you

Musical Break


Verse 3:


I feel snow

Running down my back

Feel like I want to attack

This rage inside

I can’t help but hide

This hollowness inside

can’t even be burned by


The more time passes by

I just want to hide

Chorus 2:


Why must I

be burdened by

My abilities inside?

Tell me why! Tell me why.

Nobody appreciates me

I have to move on,

Before I hurt them all.

I’m not fit for society

My psychological distress

Master isn’t impressed,

Of my progress

Guess I’m a fool,

To everyone else too.



Dear Musical Engineer,

Thank you so much for taking the time to look over my work and accepting this art form to tell the story of Frankenstein. The reason I chose to tell the story of Victor Frankenstein’s monster through song and lyrics is because through singing, the audience is able to feel and hear the hurt and compassion the monster feels while being in isolation. This song takes place during a scene in the beginning of the novel, ranging from pages 95-96 in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Here, the monster is alone in an ice cave and away from society. The inspiration behind creating this song was to write it from the monster’s perspective while in the cave before interacting with Victor Frankenstein. The emotional anguish that this creature feels and discovery of new life forms is portrayed through the lyrics.

Additionally, I have made several references to the novel of Frankenstein itself. For example, when the lyrics say, “Hear the birds chirping loudly…sound”, this refers to the creature hearing birds chirp for the first time on page 96. Also, I mention, “navigating this life on my own… psychological distress”, referencing Victor’s abandonment of the creature and how this affected him psychologically.

Regarding the composition to the song, I decided to use a somber, piano instrumental that is at a moderate tempo. This instrumental allows for the audience to feel the somberness of the situation, and be able to connect with the lyrics that I am singing.

As a result, I hope the art of singing and having a musical track is able to touch my audience and see the monster through a new perspective. Hearing the confusion and pain in the monster’s voice through singing is very powerful, and I hope that others feel the emotional and physical pain that the monster does.


Cathryn Flores



My dear Elizabeth, I was too late

diminished by the “vicious” hands of my own creation;

doing for me what no one would have ever thought.


Death be not what thou think I wanted

foolish ones, who thought they knew me

secrets kept-

only too come out once you all have “slept”.


Wishing for you to want me with the same desire

thinking it may be so,

after all, you may never know-


Shrieks I hear from down the hall

bouncing from wall to wall,

Should I run?

Or should I lie?

For I know that it has to be you that must die.


Across the bed, she is laid

only wishing that you would’ve stayed.

What I wouldn’t have given for just a glance,

at my wondrous creature.


Why did you leave, my true love?

Why not stay?

I know you must feel the same

or else why did you play my game?


Killing her for me,

because it was never meant to be;

at least not for her and I.


Will you be in my dreams tonight?

Or finally in my arms,

where I can hold you through the night?


Wishing, waiting, wanting-

for none other than you.

What else are secret lovers supposed to do?


I think of you every night,

with a little bit of spite-

I must admit,

it saddened me that you were the one who got to end it all.

And yet you won’t be the one to give me your all.

My distorted memory is all I have,

was it really me that wanted her gone?

The question I am left to ponder

Yes, but why was it you who got the honor?


My wife she was,

Nothing to you, maybe even nothing to me;

I still don’t understand what made you flee.


Bound to both, in separate ways

what am I to do now but count my days?

Until I see you again, I say this now


I loved you

and I love you

she gave me time

but I gave you life

forever battling to be my wife.

Dear Reader,

For this creative project, I decided to rewrite the scene of Elizabeth’s death into a poem. In my poem, I go into a different way to look at this scene, by making it seem like Victor wanted his wife to die. I made it seem like he had the creature kill her, in order for them to be together. I believed that this was one of the more crucial scenes throughout the novel, and by reworking it as a poem would help to convey even more of an emotional aspect. I want you, my readers to imagine Victor himself reading this poem aloud, to hear the tone of his voice and how it goes from sadness in the first stanza to mysterious in the second stanza to longing in the third and so on and so forth. Victor addresses Elizabeth directly only once throughout the poem, the rest of the time he is speaking more to the creature and questioning himself. The final stanza of the poem helps reflect that Victor was able to love Elizabeth, but was also in love with his creation, the way a mother has a bond with her child. This portrays the idea of Victor being jealous that he couldn’t give birth. The title of the poem is “My Two Loves” of course referring to Elizabeth and the creature reflects on Victor’s undecidedness. It was clear Victor never planned on spending his life with Elizabeth, which makes sense as to why he would want her dead, he was a little forced into the marriage. In class, we discussed with the dream scene how it demonstrated that Victor didn’t want Elizabeth because she wasn’t his mother but in fact, he wanted the creature. I wanted to keep the creature taking off after killing Elizabeth in this poem because I believe it helps demonstrate how Victor longed for what he couldn’t have.

-Alina Cantero

4. Somehow, by wanting to produce a more perfect human being, Victor and Elizabeth are admitting to disabilities of their own. A creature impervious to pain and is virtually indestructible by medical and other violent means would be a triumph to the Frankensteins- if Adam were more conventionally attractive and had a neuro-typical consciousness.

I chose the fourth comment because it captures some of the thoughts that I had while watching the film. Ultimately the reason the Creature was easily discarded and allowed to run is because it’s a failure in the eyes of the Frankensteins. Their vision of a beautiful super human are shattered when his body starts to develop its infection. The fact they could not cure this infection and would rather just dispose of him and start over suggests that in the end he was nothing more than an experiment. One of many until they achieved their perfect superhuman. Throughout the film there are many instances where the Creature proves it is superior to other humans and yet what others fixate on his physical imperfection. Wanda says the Creature is nice but ultimately not worthy of a “free pity fuck” which perhaps would not have been the case if the Creature had still been conventionally attractive like he was at the beginning of the film. Another scene that shows how essential his physical attractiveness was is the scene in the chamber between the Creature, the Frankensteins, and the second creature. The Frankensteins say it’s him but better and the only visible difference is that this second creature is not physically deformed.  Lastly, the scene where Victor refuses to admit the Creature is conscious because he is not displaying a “normal” mental development shows how the Frankensteins had a certain expectation that the Creature did not meet and thus failed to be everything he should be. What the Frankensteins achieved was incredible but they diminished it themselves by deciding that the physical imperfection and the slow learning of the Creature were signs of failure.

By Diana Lara

By: Leena Beddawi

America has been expanding its laws surrounding refugees and immigrants crossing its borders for decades, the most drastic set of expansions being created after the attack on September 11, 2001. Throughout these border security and law expansions, one thing that never changed is the law granting asylum for any refugee seeking protection from a country which defines a refugee as a “person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country, and cannot obtain protection in that country, due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted in the future ‘on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.’”.

Frankenstein’s creature insists on proving the “truth of my tale” in order to show that there are wildly different perspectives in this world and the means are just as valuable as the ends, how they became who they are, what they overcame to get here, is just as important as their very existence. I could only assume that in giving these letters to Victor, the creature hoped to change his mind about those who he considered being “other”.  One thing we see in many refugee or immigrant story is that they usually perfect models of W. E. B. Du Bois’ double-consciousness.

Double-consciousness is a concept in social philosophy which explains the presence of two apparently unconnected streams of consciousness in one individual, usually having to do with race, ethnicity, or originating country. This is something many refugees go through in order to search for a better life, they learn a whole new language, accustom to another culture, and try to peacefully integrate themselves in a space that is completely foreign to them because this is their only hope.

Safie is a Muslim Arab migrant from Turkey, but very much became a citizen of the world in accordance with Felix’s locations. Wherever he went, she wished to follow, and she made that place her home because they were together. I believe the creature’s pride in “learn[ing] from the views of a developed social life, to admire their virtues, and to deprecate the vices of mankind” helped him to empathize with the conquered native Americans and to see himself in the immigrant or refugee status because they each had felt that same sense of double-consciousness (114).


The president of the United States of America has chosen to demonize, criminalize, and verbally dehumanize the thousands of asylum seekers currently coming towards the border from Central America, most escaping Honduras, which many news organizations call “The World’s Deadliest Country”. Many of these people are young men, women, children, and elderly. Before they enter, they hope to apply as asylum seekers, which should technically aid them in a legal route of asylum. In the U.S., however, the immigration systems are severely out-of-date and meant to delay asylum to refugees for many small reasons, the main of which is just the subjectivity of opinion which goes with who gets asylum and who doesn’t.

I think if we were somehow able to share each individual story from the thousands of asylum seekers and hardworking individuals looking for a better life, searching for any life, we can actually start changing minds of politicians who see them as nothing but invaders. But if the president was presented with individual stories of the humanitarian crisis the refugees have been running from, one would hope that he would welcome those people with open arms, and allow asylum to those who need it.

In Frankenstein, I believe it was best summed up by Safie when describing why she never want to go back to Asia, where she was “allowed only to occupy herself with infantile amusements, ill-suited to temper her soul, now accustomed to grand ideas and a noble emulation for virtue” (112). This showed not only her desperation to go to another country where she could be herself without constraints, but showed how this alone should be enough to pass through and see if you can make a better life in another country. The very idea of borders exudes a racist, xenophobic ideology which has yet to be updated after many decades of fear mongering anything “other” to us, much like how the creature is treated by everyone they come in contact with, as well. It is no surprise they see themselves in the refugee story since their own double-consciousness must be deafening within themselves.

The Creature’s tale is in many ways Safie’s. Watching the de Lacey family interact is largely how the Creature is socialized to see gender, power dynamics, acceptance, and most importantly truth. His truth specifically. The voyeuristic education the Creature participates in teaches him that the same constraints that apply to Safie apply to him. As someone at an educational disadvantage the Creature must learn a new language like Safie in order to at least be closer to being at the same level. Safie and the Creature both are not native to this language or the culture associated with it so as they are educated they do not take everything with a grain of salt. The Creature’s serious reading of Paradise Lost is a prime example of taking seriously something part of a culture that isn’t as important as an outsider may see it. Immigrants some times believe in certain stereotypes of the country they are immigrating to because of the way these countries choose to portray themselves as and then ultimately come to the realization that this portrayal is a lie. This creates double-consciousness because the immigrants now experience themselves through their own eyes and the eyes of the country they are immigrating to because even if the portrayal is incorrect there will be people who make it seem as if it’s an accurate one.

Here is where the Creature fails to realize double-consciousness exists. He presents someone else’s story as a sort of explanation for his own and in doing so is not only seeing himself through his own eyes but also through the eyes of Safie. Someone who recognizes that she now can see herself through multiple perspectives. Perhaps if the Creature had realized that double-consciousness existed he would not have chosen to use her letters as an explanation for his own life and would have written his own. Instead of using someone else’s story of migration and the life changing moments to make his own story more credible he would have relied on his own storytelling more.

By Diana Lara

In Frankenstein, we as the readers see the constant persecution that the creature is forced to endure, most resulting in some type of isolation because of the way he looks. As we learn more about Safie and her history, two pieces of the same puzzle instantly fall into place.

We are not able to see Safie for long in the novel, yet her short appearance does not go unnoticed. In fact, we can see a depressing and obvious contrast between her and the creature; while the creature is exiled by his own master and has no one to love him, Safie is warmly welcomed into the De Lacey family with open arms after being exiled. Because of Safie’s beauty, she is able to integrate herself into this new society, while the creature is stuck living alone in the wilderness, cursed to watch from afar.

The reason why the creature insisted on proving “the truth of [his] tale” is because he wanted Victor to see how Safie was affected by other’s kindness, and how this entire story could’ve ended differently if only Victor had welcomed his creation into this new, unfamiliar world, instead of disgracing him to isolation for all of eternity. A notable point in the novel was when Safie and the creature were both learning the same language at the same time, showing that they both have the intelligence to understand complex concepts; yet that doesn’t seem to matter, since people can judge you based on your looks, right?

The borderland

Immigration and race is now one of the new many ideas from the Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley. The town people alienating the creature and fearing him for not knowing what he is when all he was trying to do was fit in, instead the shape him into the monster he becomes and places him to migrate else where. As for Safie, her father forbidding her and Felix together has them as well hiding their love. Not only relating to Safie’s letters, the creature learns the language as well as the literature and makes the connection with the human world by feeling sympathy for Safie. Especially feeling alone as she does, she’s the person who the creature connects to most.

Gloria Anzaldua concept of borderland, as she describes it as physical and emotional. Safie and the creature share the mestiza consciousness, crossbreeds, people who don’t belong in the world. Safie’s letters made the creature so close to her, she was the one human he truly connected to mentally and somewhat physically. Considering their suffering and betrayal the same, and the barriers Anzaldua represented between the creature and Safie. The creatures internal barrier with not knowing who he truly is and Safie’s physical barrier by running away from her father.

-Alexuz Bejarano

In Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, we are introduced to the characters of Felix and Safie and the story of how they met. We learn through their story how despite their differences such—language and culture barriers, even geographic barriers—they still ended up together. We also see how when Safie came to live with Felix the creature really was able to relate to her because he saw her as someone who was like him—different and attempting to assimilate to the very foreign society that they were now living in. Which is why when the creature refers to Safie’s letters to Felix as a way to “prove the truth of my tale,” it makes sense that he’s referencing Safie’s story as his because to him, they are almost the same person. To the creature he and Safie have faced the same struggles, and they have also learned together. When Felix was teaching Safie the creature was learning too and has picked up on her feels and opinions on everything she has learned and therefore has influence his beliefs and opinions on the world. So, he feels a connection that even goes as far as to say he feels like he is Safie.

I also would like to bring attention to the ideas that we discussed in class on Monday. We talked about “new mestizas,” “mestiza consciousness,” “creolization,” and the idea of “borderlands” and how these ideas could be seen in the characters of Safie, her father, and the creature. And I can see where the ideas of “mestizaje” can be seen in the stories of the three characters because of how they’ve had to live and assimilate to societies that are completely different to the place they came from. For Safie and her father it’s Turkey, and for the creature it’s him assimilating to society for the first time. But I don’t really see where the idea of “borderlands” plays in. I think it’s because the way I’ve learned about the idea of “borderlands” is that the “borderlands” is like an actual physical place where two or more cultures intermix and create a new culture. Such as at the border of the US and Mexico. But I don’t really see where in the book the idea of “borderlands” is represented? Maybe I’m completely missing the point, or I wasn’t paying attention in class when the professor was discussing this topic, but I just can’t seem to see the connection. Unless the idea of a borderlands is being represented by an actual character such as Safie or the creature. Then I could maybe see how that could be possible. But I don’t see how Safie going to another country and settling there would be seen as a “borderland,” I personally think it would be more of a “contact zone.” Which is the idea of a place where two or more cultures and trying to coexist together and trying to work out how to live together despite their differences. I would definitely like to understand where the connection would take place and how.

-Laura Mateo Gallegos

Esther Quintanilla

Immigration is a prominent topic in the novel Frankenstein. One of the most important points in the novel is that Safie, a Turkish immigrant, is subjected to living her life in hiding; this is due to her illegal immigrant status and the crimes that are put on her lover, Felix. Her country lies in political desolation because of colonization, she escapes Turkey while her father is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Safie travels to Germany, where she and Felix live in hiding waiting for the political atmosphere to change. While Safie’s story is one that is very modern and can be seen in today’s society, there is something in her story that relates very deeply to that of the creature.

The creature is not an inhabitant of any country. He is not welcome in any country, abandoned by his creator at birth and forced to live in exile of “real humans”. The creature is not a citizen. Therefore, he is able to wander from country to country, crossing borders left and right. This is because of his state of being. No country wants to allow him citizenship because he is so incredibly inhuman, which is an argument that many have toward immigrants, even to this day. The constant disrespect and dehumanization of immigrants, such as Safie, is a behavior that the creature constantly receives from the people he encounters. The truth of the creature lies in the stories of immigrants, for he is an immigrant himself.

Immigrants from almost any country, Central/South America, Arabian countries, etc. are immensely slandered in political media. They are dehumanized, called rapists, terrorists, and lazy. Immigrants who travel to America, in search for success and opportunities that would not be granted in their home countries, are “inhuman” in the eyes of the law. They are subject to respect the laws of the country but are not able to live as Americans in peace. The stories of these brave immigrants are astounding. They have overcome every barrier, every obstacle in order to achieve a better life for their children and future grandchildren. However, this is something that the law refuses to see. Immigrants are nothing more than criminals, they will never receive the respect and acceptance that they deserve.

Words Have Power. We All Know That.

The term “monster” gets thrown around more often than people think. It is consistently used as a form of degradation. This is especially obvious in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where the Victor Frankenstein’s creation is constantly called a “monster” by the people that come across it. One instance where the Creature’s rage is apparent is when he encounters young William Frankenstein and subsequently kills him.

“‘Hideous monster! let me go. My papa is a Syndic–he is M. Frankenstein–he will punish you. You dare not keep me” (126).

This elicits a reaction from the Creature that is full of rage. Here is a child throwing around words that are more harmful than he can imagine. Which brings me to Jessica Rae Fisher’s piece on Transgender Rage and Kindness. Jessica talks about how words like “monster” have been used in reference to transgender individuals and the negative effects this use of the word have had on these individuals. She makes a point to reference a statistic from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey that puts it into perspective how much these words affect transgender individuals.

These words have the power to further isolate individuals and make them feel as even more different than they already feel. This sort of emotion is rampant in the novel as well. The Creature in that same moment also experiences rage among other emotions. It has been subjected to constant verbal abuse that can only lead to a tipping point.

“Can you wonder that such thoughts transported me with rage? I only wonder that at that moment, instead of venting my sensations in exclamations and agony, I did not rush among mankind, and perish in the attempt to destroy them” (127).

The Creature most certainly felt isolated and beyond that it felt rage. Regardless of what the Creature did it would never be fully accepted or at least that is the way it saw itself.

Perhaps reclaiming words so they no longer have the power to hurt people is the way to make an initial change. Ultimately this issue goes beyond words but that is certainly a start.

By Diana Lara