Literature

The family is the basic unit of society. It is the place where a child begins to interact and respond to other people which will eventually turn into socializing. The parents are seen as the individuals who have the responsibility to guide their children through life and more fundamentally to provide them with the basic necessities needed to live which basically consists of food, shelter and clothing. This paper aims to explore more on the role of parents towards their children and vice versa; the basic expectations and what is likely to happen if these “expectations” were not met. This paper aims to focus on the role of the Father and his son and each one’s responsibilities to the other; what image does each have to portray and how they are expected to behave in the presence of each other. There is somehow a universal rule of some sort written ever since the beginning of time that Fathers and sons should only show filial love and affection to each other and that if this “natural thing” has not been achieved, frustration and resentment will occur to each one, if not, to both.

There is no evidence that these feelings of resentment and frustration will develop to become outward unfortunate events in the lives of the subjects but there may just be a possibility that it is more likely to happen. This paper thus aims to further seek the causes of such events, if the filial affection and love that should have stem out from the Father and from the son did not materialize. To be able to study examples, the texts “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and “The Odyssey” by Homer was used by the researcher to develop and justify his claims. The researcher will give focus on the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monster; and Odysseus and Telemachus respectively; taking note of the Father-son relationships between the subjects.

Body
Frankenstein is the most celebrated novel of Mary Shelley. It chronicles the story of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who created the famous monster which is still very much famous until today. Victor Frankenstein, the son of a well to do couple Alphonse and Caroline Beaufort came from a happy and domesticated childhood. As a young boy, he exhibited a hunger for knowledge when it comes from the ancient study of Alchemy. He grew up to be a voracious Scientist who constantly hungers for innovativeness.

He was so keen in always being “one up” in the field of Science that he went to the extent of being God-like by creating life. In the story, the monster related Victor as his maker who has abandoned him: “remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel” (Shelley). The monster compared Victor to God and by this, he burdened upon his evil deeds for the neglectful nature of his maker to give him a nourishing environment. From this statement we can clearly evaluate that the relationship between Victor and the monster was not filial but one that was full of hate and contempt, which originated from Victor. However, the readers are also opened to the view that the monster does not initially meant to be evil or does not meant to do anyone harm, rather it was just a response from the initial contempt and negative feeling that his maker has bestowed upon him from the start. The monster’s most evil actions which is killing the members of Victor’s beloved family including his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth is but a like a call or a desperate plea for someone to accept him as he truly is, for someone to give him the love, security and humane treatment that he deserved- which he did not received from the person who should have be the first to give it to him- his creator. This father-son relationship which was full of hatred, fear, guilt and contempt from both parties resulted in very unfortunate events as the story progressed.

Many people died because of how they tend to “destroy the balance of nature” by having these negative feelings towards each other which could have been that of a filial and affectionate one- as what it should naturally be. The father-son relationship of the Frankenstein text is very much contrasted to The Odyssey where the father role, Odysseus and the son role of Telemachus displayed enormous love and affection to each other. Perhaps one similarity that the two texts possess is how there are more times that the Father and the son role were away from each other or not together. The Odysseus text showed that “distance made the heart grow fonder” and the love of the father and the son for each other became more intense and affectionate.

As Homer puts it in his novel: “salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men..../So helpless they cried pouring out tears,/ and might have gone on weeping til sundown (Homer 268). As a contrast, the very thought of the monster made Victor’s health suffer and his sight never fails to give him a huge fright. In the Odyssey, Homer recounts the voyage of Telemachus to redeem his long lost father. It also talks about the journey of Odysseus back to his family after he has been detained by the goddess Calypso after he just came out of his success from the Trojan War. The Odyssey then is a text which inhabits “journey” or “travel” as its central theme: the journey of both the father and the son towards the arms of each other and the “inner journey” of Telemachus towards maturity or manhood. By observing the Odysseus and some well-known Greek literature, we are to realize that the Greeks made great impressions on men of power and courage as those that should be honored and venerated. The roles of sons on the other hand, especially when they followed the footsteps of their father’s greatness, should be admired and respected.