Comparing Mary Shelleyés Frankenstein with The Tale of...

When comparing Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, â€Å"Frankenstein† to the 2008 movie, â€Å"The Tale of Despereaux† a common theme that runs through the novel is the character archetype of innocence to evil. In â€Å"The Tale of Despereaux,† one of the major characters in the story is Chiaroscuro, or Roscuro. Roscuro is a rat who is misunderstood by people who have not yet met him. He travels with a human companion by boat and docks in the kingdom of Dor during the annual Royal Soup Day. Roscuro, enchanted by the soup’s aroma, travels up the chandelier in the royal dining hall and ends up falling into the Queen’s soup, giving her such a fright she has a heart attack and dies. Roscuro, feeling guilty over the death of the Queen, goes to see the Princess Pea†¦show more content†¦Even when the creature tries to help someone in need, he is still seen through the eyes of the world as a monster. Roscuro tries to apologize to Princess Pea but she immediately shrieks in fear and chases him away. This is the moment when Roscuro understands he cannot get anyone’s approval, no matter how genuine and kindhearted he tries to seem, and vows revenge on the princess. Both Roscuro and the creature are very lonely and wish to have someone who can understand the way the feel. The creature, at first, convinces Victor Frankenstein to make a female companion for him. And â€Å"even as (Roscuro) changed†¦he had longing. But now he just longed for someone whose heart was as hardened as his was.† (The Tale of Despereaux) Miggery Sow, the Princess Pea’s personal servant, was treated very poorly before she became the Princess’s servant. She wants nothing more than to be a Princess and live in a castle. Roscuro understands how Mig feels and convinces her to kidnap the Princess and lead her into the dungeon of her own castle. While there are some major similarities between â€Å"Frankenstein† and â€Å"The Tale of Despereaux,† there are quite a few differences within their context as well. In â€Å"The Tale of Despereaux,† a common theme that runs through the movie is forgiveness. The Princess Pea and Roscuro both forgive each other and, of course, everyone lived happily ever after, as all fairy tales do.