The original book Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is far more complex and interesting than any cheezoid movie made of it. Though the exception would be Young Frankenstein which was a scream. The authentic story was considered a piece of serious work than one of horror and science fiction way back then. Mary Shelly was something of a prodigy as she wrote Frankenstein when she was 18.

The book has a great opening. In it, there's a washed up British scientist trying to revive his career while on an expedition to the North Pole. While on the ice cap, he spots a very large man on a dogsled disappearing over the horizon. A few miles on he encounters a starved and near frozen Dr. Frankenstein who had to give up his pursuit of the dog sledder. The Dr. then tells this scientist his entire story of how he managed to end up chasing some shadowy figure across the Arctic.

It has been 184 years since this book as been published and people have based dissertations, to achieve a Ph.D., on various readings of it. That's how seriously this book was taken.

One reading, which I resonate with, was the view on how society picks a scapegoat to heap derision on. Even in the cheapo movies, you see the monster being harangued wherever he goes, typifies all that is evil and is hunted down.

 

*****

 

We all know them. We all know who they are and may have even dumped all over them while in High School. It's that poor kid who occupies the lowest rung on the pecking order. When you're living down there, nothing rains on you but shit.

This kid I knew was Stephen. He was too tall for 16 years of age and bulky looking. He had flat, thin straight hair that was ordered in a boring haircut that never changed during his entire time in at St Rays. The clothing he wore day to day reminded one of a janitor who wears Dickies. His voice was thin. He had an odd way of hanging his head to one way he had a long history of being abused since kindergarten. Also, and I kid you not, his head was squarish in shape and if you drove two bolts into either side of his neck, he could pass for a sympathetic looking Monster in Frankenstein.

Too boil it all down, he wasn't handsome in any measure of the word.

As teenagers, you become acutely aware of your own self image which can be fragile. Teens attack one another with the most vicious criticism knowing that it'll find it's mark and fast. If you're caught not conforming or being different, you might as well have a laser sight spotted on your forehead. Stephen was the target of teen snipers every day.

I never knew him well. Our circles enveloped one another when we shared the same algebra or gym class. But this was enough to see him tortured on the rack by those who did know him better.

*****

A few days before Valentine's Day, the teachers would hand out forms to the boys to buy roses to be delivered to their girlfriends or perhaps as an introduction to a girl they liked. You could have them delivered with or without your name attached and then perhaps later, reveal yourself to her.

On Valentine's Day, the girls who did receive roses beamed with pride, as girls will when they are singled out of the crowd for such a gift. The girls who received anonymous roses were even happier and curious as to who had affections for them. I'd hear a clutch of girls in the corner, discussing every boy they knew and the likelihood that one of them was the sender.

Ashley, who was your typical “girly-girl” and very feminine in nature even among other girls, had an anonymous rose. Her happiness lasted the entire of home room period and was ruined by the end of her first class.

I was told, as I was not in her history class, that Stephen rose from his chair, went over to her to announce that it was he that had sent the rose and asked her as a date for the Junior Prom. I was told Ashley's jaw hit the floor. She had no idea what to do but to deny his request. Stephen I was told showed nothing but dejection in his face and sat back down. Ashley, in her mind, having her standing and reputation besmirched by the affections and attention of the Biggest Loser in the school, then spent the rest of the day deriding the fact that someone like him, would even have a snowballs chance in Hell of dating her.

The other girls in the lunchroom busted Ashley up about it, with Ashley vehemently denying that anything of the sort would happen.

I happened to overhear parts of it.

“Oh, Ashley, don't hide it from us! You want to be his love, you want to have his children....THOUSANDS of them!”

“I do NOT!!” Ashley protested.

“Don't lie to us Ashley, we saw you coming out of an empty classroom with him the other day, wiping your mouth!!”

“STOP IT!!!!” she'd yell back.

The teen political world sure did have some hard tasks at times. Ashley was fighting for her position on that ladder as her friends comically were trying to shove her down a few notches.

I saw Stephen later on in the day in Chemistry class. As usual, he bee-lined to his seat and sat down without talking to anyone. As the class filled up, you would hear islands of laughter arise here and there, with the kids shooting looks at Stephen. All knowing smirks would be directed his way and delivered with the effect of further condemning him.

When we graduated, I never saw him again. At the reunions I attended, he never appeared. He escaped over the horizon on his dogsled.

A few years after graduation, I'd wonder about him and puzzle just why he was such a target. It seemed so over the top the amount of harassment he put up with. Perhaps it was just particular event that borne itself in our school alone.

No.

I met our gym teacher in a Greg's restaurant, a guy with an unusual first name, Saar, about ten years later. We talked some of the old times and I asked him if the kids were any different now. He told me not in the least. I then asked if there was a “Stephen” in that year's class.

 

“Ron..there is always a 'Stephen' in every class. This year his name is Michael.”

I found out this latest version of Stephen was just as ill treated as the original one I knew.

The “monster” in Shelly's book survived, escaped and won. I wonder if Stephen did?