Introduction

Frankenstein in Baghdad is the third novel written by the Iraqi author (novelist) Ahmad Saadawi. The events in this novel take place on the streets of Albtaween in Baghdad between two powerful explosions. Ahmad Saadawi adapts the name of Victor Frankenstein, the creator of an anthropomorphic monster, from Marry Shelley’s magnum opus Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The respective literary works by Ahmad Saadawi and Marry Shelley have very much in common in terms of characters and characterization. The principal difference between these two works consists in the authors’ respective intentions and the fictional worlds created and being portrayed by each of the author in their novels. Ahmad Saadavi, for example, depicts devastation, destruction, hollowness, and death, which appear to be some of the most calamitous and heinous aftermaths of the war in Iraq. Circumstantially, Ahmad Saadavi lists sectarian strife and religious diversification of the Iraqi society among the causes of war. The setting of Mary Shelley’s novel, on the contrary, is the nineteenth-century Britain and the most pressing social and scientific questions that British society might have been challenged by at that time.

Comparative Analysis of the Novels

Hadi Alatak is the protagonist of Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmad Saadavi. The hero is a poor old man who earns his living from repairing other people’s furniture, collecting the antiquities, and selling them for money. He drinks and smokes quite often. He frequents the café owned by Aziz Almasri. Hadi Alatak is regarded as a liar because he tells the stories that no one could believe about collecting the enemies’ body parts, stitching them together, and burying the bodies. Thus, each of the enemy who died could find an end worthy of a warrior as in most cases, the bodies of enemies were treated like garbage. Hadi Alatak has no family. His only friend is a man named Nahm Abdki in his thirties. The latter died in a car explosion that was, basically, an aftermath of a terrorist act committed by a suicide bomber. Clearly, things changed for Hadi Alatak after his friend had been killed. Particularly, Hadi Alatak becomes more radicalized and aggressive man.

Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist of Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. He is a scientist whose experiments lead to the creation of a monster made of the body parts of dead men. Victor Frankenstein is a young man, whose circle of acquaintances, unlike that of Hadi Alatak, is select and immediate. Victor Frankenstein is overwhelmed with the fact of creating the monster. Hence, when the monster starts to kill, the young doctor is nearly driven mad because of his obsession.

The monster in Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmad Saadawi is called Shasameh. The monster’s name stems from an Iraqi word that literally means “with no name”. Shasameh is a supernatural being created by Hadi Alatak. Hadi Alatak gathered the organs of the explosion victims and sewed them together to form a body larger than usual. The soul of one of the victims returns to the monster’s body and brings the monster to life. When the creature comes to life, it is seeking for revenge against those who killed the people whose body parts were used to create it. The police call the creature Criminal X. The editor in chief of one of the local magazines calls the monster Frankenstein. The monster in Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmad Saadawi pursues the goal of taking the revenge against those whom he considers murderers. The monster thinks that revenge is his own way of standing up for the rights of the ancestors. All things considered, Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmad Saadawi addresses many social, political, economic, historical, and cultural problems.

The monster in Mary Shelley’s magnum opus is an inquisitive, intelligent, kind-hearted being. He is an anthropomorphic male creature who is approximately 8 feet tall. Most people find the Frankenstein’s monster repulsive. Even monster’s own creator, his master, denies him. In retaliation, seeking for revenge against his master’s rejection, the monsters kills Doctor Frankenstein’s younger brother. The murder leaves the whole family in utter devastation. Evidently, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus focuses on some serious ethical, philosophical, and scientific questions.

As far as the similarities between the characters of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus and Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmad Saadawi are concerned, it is important to mention the points as follows. In both novels, the beings created by the protagonists suffer from injustice as none of the monsters fits into society. In Frankenstein in Baghdad, the monster is treated like a nat
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