Know Thine Enemy

Title: Know Thine Enemy

Author: Gary Greenwood

Date of First Publication: 2000

Place of Publication: Hideous Progeny

Type: Short Story

Characters: No Character

Critical Summary: Greenwood sets his story, “Know Thine Enemy,” in a military camp, with the NATO team, a corporal, and three privates: Adam, Mannehim, and the narrator. While having dinner, they talk and communicate like any other group of friends would and discuss movies, actors, call each other names, and even throw out profanity once in a while. The group was sent to Bosnia in order to help out and while they are there, Mannehim shares his experience in fighting the Great War. He explains how the soldiers were sent to pick up the remains of the dead or injured in ‘no man’s land’ and bring them back to the scientist whom would piece people back together using the body parts they would find and collect. After this, we find out that these characters are actually monsters, or creatures, created by the scientist for the purpose of the War. After an encounter with Americans, Adam dies because he is shot in the head, but the rest survive only because they are put together with different body parts and brought back to life by the scientist. The scientist accomplishes this by using the Frankenstein Theorem that the Americans have been trying to get their hands on.

This short story is a prediction of what the world would have been like if Victor’s findings and works were to be released to the public during his time. The British and the Austro- Hungarians found the ‘Frankenstein Theorem’, which is the information or secret on how to create life. This idea comes from Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s novel. In the short story, the scientist creates the same type of creature, or monster, as Victor did for the purpose of the World War. The story focuses on the Frankenstein Theorem and how Victor’s work affected the world. The plot of the short story is an interesting take because in Mary Shelley’s novel, Victor regrets creating such a creature and even hesitates to create another one because of what can happen in a world with these creatures. He also almost regrets his search and obsession for knowledge that led him to create the monster and this search. They include small references to Mary Shelley’s novel to connect it more with Frankenstein by having one of the monster’s names be Adam, which is what the creature in the novel thought would have been his name, and when Mary Wollstonecraft is referred to as a movie critic while the monsters were conversing about movies.

This work can be classified in the race and politics theme since it mentions a historical political war. It briefly comments on the actions of the different countries, how they use their resources to fight, and how they fight for certain things. For example, in the story, America has been fighting to get the information on the Frankenstein Theorem, so they too can use it like Britain or Austro-Hungary, though, these countries refuse to surrender it. It is also interesting that the author decided to make America the enemy in the story since at the end they are the ones who attack the monsters and seem to do so only for their pleasure and entertainment. Greenwood made an interesting and entertaining story connecting Frankenstein and the real world at the time, giving us an insight into how the real world would react to an idea like Frankenstein’s.

Administrative Notes: Veronica Castro; Alexandra Hollinshead (editing)