Fallen Innocence in Frankenstein
"All things truly wicked start from an innocence."
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
The Creature was not born evil. Nor was his corruption his fault.
He was born innocent, without fault or sin. The Creature was turned to a
Monster after he learned of humanity, and what a cold, cruel thing it can
be. He was shunned, beaten, chased, and persecuted by those who did not
understand him. The Monster then turned bitter and vengeful, and hated his
creator for giving him life. In Marry Shelly's Frankenstein, The Creature
symbolizes fallen innocence, his childlike naivete stripped away by the
cold, uncaring world.
The Creature was truly innocent after his creation. At first, he
knew nothing but base urges and desires. He was confused buy his senses,
unable to distinguish between them. He only took clothes to shelter him
from the bitter cold, not because he was shameful. He did not even
remember his first meeting with is creator. All he desired were basic
animal needs. He hunted for fruit and nut to stop the pangs of hunger. He
slept in the forest under the stars. He sought meager shelter to keep him
dry. These were all he desired before he knew of man. Only after silently
observing a family for months did he learn of the ways of mankind. He
became self-aware and learned common knowledge. He tediously acquired a
written and oral language. Then he yearned to meet his benefactors. For
years after his creation, the Creature was innocent.
Throughout his bitter life, the Creature was dealt one blow from
humanity after another. After spending time in the cold, wet woods, he
sough...
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...ined in the wilderness, the Creature would have
retained in virtue. However, once he was brought into the world of man, he
slowly became a diabolical demon. He became bitter as he realized what he
was, and as humanity shunned and beat him. The Creature was not evil, but
he was more like Adam, who tasted of the Tree of Knowledge and opened his
eyes to his world, and was then cast from the blissful paradise of
innocence.
Works Cited and Consulted
Botting, Fred. Making monstrous. Frankenstein, criticism, theory. Manchester University Press, 1991.
Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley. Her Life, her Fiction, her Monsters. Methuen. New York, London, 1988.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Spark, Muriel. Mary Shelly. New York: Dutton, 1987.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: the original 1818 text. 2nd ed. Ed. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Peterborough: Broadview, 1999.
Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Norton Critical Edition. New York: New York. 1996.
At the beginning of the book Nick sees Gatsby as a mysterious shady man. In the beginning of the chapter Nick somewhat resents Gatsby. In Nick’s opinion Gatsby was the representation of “…everything for which I have unaffected scorn.” (Fitzgerald 2). Nick sees Gatsby as what he hates the most in life, rich folk. Since the start of the novel it was obvious that had “Disapproved of him from beginning to end.” (Fitzgerald 154). As time passes, Nick realizes his neighbor has quite a mysterious past. Some think he’s a bootlegger, and a different person wa...
A surrogacy is the carrying of a pregnancy for intended parents. There are two kinds of surrogacy: “Gestational”, in which the egg and sperm belong to the intended parents and is carried by the surrogate, and “traditional”, where the surrogate is inseminated with the intended father’s sperm. Regardless of the method, I believe that surrogacy cannot be morally justified. Surrogacy literally means “substitute”, or “replacement”. A surrogate is a replacement for a mother for that 9-month period of pregnancy, and therefore is reducing the role of the surrogate mother to an oversimplified and dehumanizing labor. The pregnancy process for the gestational mother can be very physically and mentally demanding, and is unique because after birthing the
Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley - Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. New York, New York: Routledge, Chapman, & Hall, Inc., 1989. p 136.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
The Australia Outback is portrayed in films as vast and red. Of Course Australia is not completely this description. In the film, Crocodile Dundee, Sue Charlton (heroine character) is a New York journalist visiting Sydney. The Irony is the complete contrast between the desert landscape, shown as a bird’s eye view in the helicopter (Scene 2 Crocodile Dundee). In Priscilla, Queen of the Desert the imagery of a “never-ending” road reaffirms the idea that Australia is an isolated place. Similarly to Crocodile Dundee, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert exposition began in Sydney. The main difference between the films the ‘outback’ where both film plo...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maurice Hindle. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited by: D.L. Macdonald & Kathleen Scherf. Broadview Editions. 3rd Edition. June 20, 2012
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 1999.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818, is a product of its time. Written in a world of social, political, scientific and economic upheaval, it highlights human desire to uncover the scientific secrets of our universe, yet also confirms the importance of emotions and individual relationships that define us as human, in contrast to the monstrous. Here we question what is meant by the terms ‘human’ and ‘monstrous’ as defined by the novel. Yet to fully understand how Frankenstein defines these terms, we must look to the etymology of them. The novel however, defines the terms through its main characters, through the themes of language, nature versus nurture, forbidden knowledge, and the doppelganger motif.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992