The theme of human connection is prominent in almost every aspect of society. As biological creatures, humans crave social and emotional interaction with one another. Authors have been writing to capture the desire and struggle for the human connection throughout many literary eras. The protagonists of such novels are unsatisfied with their lives the way they are. They crave the intense and extraordinary, going to extreme lengths to change their lives. The characters in the novels Frankenstein, Bartleby the Scrivener, To the Lighthouse, and The Crying of Lot 49, stretching from the romantic to the postmodern, seek a human connection: a deeper understanding of themselves and the world they live in, changing with the times as society itself progresses …show more content…
Frankenstein's creation seeks out a connection with the world despite his differences. Birthed out of a dangerous passion for knowledge and immediately abandoned, the creature is Dr. Frankenstein's attempt to recreate life. The monster is a romantic creature, alienated by society because of his physical differences, reliant and acting upon his emotional instability. He wants desperately to understand emotion and tries to discover compassion as he watches families and reads novels about life and sorrow. He has a passion for knowledge and craves companionship to the point of asking his creator for a female counterpart. He is thought to only want to cause harm, but he is truly misunderstood. The creature only becomes a true monster when Victor refuses to make him a wife, as he is condemned to a life of unsolicited isolation and confusion as he roams the countryside hated by everyone, including the one who made …show more content…
His lack of connection and rejection of normal human interaction characterizes Bartleby as an anti-character of the realist version of the people that fill this story. He is working against the mindless, menial job he does not care about: a direct opposition to the ideas of realism. Bartleby tries and fails to connect with the lawyer. Their mindsets differ too greatly for them to be able to relate to one another. The lawyer, try as he might, is unable to fully uncover bartleby; he can only assume. Bartleby is unable to express himself and therefore remains a mystery to everyone. His inaction, more so than his actions, alienate him from society and prevent him from making meaningful human
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein”, the monster’s account of his life from the day of his “birth” is distinct to the audience. As the monster constructs a narrative of his life from the day of his “birth” throughout his development in the novel, he has a request for his creator, Victor Frankenstein, too—to create a female partner for him. Although Victor Frankenstein does not fulfill the task he was requested to do, the monster persuaded him to agree to and to fulfill the task of creating a female partner for him. The monster uses ethos, organic imagery, and tonal shift to persuade his creator, Victor Frankenstein, to fulfill the task.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the author’s view concerning the role that human connections play is that humans need others in their lives in order to function correctly. As conveyed by Shelley, isolation and separation from any other beings leads to misery. Not having companions around also leads to a lack of the ability to behave constructively. Shelley’s views are conveyed throughout the novel through the decaying well being of certain characters.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a dramatic example of the ever-changing philosophies regarding creation, science, and the age-old question of a divine being’s presence in the world. When Shelley published the novel in 1818, the Age of Enlightenment was in full swing and left antiquated ideas of religion in exchange for newfound ideas based on science and logic. One of these philosophies of the modern era was humanism; humanism is the idea that human matters are of more importance than those of a divine being. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this new idea of secular humanism is brought into full effect with the monster being left almost entirely on his own to form beliefs and ideas, however, there are still curious traces of religious influence within the
The monster tells Frankenstein of the wretchedness of the world and how it was not meant for a being such as himself. At the end of his insightful tale the creature demands a companion of the same hideous features but of the opposite gender to become his. Victor only has the choice to make the monster or suffer a lifetime of horror his creation would bring upon him. Which the creator ultimately agrees to make the female monster to save the lives of his family but gains a conscious that fills with guilt of all the destruction he has created and creating. When the monster comes to collect the female he tears her apart and the monster vows to destroy all Victor holds dear. The monster’s emotional sense is consumed with rage against Victor, murdering Frankenstein’s best friend. Though when the monster’s framing ways do not work to lead to Victor being executed, he then murders Frankenstein’s wife on their wedding night. This tragedy is the last for Victor’s father who becomes ill with grief and quickly passes within a few days, leaving Victor with nothing but his own regret. Shelley doesn’t give the audience the monsters side of the story but hints that the remainder of his journey consisted of being a shadow to that of his creator. It is at the graves of the Frankenstein family when the creature makes an appearance in the solemn and
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
We as human beings assume we have our lives under control and we can exert some power over the situations in our lives. The Lawyer believed in a natural assumption of having the power and control over what he considered a lower less sophisticated class of humanity hence his employees in this story. Bartleby created a situation for the Lawyer he has never experienced before. The Lawyer learns in the end after Bartleby’s death that his rules of society may not be right for all of humanity.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
...luding intelligence, compassion, and emotions. The monster attempts to make friends with his peer humans, despite his continuous rejection. His efforts show that even the monster experiences vulnerability and desire for companionship. The monster proves his intelligence as he devises a plan to learn the English language by observing his neighbors. Meanwhile, Doctor Frankenstein lacks the human quality of intelligence as he fails to foresee the effects of taking creation of life into his own hands. The doctor also lacks compassion when he abandons his creation, the equivalent of a parent leaving his child. Frankenstein flees from his monster because he actually fears the monster as much as the rest of society due to its frightening stature. Doctor Frankenstein and his creation exemplify the qualities people should exude to consider themselves members of the human race.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein reflects her real life; a life filled with loss. She lost her mother, and so did Victor Frankenstein. It would only make sense that the theme of the novel is human connection. Throughout the story, the monster searches for it, as well as Victor, and quite frankly everyone else.
Also, The Lawyer begins to dissect Bartleby’s character: ”His great stillness, his unalterableness of demeanor under all circumstances, made him a valuable acquisition… He was always there” (112). It could be said that The Lawyer created a slight fixation of Bartleby. The Lawyer analyzed everything about Bartleby. When Bartleby began to disobey The Lawyer, he was very shocked and confused, this then led to him to try about discover why Bartleby refuses to do his work. However, The Lawyer discovers that it is not only Bartleby’s refusal that puzzles him but the lack of acknowledgement or reaction. This leads The Lawyer into attempting to provoke Bartleby to receive a reaction: “You will not thrust him, the poor, pale, passive mortal--you will not the thrust such a helpless creature out of your door? You will not dishonor yourself by such cruelty” (123). The Lawyer had to refrain himself from physical outrage against
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly explores the concept of the body, life, ‘the self’ and most of importantly humanity, which is repeatedly questioned throughout the novel. The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane or in other words someone that can feel or possess compassion. Despite all the facts against the “monster” in “Frankenstein” he is indeed what one would consider being human. Humanity isn’t just about ones physical appearance but also includes intellect and emotion. Some people argue that the “monster” is not a human for he was not a creature that was born from “God” or from a human body. That being said, the “monster” is not only able to speak different languages, he can also show empathy - one of many distinct traits that set humans apart from the animals. Both the “monster” and his creator, Victor, hold anger and feel a sense of suffering throughout the novel. Victor is a good person with good intentions just like most individuals, but makes the mistake of getting swept up into his passion of science and without thinking of the consequences he creates a “monster”. After completing his science project, he attempts to move forward with his life, however his past – i.e., the “monster” continues to follow and someone haunt him. While one shouldn’t fault or place blame on Frankenstein for his mistakes, you also can’t help but feel somewhat sympathetic for the creature. Frankenstein just wants to feel accepted and loved, he can’t help the way he treats people for he’s only mimicking how people have treated him, which in most cases solely based on his appearance. Unlike most of the monsters we are exposed to in films past and present, the character of the “monster” ...
Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the monster in the book. He was an ambitious man who had high hopes and dreams for himself, but this characteristic was the cause of his downfall. He had a ruthless desire to obtain forbidden knowledge- a knowledge that only God was worthy of having. This lead him to lock himself in his laboratory, disregarding his family, friends, and health. His one purpose was to create life. In his quest to create a human being and bestow the power of life, Victor eventually did create a creature, but this lead to a situation
His efforts though are fruitless because he was not able to get to Bartleby and never truly understood him, even in prison as the man eventually dies of starvation. Although after his death the lawyer does learn of Bartleby’s previous and listless job at a ‘Dead Letter Office’ which made the lawyer sympathize for him and wonder if that job is what made Bartleby so distant. Bartleby was a loner who distanced himself from everyone, even in death, he was aloof and never interacted with anyone which is not considered normal human behavior because humans are supposed to be social. This story went a little deeper and gave the idea of humanity as a whole being apathetic towards each other, because only the lawyer showed any sort of humane concern for Bartleby while the others cared less. Bartleby himself displayed apathetic behavior as he showed little to no care for how his behavior affected others or even himself. Outside in the world, many people who are stressed out and constantly working tend to only focus on themselves and have little to no care for other people most of the time. It’s another negative view on humanity, but at the same time it’s not that wrong, as society made by humans also makes others so busy and stuck in tedious schedules that they gradually become more jaded and some even become distant and
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).