Is the death penalty acceptable an acceptable means of actions for people who made mistakes, or is abortion the right thing to do when an unborn child has done nothing wrong? Mary Shelley brings up many controversial topics such as these in her novel Frankenstein. In the novel, Frankenstein creates a creature who goes on to terrorize Frankenstein’s life, but it is not the entirely the creature’s fault. Frankenstein had abandoned the creature just after creation, which in turned caused the creature to behave as a monster. The question that arises here is: Should have Frankenstein killed the creature after creation, or did he do the right thing by abandoning it. Frankenstein committed his own crime in abandoning the creature so soon after creation, …show more content…
In psychology there is a theory known as “Tabula Rasa”, according to The New World Encyclopedia this theory states that, “individual human beings are born "blank" (with no built-in mental content), and that their identity is defined entirely by their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world.” According to this theory, Frankenstein is responsible for how the creature behaved. By abandoning the creature, the creature was shown no love, and it’s “sensory perceptions of the outside world” were ones of despair as the outside world feared the creature. That being said the creature was only exposed to negative experiences, making it become coarse and one capable of murder. If Frankenstein had shown the creature love instead of abandoning it, the creature would have been the type of person it longed to be. If Frankenstein would have killed the creation rather than abandon it in it’s “blank slate” William, Henry, and Elizabeth all would have lived, and there would have been no harm by the creature to the …show more content…
By abandoning the creature Frankenstein created the monster, and therefore can be held responsible and face the consequences for how the creature behaved. While controversial, the solution to this problem is a clear one when taken in the factors abandonment has on a child/being. Killing the creature would have been a better alternative than abandonment, due to the psychological damage abandonment afflicted onto the creature. Works Cited
Waters, Sara F. Mendes, Wendy Berry. “Physiological and Relational Predictors of Mother-Infant Behavioral Coordination.” Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, vol. 2, no. 2, 2016, pp. 298-310.
"Tabula rasa." New World Encyclopedia, . 11 Nov 2015, 16:12 UTC. 18 Nov 2017, 05:06 (-- removed HTML --)
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
He knows that he is responsible for it’s existence from the line, “a being whom [himself] had formed, and endued with life” (Shelley 60) but does not consider himself a factor when it comes to the deaths of William and Justine. At this point of the story Frankenstein mostly talks about how much he hates the monster instead of the possible danger his family is now put in, while he cannot help but feel guilty because the creature that he created has already killed two people he held dearly he still does not acknowledge his responsibility for the monster’s actions.
For centauries, women have been forced to live life in the outskirts of a male dominated society. During the 1800’s, the opportunities for women were extremely limited and Mary Shelly does an excellent job in portraying this in her gothic novel, Frankenstein. Furthermore, in this novel, Mary Shelly shows how society considers women to be possessions rather than independent human beings. In addition, the female characters rely heavily on men for support and survival, thus proving their inability to do it on their own. Lastly, the female characters in this novel are in many ways victimized by the male characters. In conclusion, in Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, the female characters always fulfill the limited and archetypical roles that are set for them by society.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who decides to play God and creates his own human unorthodoxly. Unfortunately, Frankenstein rejects his creation and forces it to live in fear and obliviousness of the world. Throughout the book, the reader is able to witness the character development within the Creature; he grows from a benevolent and benign man to a spiteful and ravenous murderer. In spite of this, I have great compassion and sympathy for the Creature. In order to understand this reasoning, we must take three factors into consideration. Firstly, we have the realize the aspects that drove the Creature into becoming an angry person. Second, we must acknowledge how human nature is. Lastly, we must consider who is to be blamed for the Creature’s actions.
Victor Frankenstein is originally a happy character that loves to learn and read a large variety of books. He was a fiery individual who sought to understand all knowledge; regardless of how practical the information was. Evidence of this is when his father tells him not to worry about fictional writers like Cornelius Agrippa. Yet, Frankenstein states, “But here were books, and here were men who had penetrated deeper and knew more. I took their word for all that they averred, and I became their disciple” (21). Frankenstein embodies the movement in science to understand everything, and that is not necessarily a good thing (Storment 2). Frankenstein only understands that this train of thought is bad when he reaches the pinnacle of knowledge and produces the creature. The fruits of Frankenstein’s labor end up costing him the lives of his friends and family, as well as his own sanity. The feeling of guilt thrives in Frankenstein because he knows his work was the direct cause of the chaos in his life. In Frankenstein’s case, his goal of total enlightenment led to his pitiful demise. Frankenstein’s creature was not originally a monster. He is born with good intentions and is a gentle- although atrocious looking- being until he learns of the sins of the human race. The ultimate factor in the creature’s progression from harmless to
By the end of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley wanted the reader to discover that it was not Frankenstein’s creature that was the monster, but Victor Frankenstein himself. She was able to accomplish this fully by highlighting the absence of a single trait in Frankenstein; he has no empathy. Empathy, the ability to feel with another creature, is an integral part of what makes us human, what separates us from inanimate objects and animals. It is possible for a person to register another creature’s emotions without truly being empathetic. True empathy requires an individual to merge identities and act upon both their own and the others’ emotions.
Ever since it’s conception into English Literature, the captivating novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has continued to be reproduced in various ways to honor its renowned tale and its enduring moral. The original novel was published in January of 1818 and since then, the enchanting story has been extremely popular. Frankenstein has been performed many times from its first dramatic performance in 1823 to just a few months ago on Broadway (Young Frankenstein), and numerous productions in between. However, not all reproductions stay true to the original Gothic masterpiece.
Mary Shelley expresses various ethical issues by creating a mythical monster called Frankenstein. There is some controversy on how Mary Shelley defines human nature in the novel, there are many features of the way humans react in situations. Shelley uses a relationship between morality and science, she brings the two subjects together when writing Frankenstein, and she shows the amount of controversy with the advancement of science. There are said to be some limits to the scientific inquiry that could have restrained the quantity of scientific implications that Mary Shelley was able to make, along with the types of scientific restraints. Mary Shelley wrote this classic novel in such a way that it depicted some amounts foreshadowing of the world today. This paper will concentrate on the definition of human nature, the controversy of morality and science, the limits to scientific inquiry and how this novel ties in with today’s world.
As a romantic novel Victor is responsible, because he abandoned his creation. As an archetype novel, Victor is the villain, because he was trying to play god. Finally, Victor as a Gothic novel, Victor is at fault, because, he and the creature are two different parts of the same person. If Frankenstein is looked at as a romantic novel, Victor, not the creature, is truly the villain. When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. The creature was miserable, and just wanted a friend or someone to talk to. On page 115, the creature said, "Hateful day when I received life! Accursed the creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust." This line shows the agony the monster was in, because of how he looked when he was created which led to even Victor running away from him. If Victor didn't run, he could have taught the monster and made his life happy. After the creature scared the cottagers away he said, "I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter ...
We again view his ignorance and irresponsibility when after spending two years of work on his creature he disowns and abandons the creature. He runs out of the room after seeing the creature come to life. He fled the room because he thought the creature was so hideous, even though he had chosen all the best body parts for its creation. When Frankenstein returns to the house when he “became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy”(55). Even after all his work he is ecstatic that this horrible beast has left him.
In sum, the monster was born in a grown man’s body and was abandoned at the moment of its existence. All he wanted was a companion and to not be in the world alone, but that did not happen. Resultantly, he lashes out at his creator and kills some of Victor’s close family and friends. The changes in the creature and his deeds are very believable. If Victor Frankenstein had not abandoned the monster, none of the terrible deeds that took place would have occurred.
“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” ...
From the beginning of time in history, women have always been portrayed as and seen as the submissive sex. Women especially during the time period of the 1800s were characterized as passive, disposable, and serving an utilitarian function. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example displaying the depiction of women. The women in Frankenstein represent the treatment of women in the early 1800’s. Shelley’s incorporation of suffering and death of her female characters portrays that in the 1800’s it was acceptable. The women in the novel are treated as property and have minimal rights in comparison to the male characters. The feminist critic would find that in Frankenstein the women characters are treated like second class citizens. The three brutal murders of the innocent women are gothic elements which illustrates that women are inferior in the novel. Mary Shelley, through her novel Frankenstein, was able to give the reader a good sense of women’s role as the submissive sex, through the characters experiences of horrific events including but not limited to brutal murder and degradation, which is illuminated by her personal life experiences and time period of romanticism.
When reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice that the women characters seem to have little substance compared to the male characters. This may have been caused by the time period in which she wrote: one in which females were considered inferior to males. This difference between the sexes can be looked at using a variety of different perspectives. Johanna M. Smith, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses this issue using feminist eyes in her essay entitled "'Cooped up': Feminine Domesticity in Frankenstein." The main points in Professor Smith's essay are that the female characters are there only to reflect the male characters, and that the Frankenstein family has a weird style of living, which she describes as a "bookkeeping mentality" (Smith 279).
For Frankenstein created a monster who had no identity, and was willing to murder all of Frankenstein's loved ones if Frankenstein did not create another female creature. Victor Frankenstein refused to create another female monster to accompany his monster. Thus, the monster felt that he had no choice but to take away Frankenstein's family, just to show how Victor Frankenstein would feel being alone in the world. The murder of William Frankenstein (Victor's younger brother) caused Victor to believe that his own creature had murdered his younger brother because "nothing in human shape could have destroyed that fair child." (Frankenstein, pg.74) Frankenstein knew from then on that he had "turned loose into the world a depraved wretch, whose delight was in carnage and misery." (Frankenstein, pg.74) Frankenstein's monster caused "the death Frankenstein not only blamed the murders of his loved ones on his monster, he blamed himself for creating the monster. Throughout Frankenstein, the words "friend, monster, daemon, vile insect, enemy, and abhorred devil" were used by Frankenstein to describe the monster he had created.