The Monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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The Monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

There are many ideas as to who the monster really is in Frankenstein

and in this essay I will explore who the monster is in the novel. The

three main ideas are whether it is Victor, society itself or indeed

the monster who is truly evil. Although Victor's creation is known as

the Monster, by reading the novel it is clear that this isn't the full

story.

The beginning of chapter 5 is very important in the novel, as this is

the chapter in which the Monster is brought to life, and we learn a

lot about what the Monster is really like. We see from the word

'dreary' in the first sentence and 'dismally' a few lines down that

misery is to come once the monster has been created. This is also

shown by the choice of month - November. This is a winter month and

makes the situation seem bleak. The Monster is described as having

'yellow skin', 'watery eyes', a shrivelled complexion' and 'straight

black lips'. This description gives him a corpse-like appearance and

illustrates the ugliness of the Monster. The appearance contrasts what

the Monster is like. Shelley makes the Monster mutter 'inarticulate

sounds' while a grin wrinkles his cheeks. This portrays the Monster as

a big baby and is done to show the Monster's innocence.

Frankenstein's personality is shown in this chapter as well. He writes

about his 'toils', which suggests that he has been working very hard

on the Monster. We also know from previous chapters that he has been

working so hard at the expense of his own health, and that he has not

written home in two years. This fact shows he is determined, much like

Captain Walton is in the open...

... middle of paper ...

... a prejudice. They hate him without knowing his

caring and kind spirit. The hanging of Justine uses the theme of

justice, and is also a parallel to the monster in the fact the

innocent people are punished.

In conclusion, I believe that society is the monster in this novel.

This is because the judge the Monster by his appearance, without

knowing him and what he is truly like. In this way Shelley uses the

Monster as a symbol. Nobody knows him but everybody hates him, and the

Monster is a symbol of innocent people having others who don't know

them being prejudiced towards them. We see this from chapter 5 & 16,

and see he is prepared to reason in 17, meaning he is not just a

cold-hearted monster. By doing this Shelley develops what we think of

people, as well as putting across the point that science can be

dangerous.

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