When Victor Frankenstein deserted his creation in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, he deprived it of basic human needs, hindering its ability to develop normally and causing the creature to develop into a monster. The case for the creature being a monster is quite compelling. He murders young William Frankenstein with his bare hands and subsequently, frames Justine Moritz for the crime. To further avenge Victor, the creatures murders Henry Clerval, and fulfills his promise of being "'with Victor on his wedding night'" by killing his significant other, Elizabeth. At first glance, it would appear that this beast truly is unparalleled in "deformity and wickedness"; Though after closer examination, one can determine that the creature’s monstrous …show more content…
Victor Frankenstein creates is a "vile insect… with words of furious detestation and contempt" (Shelley 113) Is this "monster" truly the wretched devil Victor believes him to be? Or is he actually a "fallen angel” whom Victor drove from joy for “no misdeed... and that misery made a fiend"? (Shelley 114) It would seem that the individual responsible for the monster's actions is Dr. Victor Frankenstein himself. When Victor first creates the creature, he is struck with "breathless horror and disgust" at its appearance. Upon creation, the creature, uttering sounds of desire and affection, smiles and reaches out for Victor’s embrace; rather than embracing his creation like a loving father, Victor is repulsed by the deformity of his creation and flees in horror, abandoning it completely This is analogous to giving birth to a child with a disorder, then leaving it in the woods to fend for itself.. In half-century of international research, there has not been evidence of any other experience that has a stronger and more consistent effect on personality and development than the experience of rejection by parents during childhood (Rohner 103); those who are shunned by their parents are more prone to becoming hostile and aggressive. (Rohner 104) Children are dependent on their parents as they are born immature and can only learn proper skills, common knowledge and socially acceptable …show more content…
Its transformation into a “monster” starts after his encounter with the De Laceys. He develops a strong connection with the De Lacey family. He has a place to stay and conduct his self-education by observing the cottagers, for whom his affection increases as if he were an orphan finally finding a family to call his own. His actions toward them are unselfish, for he stocked the cottagers wood pile and “performed those offices that I had seen done by Felix” (Shelley 95). The creatures hides and observes the family over a course of a couple months, and in those months, the creature manages to learn the spoken language and body language of the Delaceys. He tries to use language as a way to relate to the humans, thus trying to compensate for his singular appearance. The creature recognizes that people communicate through sounds, and that these can result in specific emotions and desires to use this to make connections that will enable him to live alongside humans in a community. He uses his acquired language in hopes of making relations and goes to considerable lengths to be accepted. After trying to contact the family, the family is horrified at the sight of him, breaking his spirits. The creature is intelligent and is able to speak and reason, yet is not recognized as a human by society. He is able to voice his concerns, but due to the way he looks he cannot be considered human and is
Throughout Frankenstein’s framed narrative, he refers to the Creature. as “daemon”, “devil” or “wretch”, and perhaps one may consider. good reason for considering the creature’s actions after his creation. Firstly, the Creature murdered Victor’s youngest brother William, an. innocent child. However, the creature’s true intentions.
While the GOP suffers under the existential reality of its meandering Frankenstein Monster (AKA Donald Trump), conservative America must come to the reality its lives with a metastasized cancer born of its 1970s/1980s "southern strategy."
In the novel, Frankenstein, a doctor named Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Victor’s monster was created using old human parts, chemicals, and a “spark.” Victor wanted to create this monster in order to benefit mankind, and for the purpose of playing God. Victor thought his creation would turn out great, but in all actuality, his monster ended up terribly wrong (Shelley, 145). The monster was a deformed man, standing eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, black hair, black lips, and skin that did not conceal his internal features (Shelley, 144-145). Even though the monster was very grown, he had the mind of a newborn child, and he was very kind and gentle (Shelley, 327). The monster’s appearance terrified Victor, and he immediately abandoned it. Dr. Victor Frankenstein also never named his creation because he disliked it that much. The monster was longing for love, and since no one loved him, he became very violent. He ended up killing Victor’s brother and best friend out of pure revenge (Shelley, 193). Anytime the monster tried to help people, he was bea...
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...
Though Shelley and Lovecraft’s monsters are characterized by their physical appearance, the outer appearances of their monsters do not determine the monstrosity of their characters. The true monster of the stories is the character that does ugly actions regardless of if their exterior is ugly. While Frankenstein’s creation is described by Victor as “hideous” (chapter 5), and the creation is referred to as a monster multiply times, he himself is not the true monster of Shelley’s novel. Victor, who is responsible for the wickedness of his creation, is the true monster of the story. By creating a hideous individual and shunning him, he forces the creation to survive on his own with a forced handicap; Victor becomes evil. This evilness is equivalent to breaking someone’s legs in the middle of the forest, with no way of getting home, and then leaving them alone. Victor creates ...
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 ...
World Impact of the Monstrous Throughout human history, dating as far back as the dark ages, the concept of monsters has always helped humans cope with what they may have dread most in life. Mythical stories including monsters typically feature a protagonist who must overcome great hardships and defeat a terrifyingly evil force. Since the beginning of monster literature, there has always been an established feared image of them. This image has brought numerous cultures together over the centuries and helped people cope with the various evils of today’s real world. For example, witches depicted in several literary pieces like Macbeth and others alike is a well-known cultural monstrosity and serves as a representation of all the most terrible
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a novel of a mad scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a hideous human creature made up of body parts. In his attempt at playing god and bringing his creation alive into the world, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster. Although the creator’s creation is pushed towards evil, it becomes obvious that Victor Frankenstein himself is the monster because he creates a human creature whom he abandons and fails to take responsibility for.
Victor plays the role of God and creates his “Adam” but unlike the Adam from the bible, the creature is not designed in a perfect image or guarded by the care of his creator. The creature compares himself to Satan when he says “I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; …like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (228). The creature was forsaken his first days of living and learned about the society of humans through observation and reading. God introduced Adam to the world with everything provided and guided him his early days of life. He saw Adams loneliness and granted him a mate. The creature asks Frankenstein for a companion as a last chance to become happy and good hearted. Victor destroys his hope and brings more tragedy among him by doing so. God creates all things good, Victor took his Job as a creator and his creation became malignant because unlike God he was ashamed of his creation. From that point on the creatures’ heart becomes cold and makes sure to destroy his creator. When Victor dies the creature repents for the damage that he has done and would live with continuing pain till his death. “…My agony was still superior to thine; for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever” (380).
The Creature, Victor Frankenstein’s creation, is shaped into a monster through its experiences, instead of the nature of itself, which is more expected. Victor Frankenstein, on the other hand, is shaped into a monster because of his mind’s power-hungry nature. Victor treats his creature poorly and he himself becomes wicked. While the Creature also becomes wicked in the end, its actions are more justified because multiple people treated it poorly, causing the Creature to lash out. Even though Victor Frankenstein and the Creature both turn into wicked monsters, to some extent, only one of
The theme in a piece of literature is the main idea or insight on characters. Most pieces of literature do not limit itself to one but many other themes all collected into one. This is just like in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This horrifying story was produced in 1818 and has several themes that she portrays throughout. The theme of dangerous knowledge is unmistakably seen theme in Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see this theme through three of the main characters, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. We can see how their desire for knowledge can take them places and show them eventually what they are looking for. Sooner or later it will take them to dangerous and unwanted places. The desire for knowledge can eventually lead one to its grave. Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this theme of dangerous knowledge.
In many instances the hero and the villain are very easy to tell between, but in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley these two symbols come together to create confusion among readers. Many can argue that because Frankenstein’s creation viciously murdered so many people he is the obvious the bad guy in the story but what people must take into account is all the things in the creations life that caused him to behave as he did. He was one of the ugliest beings on earth, not knowing where he came from, and having no one love him. He did not begin to turn violent until his creator left him to go the world alone and be disowned by everyone that met him. Frankenstein wanted so badly to play God but when he had finally gotten what he wanted his disrespect for others took over and made him the ultimate villain. He stole what his creation needed to survive, love, acceptance, and an authority figure. Ultimately, it is Frankenstein’s selfishness that brings down not only his own self, but that of his creation as well.
of two reasons. One he looks like a monster and as he is made from the
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are introduced early in the story to one of the main characters Victor Frankenstein and subsequently to his creation referred to as the monster. The monster comes to life after being constructed by Victor using body parts from corpses. As gruesome as this sounds initially we are soon caught up in the tale of the living monster. Victor the creator becomes immediately remorseful of his decision to bring the monstrous creation to life and abandons the borne creature. Victor describes his emotions and physical description of his creation as follows:
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).