Almost every child has that inner monster when their mother says no to something they want, whether it’s a new toy or food. In the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, creates a monstrous creature in a experiment similar to that of a child not getting something they want. Dr.Victor Frankenstein, a young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His obsession leads to creating a monster assembled from various body parts and chemicals. The monster stands at eight feet tall, but holds the mentality of a newborn baby. When Victor abandons his creation, the monster is confused, he tries to integrate himself into society. …show more content…
They grow mentally, physically and emotionally with them and they often find themselves but it is a struggle. The monster is struggling like a child would, question their purpose on earth and the meaning of it. He questions “Who was I?...What was my destination?” (Shelley 152) and explains “These questions (occurred often), but I was unable to solve them.” (Shelley 152). The monster is unsure of who he is and questions it constantly, he cannot seem to find his purpose in life. Since he is very child-like, one may feel sympathy towards him. Despite the evil within him he seems beyond innocent, making him vulnerable and sweet. It makes a reader sympathize with him and change their perspective of him as this evil creature to a lost and scared creature. The monster even goes as far as expressing “Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?" (Shelley 174), this displays how he feels unconnected to the society he lives in. He is struggling to “fit into” the world around him. He is exremely fragile to how people view him just like a child would if another child didn’t want to play with them, or share a toy. The way a parent or caretaker would feel towards their child in any sort of distress is how a reader may feel towards The …show more content…
The Monster has no knowledge of the language spoken around him, how to read or write in it nevermind speak it. Just like children, he has to start by observing the people around him. Unsure of the language around him, he states “I found that these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds [speaking].” (Shelly 130). When a child is about one, they begin to grasp the language spoken around them, and just like The Monster who can’t understand them he has to learn by observing. He describes their language as “articulate sounds” because to him they are just mumbles similar to what a child would hear in its earlier stages of development. He also comments on the emotions they sounds brings, “I perceived that the words they spoke sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers.” (Shelley 130) here he is able to connect the sounds he’s hearing and the effects they have upon people. His perception of language spoken around him and his ability to understand him makes a reader able to sympathize with him and take their own perception of him being a monster, to more
At first, The Monster is very kind and sympathetic. He has a good heart, as shown when he collected firewood for the family on the brink of poverty. Like every other human creation, he was not born a murderer. All the Monster wanted was to be accepted and loved by Victor Frankenstein and the other humans but instead he was judged by his appearance and considered to be dangerous. The Monster says, “like Adam, I was created apparently united by no link to any other being in existence…many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (page 105). This line is an important part of the novel because the Monster lets it be known how like Adam he was created into this world completely abandoned and like Satan he is angry with those people who have found contentment and satisfaction in their lives. The rejection and unwelcome feeling he is faced with, is the main reason the Monster becomes a killer. Watching another family show love towards each other made the Monster realize how alienated he truly was. He did not know how to deal with his pain and emotions so he murders as
Mary Shelley is the original playwright of 'Frankenstein' and it has been adapted since then by Phillip Pullman. Mary wrote it in 1818 and it was first performed in 1988, at the Polka Children's theatre in Wimbledon. In the play, a doctor called Victor Frankenstein created life from an experiment, a monster, and although Frankenstein had intended the monster (who wasn't to be called 'the monster') to be a kind, caring and loving creature, the way the villagers treated him and turned away in disgust when they saw the monster, was the reason that the monster became evil.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein describes a mad scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein and the initially amiable creature assembled by him. Through questionable means of experimentation, this monster is constructed through the reattachment of several cadavers and a bolt of lightning. Upon achieving the magnificent feat of reanimation, Victor, rather than revelling in his creation, is appalled, abandoning the creature. The physical appearance of the monster terrorizes everyone he meets and is unfortunately shunned from the world. The newborn monster develops a nomadic lifestyle after being ostracized by nearly every community he travels to, but eventually finds refuge near a secluded cottage. While returning from a nearby forest, the creature
The creature never had an inclination to be murderous, and “becomes violent only after he is repeatedly rejected by society” (Nocks). Failing to win companionship by attempting to understand people and learning their language, he turns to his creator. The monster explains that he is just like the people who hate him, with the same desires and emotions. After developing all these ideas of society and emotions, he learns that there is no way for him to express them. Following his many attempts to fit into the world, he realizes that he will never be accepted by humans, and vows to destroy all of mankind. Society and its mistreatment of the monster causes it to become barbaric. He states, “My protectors had departed, and had broken the only link that held me to the world” (Shelley 134). The creature speaks of how his protectors had essentially cut him off from society, which would lead him to act out against all of mankind. The incorporation of the three books also develop the creature, and may have provided him with false perceptions about human interaction and the world in general. Lack of human interaction can greatly affect one’s decisions and can cause one to have a bad a reaction to their
Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein, deals with the major dilemma of the creation of man. Rousseau deals with the topic of abandonment in Emile, which stemmed the thoughts of creation for Shelley in 1816 upon reading Rousseau's opinions. Rousseau blames the problems that children inhibit solely upon the parents shoulders (Mellor). Mary Shelley is able to relate to this statement on a personal level due to the parenting (or lack of) within her life. This in turn leads to a broader question concerning Shelley's Frankenstein; is the monster really the sole person to blame for his murderous actions? According to Rousseau's theory, the monster is not the sole problem. Victor Frankenstein is his creator or "father" figure thus giving him the responsibility of his monster.
and in this essay I will explore who the monster is in the novel. The
Victor Frankenstein: The Real Monster. & nbsp; Science is a broad field that covers many aspects of everyday life and existence. Some areas of science include the study of the universe, the environment, dinosaurs, animals, and insects. Another popular science is the study of people and how they function. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is an inspiring scientist who studies the dead. He wants to be the first person to give life to a dead human being. He spends all of his Frankenstein is to blame for the tragedy, not the monster he has created, because he is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and he is supposed to have everything under control, working properly as a good scientist should. & nbsp; Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that followed the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being.  something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and & nbsp; I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. 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. (156) & nbsp; Victor is saying that he has isolated himself for two years and in the end, he is not at all happy because of the bad outcome. He also adds, "Winter, spring and summer passed.so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation" (156). By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, never going out, but mostly worrying about his success, he has got himself crazier. This has made him lose sight of his surroundings and judgment & nbsp; Moreover, the monster should not be held responsible for killing Victor's family members and friends as shown in the book and movie, because it is Victor who has brought a dead creature back to life. He expects the monster to know everything when he wakes up cool, calm, and collected. But when the monster is awakened, he does not know anything. He sees a world different from what he is used to, which makes him get nervous and scared, so he&nb has removed him from dead. With the dawning of life, the monster has to learn about his new environment. In the play of Frankenstein, the monster starts to gradually get used to things. The problems he encounters are with Victor's assistant, Peter Krempe, Victor's friend, Henry, and other family members, including Elizabeth, and these are reactions to how these people treat him. These reactions are clearly shown in the movie of Young Frankenstein, where Victor tries to teach the monster how to live like to show off the monster to an audience in a dance routine of sorts. But then people start to scream, panic and throw things at the monster, so he reacts by attacking them to defend himself. In this case, it is clear that Victor tries to push the monster too hard because he wants to be famous.
The monster learns many things in the many months he spends watching the De Lacey’s. The monster’s place of shelter is wooded and it is difficult for the monster to sit up in, the floor is dirt, and the monster likes it because it protects him from the snow and rain. The tone of this part of the novel is very calm, the way it makes the reader feel is relaxed. During the many months that the monster stayed in his place of refuge he learns how to speak and read. He ends up loving the family he has spent so long watching, he wants to be a part of the De Lacey’s family. The monster takes a chance and goes to the old man to talk to him while his is alone, as the old man is blind and cannot judge him on his appearance. As the monster finishes up with his words to the old man the rest of the family comes home. The young man rips the monster away from his father and the monster runs away into his hovel instead of hurting the man. The monstrosity the family showed was just horror and shock, and getting him away from their family. The act of what the family did is very monstrous to the monster, the way they react destroys his hope that they will love him for him. This act makes him very hateful towards people especially his
A villain is truly just a victim whose story has not been told. This is clearly shown in The Creature in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” When the story states, “My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the ass and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration.” (Shelley, 134). The monster feels that people should judge him on his personality and emotions inside instead of his appearance on the outside. Frankenstein’s creature is truly just a victim of circumstance. No individual is born evil,
It is clear that knowledge is what keeps the beast within monster dormant. This has a direct contradiction on how knowledge effected Ulysses and Frankenstein. This represents the dualism between knowledge and brutality. The monster represents the beast within all of us. The beast it is subdued with knowledge, yet is ever present waiting for you look into the water and witness its reflection. Yet, there is a dark side to knowledge. Knowledge creates a hunger that is insatiable. There is no end to what we as humans can learn, but human nature dictates we never stop. This urgency to learn everything comes from our realization that we are soon to meet our maker and quickly it turns from a journey towards an unreachable goal but one where we are pitted against an hourglass that is quickly running out of sand. This hunger is a beast of its own and somewhere between this beast and the beast of the unknown, we find our
His looks are "horrid" (42; ch. 5), and Frankenstein is repulsed by his creation. After spending almost two years creating the creature, he immediately retreats from it once seeing its "miserable" (43; ch. 5) appearance. Frankenstein may have been afraid of what he was creating at first, but now that he has caught a glimpse, he is hateful, as he knows anyone else would be. Its immediate abandonment by its own creator is only the start of the rejection he will feel as time goes on. Unlike Frankenstein's childhood, the monster is alone in the beginning. While Frankenstein remembers his parents feeling great "affection" (19; ch. 1) towards him as a young child, his creation is turned away in an instant of fear. The monster goes on to master the language of his creator, through the cottage people. Still, he is not given a chance to explain his true kind-hearted nature before the Cottagers beat him "violently with a stick" (115; ch. 15). Although he is completely capable of holding a civil conversation, he is given no such chance to do so. The isolation he feels is caused by a hasty evaluation of his stature, without considering what he has to offer. Saving a child's life does not redeem him, and he is "fired" (121; ch. 16) at by a gun, and shot. The man is not grateful for the good deed the monster has done, and instead acts out of fear of what the creature looks like it would do, basing his opinion on
creature stood before me, gnarling teeth, sharp enough to slice cleanly through my flesh. Skin, a sickish green, mounted with boils and sores, rough and jagged all over. Claws, double the size of the contorted figure, curled by it's side. The creature hunched over, as it were waiting to pounce any second, or maybe as if I was waiting for it to pounce. Now, I was more curious then frightful. My feet glued to the floor, my heart pounding heavily. I was to be a victim, slaughtered and eaten as the main course yet I still stood. The compelling need, to look the creature in the eye had taken over, and my chin lifted. Our eyes met, and my breath caught in my throat. My stomach churned, not at the sight of the horns that stretched from it's forehead,
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 also shows us, in Frankenstein, that although juxtaposing terms, the monstrous being everything human is not, they are also intertwined, in that you can not have one without the other. There is also an overwhelming desire to know the monstrous, if only temporarily and this calls into question the influence the monstrous has on the human definition.
The monster is created like no other person, and his appearance is especially horrific to all of mankind. He becomes increasingly lonely throughout the novel when he realizes that he will never be able to make anyone be his companion since every human is afraid of him. The monster recognizes he was inherently good by saying “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend”, but he loses that goodness after being repeatedly rejected by multiple humans (Shelley 87). The monster becomes so isolated that he begins to become corrupt, and the corruption leads to a sense of jealousy. He has the desire for something that he does not have which is a companion, and becomes obsessed with the fact that he will never have one. This obsession makes him evil, and makes him lose any sense of innocence he once had. On the other hand, Victor is blessed with an abundance of family and friends. Sadly, the monster kills almost all of Victor’s family which leaves him in a depressed state from the loss of his loved ones. Victor feels alone without his family and explains how he goes crazy by saying “For they had called me mad, and during many months, as I understood, a solitary cell had been my habitation” (Shelley 189). He loses all human connection when he loses his family, and this inability to be with someone he can relate to makes him
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the motif of monstrosity to convey the theme that a person’s outward appearance is not what makes them a monster but rather their actions or inactions that classify true monstrosity. Despite the fact that the monster Victor Frankenstein creates is a literal example of monstrosity in the novel there are many parts that give meaning to monstrosity within character’s actions. Although Victor appears normal, since he is human his ambitions, secrets, selfishness, and inaction makes him a monster himself. Along with monstrous characters the pursuit of knowledge that is seen in Victor, his monster, and Walton in Frankenstein prove that knowledge can be a monstrosity. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is created using the life stories of different characters in the novel. The novel itself could be seen as a monster created similarly to Victor’s monster.