Mary Shelley's Downfall To A Community

Human beings form communities because communities are more successful than individuals. Within a community there is the opportunity to specialize; therefore, every individual can strive to be a better self. There is a sense of belonging and feeling of fellowship with others. A major downfall to a community is the plausibility of exclusion. Mary Shelley believes communities are based on physical appearance, while Kipling believes communities are based on race. I think both authors are misunderstood what a community stands for, seeing that a community is a place where everyone excepts one another for who they truly are. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the author asserts that people are judged by their outside appearance.

Gunga Din is a native water bearer whom all the British soldiers command around. The speaker of the poem says Gunga Din comes from a “Blackfaced crew”, is a “limpin’ lump o’ brick-dust”, and wears a “twisty rag”, which describes him in a very racist way. Social prejudice is found on his looks, the color of his skin and the clothes he wears. Kipling makes it clear that he native, but also portrays him as a caring young boy. Gunga Din not only saves the British soldiers in the poem, but dies from getting shot. He is a hero and a better man than the British soldier, as the soldier states, “You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!” (Gunga Din, page 2). Even though this is the case, he is still excluded from the community because of his race. The British soldiers are included in the community because they are white; therefore, they are going to heaven in the end. Gunga Din on the other hand, is sent to hell purely based on the color of his skin. The fact that he saves the soldiers and is caring on the inside, does not even

Victor first notices the disfigured stature of the monster automatically after creating him as his “eyeballs were starting from their sockets in attending to the details of my employment” (Frankenstein, 37) and he calls his creation a “wretch” and “miserable monster” (Frankenstein, 39). This action of Victor portrays the instant judgement in community based only on appearance. There are considerable similarities between the community in Frankenstein and Gunga Din, and the community in modern society. Human beings just want to be accepted, yet there is still a presence of racism, prejudice, and outside appearances in today’s society. I recommend that we asses this problem of excluding certain people by never judging a book by its