Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Development of the Monster

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. Despite Frankenstein's very violent nature and the actions he took within the book people judged Frankenstein before even getting to know him which eventually made him even more mad. Frankenstein is referred to as a monster, yet throughout the novel the reader is made aware of the compassion and morality that Frankenstein has.

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him.

He goes about on his own to give himself an education through reading and the observation of others. The story of the monster can be compared to many realities that this world has faced over many years. He is said to be an evil monster because of his actions, but how would he really know what evil really is without the proper education? Frankenstein’s monster read Paradise Lost, a novel about the story of the creation of Adam and Eve, living in the Garden of Eden and how living there is taken away from them. He admires

Shelley also uses the theme of prejudice against the monster. This is very powerful because it brings out the reader’s own feelings on prejudice and helps the reader to identify with the monster. Shelley creates an unpleasant background for the monster because she deprives him of childhood and family support. This creates sympathy for the monster because the reader’s own childhood experiences help empathise with him. I think that most sympathy is inspired when the monster starts to hate himself and realise that he will never be accepted: “a wretched outcast I was.”

The monster lacks nurture and self-control and is emotionally disordered (Brown 148). The monster in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein matures throughout the book, ultimately taking responsibility for his actions, and inflicting upon himself the punishment he believes that he deserves for his sins. In the beginning of the novel the monster is an infant, incapable of understanding the way humans act. As an infant, the wretch commits numerous misdeeds, showing his initial lack of maturity. The argument can be made that the monster was created with a sense virtue, a benevolent and gentle creature.

Now I was led to examine the cause and progress of this decay and forced to spend days and nights in vaults and charnel-houses. My attention was fixed upon every object the most insupportable to the delicacy of the human feelings.” (45) This disregard for his own well being and the consequences of his actions embodies the “mad scientist” archetype that can be seen throughout the Science Fiction genre. However, in the scene which the monster awakens, that changes and Frankenstein realizes what a grave mistake he’s made. Unlike the many remakes of the scene, the original novel doesn’t have Frankenstein gloating over his new creation, but fleeing from it. When the golem is created the rabbi doesn’t flee, but it is made clear that the golem is not human just as Frankenstein’s monster is not

Here Shelley wants us, as readers, to be repulsed by what we see. She wants us to know that knowledge is dangerous: the monster is a symbol of Victor’s knowledge to the monster by running away. This Quote “I rushed of the room, and continued a long time transversing my bedchamber”, shows that Victor is distressed by his creation. As we readed more we observed that the monster is described as Childlike, for example, when he came across the fire and was excited by it’s ‘warmth’. Here Shelley is telling us that the monster has started to feel his senses.

A Monster Or A Hero (An analysis of Frankenstein as a hero) As many people assume the story of Frankenstein to be able an awful monster, they are highly mistaken. This story created by the heartbroken Mary Shelley, produces everything but a horrendous monster named Frankenstein. Frankenstein is just your average boy growing up and finding himself. He is very interested in learning, so as he grows up he begins to study the importance of knowledge. He then attends university at Ingolstadt.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a very complex book riddled with underlying messages. From the characteristics of each individual to the main storyline Shelley depicts a world of opposites. Victor Frankenstein, a privileged young man, defies nature when his obsession with life and death has him attempting to bring someone/something to life. He succeeds and quickly goes from obsessed over its creation to disgust with its form. He then rejects his creation, which sets the stage for the terrifying events to come.

On the other hand, Victor had turned into a monster in the eye’s of the reader. Victor was seen as being cruel and unaccepting of his own creation which only wanted to be accepted by society, this victimized the monster and allowed for this change of emotion (Griffith). With the humanization of the monster, Victor came off as a bully along with the rest of the population that cast him aside. This gave a good insight on how demeaning the human race can be to one another as well as how judgemental they are. Near the beginning of the tale... ... middle of paper ... ... Griffith, George V. "An overview of Frankenstein."