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Frankenstein character analysis essays
Essay on victor frankenstein's character
Victor frankensteins character essay
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The unnatural creature that haunts Victor and the many similarities between the two characters play a vital role in the novel. In the novel, both Victor Frankenstein and the creature have catastrophic leading flaws. The fallout that occurs between Victor and the creature makes the reader see how the creature’s flaws are almost exactly like the flaws of Frankenstein just under different circumstances, and how they both succumb to evil, revenge, and death. The pride and ambition of Victor leads misery and revenge between the creature and Victor.
From the very beginning of Victor’s creation of the creature, both Victor and the creature experience misery. Victor’s misery comes from his creation of such a hideous creature leading him to abandon
At the beginning or the story, Victor lives in ecstasy, reveling in life’s every joy. Desolation and darkness no doubt had minor roles in his life, but these were glanced over in an instant, as Victor was remembering the times as good and perfect. The harsh dichotomy of this perspective and the perspective he maintained for the majority of the novel after the creation of the creature is stunning. After, he saw the world as always filled with darkness and loneliness. He even stated that he almost caught himself feeling happiness at one point and stopped himself. This distortion that the world became a fruitless wasteland is simply untrue, but it sheds light on how totally our feeling twist our perception of the world. By shoeing the polar opposites, the novel further emphasizes how our outlook on life shapes what we see in the world around us, for better or for
Victor and Manfred share an important similarity: the desire for radical autonomy. The paths the two characters embark on to follow this desire differ, causing Manfred to be seen a as an admirable protagonist, while Victor’s continuing attempts to attain a defiant autonomy prove to be self-defeating, and he is unable to attain a complete independence because of his responsibility for the monster, which grows and transforms into a dependency of the monster. Although the shared drive of being defiant in their independence is a key factor for the outcomes of both stories, Victor’s inability to be accountable for the responsibility he holds presents a critique of the Byronic hero in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein demonstrating that without the ability
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...
The monster of the novel is often misattributed with the name, “Frankenstein.” However, Victor Frankenstein can ultimately be considered the true monster of this tale. His obsession would lead to the corruption of his soul and the creation of two monsters—one himself, and the other, the creature. In attempting to take on the role of God, nature would become a monster to Victor and destroy his life. These elements of monstrosity in Frankenstein drive the meaning of its story.
At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.
It is not so easily seen that the two share a human instinct that is the need for love. This parallel is drawn from Victor and the monster through their feelings of desperation in their search for love and how they feel greatly misunderstood. Victor has been provided with the opportunity for love, yet puts himself in an isolated state, which ultimately leads to his downfall. “I, who had ever been surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavouring to bestow mutual pleasure, I was now alone.” (32) Through Victor rejecting love and creating a self-imposed seclusion, he does not treat the creature with care once it is brought to life\. Victor had once known what it is like to be cared for, although the monster never once feels what it is like to be loved. “I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.” (129) Victors loneliness was put upon himself, similarly, the monster’s loneliness was also due to Victor through his neglect. The monster is craving that sense of security brought by a family who will show him love while Victor is leaving his. These two situations are contradictory, but it is what brings them to their
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the monster that he creates are very similar. For example, Victor creates the monster to be like himself. Another similarity is that the anger of both Victor and the monster is brought about by society. One more parallel between Victor and the monster is that they both became recluses. These traits that Victor and the monster possess show that they are very similar.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
No, because abandoning the monster left him open to abuse by others who would reject him, therefore leading him to want to take revenge. If Frankenstein were to raise his creation the way he wanted to before he came alive, then the monster would not have felt abandoned and kill his brother. Frankenstein had the power to change his future in a positive way I he hadn't left the monster.
In order to get Victor to create a female companion for him, the creature targeted Victor’s emotions with a pathological approach. The monster recalled the following moment to Victor, a moment where he was at one of his all time lows: “I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept”
...e seeking help and strength to take care of problems in their lives. Victor Frankenstein is a man with a loving and caring family. Family and friends are an important part of his life. He has his whole life in front of him, when creates his monster. He creates the monster in the likeness of man with same need of love and affection as man. Although, this is his creation, he lets the monster down and does not care for him. The monster begins to feel neglected and lonely and wants desperately to have a human relationship. The monster turns angry and revengeful because he is so sad and abandoned. He wants Victor to feel the way that he does, all alone. The monster succeeds and Victor ends up losing all the important in his life and his own life. In the end, the monster dies and the need for human relationship becomes the destruction for both the monster and Victor.
Victor Frankenstein proves his ability of holding ultimate knowledge by creating life, but as a whole, the society shows a greater impact over others. The Creature 's physical strength plays a vital role in the novel as well. Through the Creature’s many murders, he showed his strength and mental drive to accomplish the things he wanted. The desire for power plays a vital role within the novel, pushing the characters to act out in either a positive or negative manner. Victor Frankenstein, the Creature, and the society all show a different type of influence over others within the novel, creating different desires of
However, Victor's irresponsibility is merely a continuation of how he deals with The Creature. One terrible way he treats The Creature is he cruelly withholds a companion from the helpless and lonely Creature. This irresponsible action causes The Creature to wail, saying, "'Shall each man,' cried he, 'find a wife for his bosom and each beast have his mate, and I be alone?'" (204). This is the turning point for The Creature: this cry of pain marks the end of his hope for an enjoyable life. No longer can he realistically wish for someone who will love him for who he is. Despite being the sole human who can provide for this dire need, Victor chooses to irreparably break The Creature's heart. Instead of rehabilitating him, altering his emotions from deep sorrows to jubilation, he plays with The Creature's emotions by starting to create a mate but then ripping it to pieces. Though he has power, Victor, by not assembling a suitable companion, demonstrates total irresponsibility. By creating a new race, it becomes his, and only his, responsibility to provide him a similar partner. The Creature, distraught by this new reality, one without any chance for love, decides immaturely to ruin his creator's life. In vengeance, The Creature leads his creator on a chase for him, in which Victor attempts to end The
It is very typical to assume that the monster represents the evil side, yet it is Victor Frankenstein who creates it and steps aside from the responsibility. Victor’s actions, characterized with cowardice, lead to the death of his young brother, and later his wife Elizabeth. As a result of Victor’s selfish and evil nature, the creature haunts him endlessly. The monster becomes the external embodiment of Frankenstein’s increasingly conflicted personality. The creature’s grotesque physical appearance displays the image of the purely intellectual and heartless Victor Frankenstein, who is the opposite of the young man who begins his studies with hope and desire to contribute to the improvement of humanity.