Skip to Content (press Enter/Return)
preview

Victor And Elizabeth's Childhood In Frankenstein

analytical Essay
891 words
Open Document
891 words
  • Small
  • Normal
  • Large
  • Huge
bookmark

A child's first steps are taken in the home. These experiences shape their existence for the rest of their lives. Jean Hall says that “The family may help the child grow up...loving...or a tyrant”. This fact holds ground in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as Victor and Elizabeth's childhood and the Creatures “childhood” are vastly different, which push them down very unlike paths. These differences are made so to connect the book to Mary Shelley's overall messages she wants to articulate about: Society's emphasis on wealth and appearance, and Nature vs Nurture. Victor and Elizabeth’s childhood reflects a part of the main meaning of the whole as a commentary on the power of wealth in society. Victor was born with a not silver but golden spoon in …show more content…

In drastic contrast to Victor, The creatures early beginning had no ounce of love as victor had as Victor gave none. Naomi Hethering describes Victors want to give affection to the creature “only fleetingly“ as his first responses to the creature were of disgust, even to the point of saying “Dante could not conceived”(43) such a horror. Appearance alone caused major alienation of a son to a father or creator, and when your father cannot even accept you where can you turn? Society's judgement on appearance continues to be illuminated as his sight alone causes an entire villages to immediately erupt in violence and causes old man to run with speed “of which his debilitated form hardly appeared capable”(90). Mary Shelley addresses this conflict directly later as the creature sees his own reflection and is horrified. We know the creatures character character is good as seen with his interactions with the Blind DeLacy so the only thing to pin this drastic alienation is the creature's appearance. His appearance and happenings with others drove his contempt of the beautiful. This seen with his interactions with Justine Moritz, as he prematurely decided what her reaction would be to seeing him and resented her for it, saying that “she shall suffer...be hers the punishment”(128). Mary Shelley illustrates a picture of horror on so manys faces during the

In this essay, the author

  • Analyzes how victor and elizabeth's childhood and the creatures' "childhood" are vastly different, which push them down very unlike paths.
  • Analyzes how victor and elizabeth's childhood reflects the main meaning of the whole as a commentary on the power of wealth in society.
  • Analyzes how mary shelley illustrates a picture of horror on so manys faces during the monsters' "childhood" to comment on society's importance placed upon appearance.
Continue ReadingCheck Writing Quality

Harness the Power of AI to Boost Your Grades!

  • Haven't found what you were looking for? Talk to me, I can help!
Related
  • analytical
  • Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores a wide range of themes concerning human nature through the thoughts and actions of two main characters and a host of others. Two themes are at the heart of the story, the most important being creation, but emphasis is also placed on alienation from society. These two themes are relevant even in today’s society as technology brings us ever closer to Frankenstein’s fictional achievement.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley explores human nature through the thoughts and actions of two main characters and a host of others in her novel frankenstein.
    • Analyzes how frankenstein's monster alienated society because of his horrific physical appearance. shelley criticizes the importance of appearance in defining our roles as members of society.
    • Analyzes how alienation from society causes violent lashings out at the world that rejected him. shelley's monster sought to make victor an empathizer by killing those he loved.
    685 words
    Read More
  • Victor Frankenstein Character Analysis
    analytical essay
    Victor’s creation is an obscene self-portrait, yet it makes “‘[him turn away] in disgust’” (Shelley 130). The Lord made humans after His beautiful image and Dr. Frankenstein attempts to do the same, except Victor’s mien is flawed (Shelley 130). Therefore, if Dr. Frankenstein is faulty, his creation has flaws, as it says when comparing his appearance to Victor’s: “‘[he] is a filthy [version of Dr. Frankenstein’s semblance]’” (Shelley 130). Consequently, this horrifying guise hampers Dr. Frankenstein’s willingness to parent. Hence, Victor’s deprivation of alacrity to care for his creature nourishes its isolation. Additionally, the monster’s apparent attributes differ from his emotions; the “scar[y]”, “unearthly,” and “ugl[y]” monster is “miserable,” “agon[izing],” “remorse[ful],” “bitter,” “loath[ful],” and “despair[ing],” in reality (Shelley 216-18). The creature’s look beclouds the lonesomeness he is languishing in. Furthermore, the creature attempts to assimilate as an outcast, yet is rejected on his appearance. Correspondingly, this rejection renders the creature meaningless, sending him into depression; the rejection sparks an existential crisis. In contrast to Dr. Frankenstein’s parenting, his parents treat his adopted sister, Elizabeth Lavenza, with “fond[ness] . . . passion and . . . reveren[ce]” (Shelley 31). Elizabeth’s “crown of distinction” causes this different parenting; Elizabeth’s “fair[ness]” “attracts . . . [Victor’s] mother” to cherish her forever (Shelley 30). When contrasting Elizabeth and the creature, the differences are appearance and parenting: bright Elizabeth is prized, while the terrifying creature is

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how shelley compares adam to the creature, centering on isolation and parenting. the creature receives no support from dr. frankenstein or engages in meaningful conversations with him.
    • Analyzes how careless parenting results in the monster's horrendous appearance.
    • Analyzes how an awful appearance, through improper parenting, prevents friendships, leaving the creature isolated. serling's phrase to describe this relationship is "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
    936 words
    Read More
  • Inborn Traits vs. Self-Determination
    analytical essay
    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is a novel of interpersonal struggle between inborn traits versus the self determined willingness to work for success. The author demonstrates the contrasting personalities of Victor and the Creature specifically in regard to the nature they are born with in contrast to who they made of themselves. Innate aspects hinder personal growth for the Creature although he works hard to become a self-made man, whereas nurturing miens obstruct growth for the dignified Victor despite his fortunate nature. Shelley demonstrates sympathy with a Creature who tries to overcome his monstrous form more than a gentleman who abases him in order to convey that no matter how hard he tries to overcome his nature, personal choices can only take him so far. Through contrasting Victor’s and the Creature’s innate personas and willingness to achieve success, Shelley is allowing the reader to question whether or not a person is able to work past his genetic boundaries and inherent instincts to become whoever he wants to be, or, if he is stuck having the same success level of his parents due to his intrinsic nature. Both scenarios play a key role in the character’s lives; if Shelley had not embedded this “nature versus nurture” theme into the plotline, then the plot would have ceased to exist due to a lack of conflict on the Creature’s part.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley's frankenstein is a novel of interpersonal struggle between inborn traits versus the self-determined willingness to work for success.
    • Analyzes how victor frankenstein grew up in a supportive, stable, loving family accompanied by an unprecedented wealth and promising education. his parents, alphonse and caroline, planted seeds of kindness, knowledge, and care into young victor's heart.
    • Analyzes how victor's lack of nurture led to his downfall via his creation and abandonment of the creature. shelley conveys that trying is worth it.
    760 words
    Read More
  • Frankenstein's Childhood: A Brief Analysis
    analytical essay
    Frankenstein’s childhood is bought to the reader’s attention in Chapter One when the narration switches from Walton’s letters to the Victor Frankenstein; and his childhood and background to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein is explored in the article ‘The Family, Freud and Frankenstein’ written by Brittany Wright in 2015.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how frankenstein's childhood is bought to the reader in chapter one, when the narration switches from walton’s letters to victor
    • Analyzes how mary shelley's article 'the family, freud and frankenstein' contradicts this statement.
    • Analyzes how brittany wright's idea of introducing this context could be using the fact of how drastic frankenstein is to lead to drastic conclusions of mary shelley’s life.
    308 words
    Read More
  • The Fault of the mind
    analytical essay
    It has been shown that the way one is raised as a child can have a large effect on them as an adult; this is supported by Frankenstein and his upbringing. When telling his tale Victor explains that, “no human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself” (Shelley 45). Victor’s childhood did not prepare him in any way for the world outside of the bubble in which he was raised. He lived with no conflict and led a spoiled, with no conflict, want, or need for anything. He had no troubles and no worries his parents cared for him, and he was waited on hand and foot by others, making him expect that the real world would be just as easy, and an illusion that was cruelly halted when he left the nest. Later victor narrates that within his childhood he was told by his father, “my dear Victor do not waste your time upon this” (Shelley 46). Victor’s parents claimed that they knew best for him and planned his life out for him, essentially from birth, making key basic decisions that lead to an extreme lack of decisiveness in his adulthood. Later Victor ‘miraculously’ changes his mind and begins focusing on his future and his studies he says “when I look back ...

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how freud's theories applied to fictional characters help us better understand the sate of mind of the characters and . victor frankenstein'
    • Analyzes how victor's childhood did not prepare him for the world outside of the bubble in which he was raised. his parents planned his life out for him, making key decisions that led to an extreme lack of decisiveness.
    • Analyzes how frankenstein spent much time within his id during his young adulthood. when his mother died, he went straight to college to help his family through such a tough time.
    779 words
    Read More
  • What is This?
    analytical essay
    We all have characteristics that come from our parents as well as from ourselves. In Frankenstein Victor was an example of how someone’s child ends up different from their parents. The monster in the novel showed how cruelty and abandonment can affect a person’s mentality. Shelley tries to show the readers that loneliness is the worst thing that could ever happen to someone. It is just as bad as death; loneliness is the worst kind of murder.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how the monster in frankenstein showed how cruelty and abandonment can affect a person’s mentality. shelley tries to show the readers that loneliness is the worst thing that could ever happen to someone.
    • Analyzes how victor's parents were loving, doting, and nurturing. they wanted their children to have a good education and goals for themselves. victor is stubborn and unyielding.
    • Analyzes how victor changed from being an honest, loving, intelligent person, to someone obsessed with creating a new race. the monster was unlike his creator, and wished to hurt victor like victor had hurt him.
    709 words
    Read More
  • Victor's Ambition In Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    Victor's ambition in the field of science led him to the terrorizing secret of life which put him in an agonizing position of life and death. Victor's struggle throughout the book, to maintain his sanity and his health, is clearly highlighted by Shelley in various scenarios were Victor confronts the creature. This puts Victor as the true protagonist in the story because the audience can see what he wants and they become involved deeply in his character. Although it was ultimately Victor's fault for the savage destruction the creature brought towards Victor's life, he is the true protagonist in the story because it was not his intention to create such a horrific creature, he

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how victor's ambition in the field of science led him to the terrorizing secret of life which put him in an agonizing position of death. shelley highlights his struggle to maintain his sanity and his health.
    • Analyzes how victor, caught up in the mindset of being the first to give the gift of life, blindly worked on his experiment without realizing what he was going to create.
    • Analyzes the affliction to mankind brought by the creature's existence, but victor was a victim of his own creation. the creature committed the murders of the people victor cherished the most.
    987 words
    Read More
  • Controversy Of Victor Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    As the class has read the famous novel of Mary Shelley, “Frankenstein”, much controversy has come up concerning both the monster and Victor Frankenstein, the main characters of the book. One point of controversy is whether or not Victor remains the “true parent” after his dissertation of his own creation. What parent would desert their own child, their own creation? With that being said, after the initial “conception” of the monster, it is this student’s perception that Victor does not remain the parent of the monster because of reasons such as: he abandons the monster immediately after creation (Pg. 44 of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley), he is absolutely disgusted with the appearance of the monster (Pg. 44 of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley)

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes the controversy surrounding the monster and victor frankenstein, the main characters of mary shelley's "frankenstein".
    • Describes how victor's passion for science increases when he travels to a university to further his studies on the subject of life and death.
    • Explains that a true parent is one who loves and cares for their child no matter what the situation is. many children suffer from special needs, yet their parents still love them.
    669 words
    Read More
  • Frankenstein Child Neglect Essay
    analytical essay
    Imagine ever feeling so alone, so frozen and never quite understanding the relation others have and you don’t? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is more than the scientific dangers but the social attire of neglect and emotional/physical abuse that so many of this, and Shelley’s time, had to experience. In fact this topic is personal to me and my relationships to my late family. Society faces the same social issue of child neglect and rejection that also occurs in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and is prevalent to the fact that Frankenstein is alive today.

    In this essay, the author

    • Opines that mary shelley's frankenstein is more than the scientific dangers but the social attire of neglect and emotional/physical abuse that so many of this, and her time, had to experience.
    • Analyzes how michelle healy's article, "child neglect accounts for 75% of reported abuse cases", reflects the drastic change in societies' attitudes regarding child neglect.
    • Analyzes how marie hartwell-walker's article, "rejecting childhood rejection", reflects similar ideas discussed in mary shelley’s frankenstein.
    821 words
    Read More
  • Abuse Of Parents In Frankenstein Essay
    analytical essay
    Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein (1818) delves into the important role parent’s have on a child’s development, this is especially notable when we take a closer look at Victor Frankenstein’s relationship with his animated and conscious creation. Victor’s rejection of the monster at inception is what ultimately leads the creature down a path of isolation and despair.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley's novel frankenstein (1818) delves into the important role parents have on a child’s development.
    • Analyzes how mary shelley chose to have victor neglect the creature to deprive it from any feeling of comfort a child can find in the parent figure when it most desperately needs them.
    • Analyzes how the creature's degraded sense of self is what ultimately resulted in him committing murder.
    1170 words
    Read More
  • Parental Responsibility In Frankenstein Essay
    analytical essay
    The horror and tragedy of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein has made it one of the classics, read again and again. It shares the story of Victor Frankenstein who, seeking the end to human suffering and death, inadvertently causes his own demise when he creates the lonely being known to the readers only as “the creature”. Throughout the book, Victor struggles not only with the creature, but with himself as he fails to take parental responsibility for his own creation and it ultimately destroys him. Mary Shelley’s theme that is portrayed throughout the novel is that if no one takes responsibility for their actions, then there is no way for them to fix their mistakes and there are consequences.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley's gothic novel frankenstein has made it one of the classics, read again and again.
    • Analyzes victor's lack of parental responsibility when he abandons the creature in the first few minutes of its life.
    • Analyzes how victor shows a complete absence of parental responsibility when he denies the creature the only thing that could possibly make his life better: companionship.
    674 words
    Read More
  • Everlasting Nature Vs. Nurture In Frankenstein And Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    “I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am” (Shelley 92). Frankenstein’s Creature presents these lines as it transitions from a being that merely observes its surroundings to something that gains knowledge from the occurrences around it. The Creature learns about humanity from “the perfect forms of [his] cottagers” (90). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.” Shelley believes that the nurture of someone, or something, in the Creature’s case, forms them into who they become and what actions they take. While this is true for Frankenstein’s Creature, the same cannot be said about Victor Frankenstein.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley's frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument.
    • Analyzes how frankenstein's creature explains its reaction to different elements such as darkness and fire.
    • Narrates how a stronger light pressed upon their nerves, so that they were obliged to shut their eyes. darkness then came over them, and troubled them.
    1879 words
    Read More
  • The Quintessence Of Parenthood In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    In My Monster/My Self, Johnson explores how parenthood is showcased as a significant determining factor in how a child may develop mentally in Frankenstein. Throughout the novel, Shelley’s writing bares a stark comparison between two types of parenting. On one hand, a supportive and nurturing form of parenting can cause the child who receives this affection to become an intelligent and well-rounded being. A different form of parenting that utilizes abuse and isolation can produce a severally problematic child, who pales in comparison to the nurtured child. Victor, as a child, was treated with affection by his parents and given a bounty of educational opportunities that allowed him to mingle with the brightest minds of society. As an adult, Victor was able to become a well-educated, desired, and successful member of the scientific community. However, Victor’s creation was horribly neglected by Victor due to his harsh appearance. As a result, the creation began to experience violent outbursts that often resulted in acts of murder. These two very different experiences strengthen Shelly’s theme of parenthood within Frankenstein. Shelly showcases Victor as the prime example of neglectful parenting, while displaying mother nature to a forgiving and loving entity. In the

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes mary shelley's most prominent novel, frankenstein, where a young male scientist creates grotesque but sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.
    • Analyzes how shelly's writing bares a stark comparison between two types of parenting: supportive and nurturing, and abuse and isolation.
    • Analyzes how shelly is using the theme of parenthood to spread the concept that your act negligence will come back to haunt you.
    683 words
    Read More
  • Victor And The Creature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    At last, it is time to speak the truth about who is right and wrong. Mary Shelley gave us some information about Victor and the creature. It all started in university of Ingolstadt where Victor builds a creature with dead parts of a human body. After the creature is fabricated, Victor gets traumatized from his ugliness and exits the laboratory making the creature able to leave freely. In the Creature’s point of view, he describes Victor as the reason why he suffers because he is abandoned from his own creator and ends up isolated from the society due to his disturbing features. With all of the madness the creature went through, he got revenge on Victor by killing his relatives and close friend. This makes Victor as the main victim for causing

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley gave us some information about victor and the creature. victor is abandoned from his creator and isolated from society due to his disturbing features.
    • Analyzes how the creature's story describes how he felt after victor abandoned him. he suffered from poverty, helplessness, and his own hideousness.
    397 words
    Read More
  • Changing Familial Roles In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
    analytical essay
    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein provides a dramatic look at the effects of the industrial revolution on society. The changing interactions between the middle and working classes, as well as the changing familial roles, are explored within the novel. The treatment of children is affected by the revolution, as well as the changing familial roles. As the monster’s understanding of the world changes through the work, Shelley provides a commentary on the effects of industrial revolution on the lives of children in the family and child labor.

    In this essay, the author

    • Analyzes how mary shelley's frankenstein provides a dramatic look at the effects of the industrial revolution on society.
    • Analyzes how the early days of the monster's existence coincide with the pre-industrial world.
    • Analyzes how the middle and working classes are inherently separate, but both classes have wonder for the world changing around them. the monster wanders the countryside, after quitting the constraints and pressures of the city, to discover nature.
    1767 words
    Read More
Continue Reading