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Supernatural elements of literature
Frankenstein analysis
Abandonment and isolation in frankenstein
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Victor’s cruel and hostile actions toward his creature demonstrate his monstrous characteristics. One example of Victor’s inhumane cruelty is when he decides to abandon his creature. When Victor realizes what he has created, he is appalled, and abandons his creature because he is “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created” (42). This wretched action would be similar to a mother abandoning her own child. Victor’s ambition for renown only fuels his depravity; he brings new life into the world, only to abandon it. This act of abandonment accurately depicts Victor’s cruelty because it shows his disgust toward his own creation, as well as his lack of respect for life. An example of a hostile action is when Victor destroys the creature’s
At first, Victor believes himself superior to nature, and he builds a creature to prove his dominance. After gathering the information and materials needed to create life, Victor begins to fantasize about what he is about to do. He sees “life and death [as] ideal bounds, which [he] should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into [their] dark world. A new species would bless [him] as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to [him]” (Shelley 55). Life and death are natural things, but Victor thinks that he can “break through” them and create life. He alone would be the person to “pour a torrent of light into their dark world,” as if he was God, ruling over all of the world. This shows Victor’s lack of respect towards life and how he intends to overcome the boundaries set by nature. Unlike the Romantic who revered and honored nature, Victor wants to use it for his own gain. He expects “happy” and “excellent natures” to obey him, and he doesn’t dwell upon the consequences of his actions. His outlook changes after the Creature comes to life. As Victor stares into the watery, lifeless eyes of his creature, he finally realizes his mistake in trying to disrupt the natural order of the world. Scared by the outcome of his actions, Victor attempts to run away and find comfort in nature. He travels to the Arve Ravine, where “the
The brutal behavior that causes people to suffer or feel pain mentally or physically is known as cruelty. It is actions that people, real or fictional, experience, and these actions usually come from the one’s they love. Cruelty can either be unintentional or on purpose, and both forms negatively affect the person or object receiving the action. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, acts of cruelty, such as when Victor leaves the monster, are driving forces that causes characters to realize their mistakes, ultimately causing their own destruction. Victor’s cruel abandonment of the monster once he awakens causes the monster to feel lonely and isolated which affects his feelings towards humans and life in general in the novel.
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’ the creature is presented through many narrative voices, it is through Victor's narrative that we see the Creature as a 'wretch', 'daemon' and a 'fiend'. Mary Shelley chooses to present the creature as a ‘fiend’ due to circumstance beyond the creature’s control
Once the process of life has been initiated, individuals have a lot to consider. When Victor begins creating the first creature he is excited at the possibility of bringing his creation to life. He has no thoughts of destroying the creature at this time. However, once the creature is brought to life, and Victor realizes the monstrosity he has created, Victor wishes to abandon the creature.
After killing his younger brother, Elizabeth , and his best friend, Victor after having no family left wanted to put an end to it all so he ended up chasing his creation and dying before catching it. After bringing the creature into this world and leaving it behind to fend for itself the creature endured lots of agony and pain from society which drove its rage to Victor and his family and he ended up kill this younger brother and soon to be wife. Both were isolated from society, Victor brought isolation upon himself through locking himself up to create the creature and ignoring everything around him as stated in the article, “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest, or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage: but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature. And the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent, and whom I had not seen for so long a time. I knew my silence disquieted them; and I well-remembered the words of my father: "I know that while you are pleased with yourself, you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected.” As
Victor is so engulfed by his work that he is unaware of what is going on around him. He “bore onwards [with his work], like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success” and he wants to “pour a torrent of light into our dark world" (Shelley 55). Blinded by his yearning for making new discoveries, Victor thinks that his knowledge of the sciences will be enough for him to be successful. However, he does not understand that in order to create an auspicious relationship between him and his creation, he needs to have knowledge of society as well. Once his creation is animated, Victor is unable to see that all the creature wants is to be loved and accepted. The creature craves the maternal love that Victor denies him. From the beginning, Victor is unable to realize the significance of his creation. He describes how the creature’s “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath... [and] his hair was of a lustrous black... [and] his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 58). He immediately focuses on the negative features of his creation, and does not even attempt to learn the positive qualities. If Victor uses more social skills, rather than his knowledge of the sciences to manage his creation, all of the destruction the creation causes could have been
I believe that Victor and the creature are both right about what they want and yet monstrous in their reactions. Victor is right about what he wants; one reason is because he is very committed to his work and in creating life for his creature. On the other hand he is evil because he abandoned the creature and left him on his own: "I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited" (Shelley 57). Shelley shows Victor's monstrous reaction to the creature in the way that he abandoned the creature to his own luck and he shows no responsibility for him.
He not only turned away the being he had brought into the world; he also denied the creature companionship, friendship, and happiness while continuing to seek his own. Victor gained new purpose and even on his deathbed holds to the principle that he is justified in desiring the death of his enemy. Moment before his death he turns to Captain Robert Walton and says, “I feel justified in desiring the death of my adversary. During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blamable” (156). He even begins to lose the small amount of compassion he had for the creature’s struggle.
Victor’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death. ”(Shelley 731).
The fact the creature refers to a Biblical story teaches us that what Victor has done is not ethical or morally right as the bible connotes truth and wellbeing, the creature feels he is not treated as Adam because he is rejected like the fallen angel is from heaven; the philosophy is that one should absolve themselves of all sin, leaving the creature feeling like his is owed something from Victor. Furthermore during the romantic period it was said that ‘All man is born good’ however this contradicts the creatures life as he is sinned against, hated by Victor and feared by society from the day he was created although he did no wrong. The creature is given no chance in life like Adam was; he is simply a creation who is isolated fr...
Victor, at first sight of the Creature, abandons and leaves him to survive on his own. This is insignificant to the creature at the time, but later causes the Creature to have bitter feelings towards Victor. After the Creature discovers Victor’s notes, he becomes enraged, and incriminates Victor for the victimization that he faces; hence accusing him as a perpetrator of cruelty. Through the accusation of Victor one can see that the Creature believes that Victor should be held responsible, and owes the Creature a favor. Additionally, Victor double-crosses the Creature after obliging to create a mate for the Creature. These actions of betrayal demonstrate how Victor is a perpetrator of cruelty and how the Creature is his victim. Victor’s unintentional cruelty reveals how he only wanted what was best for himself and human kind. Victor’s betrayal is seen as an action of cruelty by the Creature, and consequently delivers the final blow that instigates the retaliation of the
...e all the evil things they have done. When he goes to Victor's coffin, the creature does the opposite of what a evil being would do. He grieves over Victor despite all the horrible things the creature has done to Victor. The creature even feels guilt over the innocent people he has killed and the torment he put his creator through. Despite Victor's actions leading the creature to commit evil deeds, the creature finds in himself to feel regret in the end.
...s creation as a way of revenge and payback for all the distress he brought to the creature. The creature, beginning as the most innocent, is alienated by his creator and every individual who witnesses his presence. Finally, Victor isolates himself from his beloved ones in order to fulfill his ambitions. All these misfortunes are caused by the lack of moral decision making. Unfortunately, these decisions ruined the life of many people involved in Victor’s life. All these events are the proof of what people’s actions can result into when isolation is a major theme in one’s life.
Monsters can come in various physical forms, but all monsters share the same evil mentality. A Monster is a being that harms and puts fear within people. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of how appearance does not determine whether a creature is a monster or not. In the story, Victor Frankenstein tries to change nature by creating a super human being. The being appears to be a monster. Victor becomes so obsessed with his creation and then rejects it. Victor is the real monster because of his desire for power, lack of respect for nature, and his stubbornness.
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor seems to fall sick after science is brought up, or something traumatic happens. This is probably because he makes himself so paranoid and anxious it makes himself physically sick. After he created Frankenstein he said, “ I trembled excessively; I could not endure to think of, and far less allude to, the occurrences of the preceding night.” (45). The previous night he had created Frankenstein and was so terrified he ran away for the night, and when he came back it was gone. The old saying “worry yourself sick” definitely holds some truth. People will become so obsessed with something that they forget to eat, sleep, drink, or excrete substances, that they physically harm themselves. Victor has a past of