Perception and reality has a complex relationship; have you ever come across that one person who was the complete opposite of what you had perceived? His or her personality was nothing like what you had thought? When you meet an individual up close and personal, they can be very different than what you had presumed. Mary Shelly in her book Frankenstein challenges traditional perception of how looks are associated with an individual’s character. In her book, she demonstrates how looks can be deceiving by comparing and contrasting attributes of a human to a monster. A monster may lack the delicate appearance of its counterpart but may share all other emotional and personality traits as that of a human.
In the novel, Victor, a researcher captivated by the puzzle of the making of life, starts to ponder how the human body is built and how it comes apart. After quite a long while of handwork, he goes above and beyond: finding the mystery of life. Secretly, concealed away in his flat where nobody can see him work, he chooses to start the development of an animate creature, imagining the production of another race of magnificent creatures. The monster’s body is giant with “yellow skin”, “lustrous black hair” and “pearly white teeth”
…show more content…
When Victor curses the monster as an evil spirit, the monster reacts to Victor's coarseness- “devil”, “do you dare approach me”, with astounding expressiveness and sensitivity- “I expected this reception. You my creator”, proving himself an educated, emotional, and stunning individual (Shelley 54). For a reader, whose involvement with the creature's grotesqueness is secondary, it is anything but difficult to recognize the human sensibility inside him and feel for his difficulty, particularly in light of Victor’s relentless contempt for him. The hole between the monster and Victor, and between the monster and individuals, all in all, is subsequently
Rather, it is others who alienate it because of its grotesque appearance. The monster is quite literally ‘born’ into perpetual isolation beginning with Victor’s abandonment of it. He denies it domestic safety when he flees to his bedchamber. Victor disregards the monster’s utterance of “inarticulate sounds while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” then escapes its outstretched hand “seemingly to detain [him]” [Shelley 49]. Examining the monster’s body language as though an impressionable infant, its actions can be read as a child-like plea for its father though the absence of speech not yet learned. Instead, its unattractive appearance causes Victor to run, leaving the creature alone with no information about himself or his surroundings. Therefore, Victor’s abandonment is a crucial justification of the monster’s negative experiences with society and nature and actions in desiring community. The monster’s alienation from family is the missing first school of human nature, and the first lesson where he learns he does not belong. The creature leaves into the wilderness to learn about the world and himself on it own, only to understand his interactions are
It is scientifically proven, that people prefer attractive people. Appearances help millions of good-looking men and women across the country advance in their careers, get free drinks, and receive more opportunities. But, Mary Shelley juxtaposes the physical deterioration of Victor as her novel, Frankenstein, progresses and the creature’s ugly physical appearance and the motif of clouds juxtapose with birds to argue that appearances may be deceptive. She argues through the juxtaposition of Victor and the creation’s death that ultimately it is through death, one of nature’s devices, that allows us to see the character of a person. Shelley juxtaposes the physical deterioration of Victor with the ugly appearance of the creation to prove that time will reveal a person’s character.
Shelley 94). Victor’s various thoughts of rage and hatred that had at first deprive him of utterance, but he recovers only to overwhelm the creature with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt, as he recalled creature’s misdoings to his loved ones. However, Victor pauses to “conceive,” to “feel,” and to “reason” with monster (M. Shelley 94). As Victor follows his creation, he notices the “air [to be full] of exultation” and “the rain” beginning “to descend,” showcasing Victor’s consent to change his view. (M. Shelley 98). Chapter 10 is exemplary of the Romantic Period where story becomes an allegory for real emotions and struggles. Victor’s
Throughout the history of mankind, the question of what it means to be a human being has been contemplated for centuries. Numerous philosophers have read and debated this significant question and it is still reflected upon today. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley plumbs the depth of this question with the example of a creature who is spurned by humanity despite being human in character. The discernment of creature from man is still misconstrued as shown in this tale, but its importance lies in the message Frankenstein that appearances matter very little when it comes to being human. The creature’s human qualities of its emotions, desire for companionship, and intelligence set it apart as uniquely human from simply a base and barbaric monster
Victor animated the creature from dead body parts, effecting his creature’s appearance when he came alive. He couldn’t even look at his creation, and thought that it was malodorous, without thinking how unwanted and helpless the creature feels. With little hope for the creature because of his unappealing appearance, Victor does not bothering to wait and see if he has a good interior or not. As a result of Victor not taking responsibility, the monster decides to take revenge. The monster is repeatedly denied love and deals with the loneliness the only way that he can, revenge, killing Victor’s loved ones making him lonely just like
The creature was disgusting and Victor did not know what to do. Meanwhile, the creature felt lonely, for he was the only one of his kind on the Earth. He wanted attention like everyone else, so this drove the monster mad. One could even argue that Victor is the monster himself, for creating this dangerous creature. Even though he looks normal on the outside, he is really the true monster because he is so obsessed with hating it, he fails to give it
In the novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley the motif of cruelty functions as a motive and mode of retaliation. Both Victor and the Creature portray the roles of the perpetrator and victim of cruelty as seen through the rejection the Creature receives from the humans, Victor’s betrayal to the Creature, and the revenge sought out by the Creature.
Like a child longs for a mother’s love, the monster longs for the love of his creator. When the monster was first created, Victor says that the monster looked at him “while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.” The monster looks at Victor with love and instead of receiving love in return, he receives complete rejection. The monster cannot understand why his own creator does not love him like God loved Adam. The monster believes he should be like Adam but is “rather the fallen angel.” God made man in his own image and loved Adam even with his flaws. Yet, victor made “a monster so hideous that [Victor] turned from [his creation] in disgust.” This rejection from Victor makes the monster angry and
When Victor goes to college and his interest in science and nature grows, his curiosity to find the secret of immortality causes him to want to create a creature and bring it to life. Victor starts to create his unnatural work hoping that it will bring success in the future, “I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect, yet when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success.” (43). Victor states his concerns about what he plans to do but dismisses them based on the importance he places on his work. For that reason, he starts to meddle with nature to create something no one can do but God. Finally, when Victor completes his creation, the monster, he realizes that he has made a serious mistake by interfering with nature, “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.” (47). He thinks he has achieved this beautiful dream of creating a life, but now that he has, all he can see is an ugly monster. Trying to take on divine creation fails and instead of beauty, all Victor can create is something horrifying. Therefore, disrupting with nature is a trait that proves Victor is the true monster because it is a limit that no human should overstep. Eventually, it will come to a miserable
“Slowly Victor comes to identify with the Monster, whom he calls "my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave" (p. 76); he begins to think of himself as "the true murderer" of William (p. 87); cries that Clerval has "fallen a victim to me and the monster of my creation" (p. 183); and blames himself for Elizabeth's death (p. 185)” (Foust). Victor also hates the Creature because he believes he is a failure that is haunting him. The novel's interest lies in Victor's gradual realization that his true relationship to the Monster is that of the doppelgänger, rather than that of creator and created. The fantasy conflict is structured upon an implicit assumption of the binary, rather than the unilateral, relationship between nature and culture.
The creature essentially changes the mood of the story once he was brought to life by Victor Frankenstein.. The suspense that was building up from Victor dedicating 2 years of his life to create a monster disappeared as soon as he made eye contact. He described his feelings
Throughout every individuals life there are experiences of unfair judgments based on someone’s appearance. While this is never a good thing, it is an action that everyone takes part in, whether it is purposeful or not. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s message is very clear as she illustrates the cruel events that take place in a society focused only on outside beauty. The central message that Shelley communicates with Frankenstein, is that while appearance is just one of an individuals many characteristics; it is always a factor they are judged on regardless of all the other qualities they may possess.
This was considered abnormal, as during Shelley’s context, religion had significantly influenced the values of the time. Therefore, as Victor has usurped God, he has overstepped the boundaries of religion. He becomes punished when the “dull yellow” eyes of his monster open where its physical monstrosity overcomes Victor. His disgust and fear of his own creation leads to him labeling it the “scoffing devil”, where the monster becomes an “abortion” and isn’t provided with love and care, a basic human
Science is fluid. Its existence has been of great curiosity for centuries to humans, and its ever-changing qualities keep it an endless topic of study. Disregarding its continuous novel discoveries, the fluidity of science is due to it’s wide branches. As the popularity of science began to rise, it began to sprout with the encounters of distinctive areas of study. With multiple divisions of knowledge, scientists would devote their entire lives to one chosen discipline.
This reveals a great deal about Victor’s character rather than the Creature; Victor deems the Creature monstrous simply because he is not as beautiful as Victor had hoped. Victor’s God complex fuels his narcissism, “I had selected his features as beautiful” (Shelley, 43). The Creature later explains that in the first few moments of his life he reached for Victor for affection and reassurance, but was left cold and alone. As the Creature fends for himself out in the world, he witnesses nature and beauty and develops an intense self-loathing. When he witnesses the beauty of William Frankenstein playing outdoors, he longs for the same pure appearance and for a companion.