Ways Mary Shelley Makes the Reader Sympathize with the Monster in Frankenstein
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’, the writer Mary Shelley presents a
character in the form of a monster who causes great destruction. He
is directly responsible for the deaths of William, Clerval and
Elizabeth, as well as contributing to the deaths of Justine and Victor
Frankenstein. Despite these acts of violence, Mary Shelley makes the
reader sympathise with the Monster. She is able to do this through
the narrative technique that shifts from character to character and by
looking very critically at Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s aim is
to make the elixir of life in order to create life. He tries to play
God and his motives are purely selfish. His main motive is self-glory
and he has no regard or had any forethought into the consequences that
might arise. Victor Frankenstein’s monster is rejected by his creator
as soon as it is created and is referred to as ‘it’ throughout the
novel, making it more of an object or an animal than a human being.
Despite the monster not doing anything wrong himself, he is blamed for
many things. This is one of the key elements that lead him to do
wrong unto others and the reader sympathises with the monster because
of this. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein is only looking for
acceptance and a friend, both are denied to him. These are things
that are taken for granted by many people and the readers again
sympathise with the monster. Frankenstein’s monster is a victim of
many things throughout the novel, and the reader’s can sympathise with
him because of this.
The novel’s narrative structure is set out…
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...oks he found he thought they could be friends. This coupled
with the monster seeing its own reflection makes it hate itself. The
monster got on well with the old man who was blind, but it was only
when the rest of the DeLacy family saw him that he was cast out,
people still made assumptions on his looks.
When the story reverts back to Walton Frankenstein asks Walton to
promise him he will stop Frankenstein. Once the monster finds the
Frankenstein is dead he proclaims that he never wanted to hurt him and
that he just wanted him to feel his pain. The readers feel sympathy
for both Frankenstein and his monster at the end as the monster casts
itself into the sea. The monster was misunderstood throughout the
novel and if people had just accepted him and given him a chance, it
would have saved everyone from suffering.
that is able to create a human life and he wants to greater than his
I have empathy for the monster because he was not created to be evil. His creator Victor D. Frankenstein and the people he encountered after he was created, were the ones who were being hateful towards him. The monster was happy and had a kind heart towards the people he met , but his kind heart and pleasant demeanor was short lived. People started talking about him in a bad way and that made the monster angry and also it made him a product of his environment. This is how he became who he was.
this are, "I am by birth Genevese and my family is one of the most
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the author’s view concerning the role that human connections play is that humans need others in their lives in order to function correctly. As conveyed by Shelley, isolation and separation from any other beings leads to misery. Not having companions around also leads to a lack of the ability to behave constructively. Shelley’s views are conveyed throughout the novel through the decaying well being of certain characters.
In her novel titled ‘Frankenstein’, Mary Shelley employs many innovative literary techniques to elicit feelings of sympathy for the monster, even though the creature’s desire for revenge may render him incapable. Are readers able to respond compassionately to the creature even though he willingly makes Victor’s life miserable by murdering those close to him?
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is filled with death and sorrow. They occur in almost every aspect of the book. The four "squares" of the book, Walter, Victor, the monster, and the cottagers, all suffer from them at one time or another. Some perceive Frankenstein as a horror story; however, in actuality it is a book of tragedy and despair. Every page reveals more misery than the page before. Thus, death and sorrow are inevitable in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
In this essay I am going to answer ‘how and why does Mary Shelley make the reader sympathise with the character of the monster in her novel Frankenstein’.
How Mary Shelley creates a sense of horror in Frankenstein. Frankenstein Introduction In this essay, I will be writing about how Mary Shelley creates sense. of horror in Frankenstein. Horror stories are usually dark and sinister.
In most novel and movies monsters are known to be evil, committing numerous crimes against humanity and are normally the ones that we don’t sympathize with. However, this novel carefully shows the reader that monsters can be good creatures, with a decent heart and act based on the actions of others. The novel shows how the monster should be pitied, rather than criticised. Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” manages to create sympathy for the creature through speech, actions and mistreatment the creature suffers.
Once learning that he is akin to his evil creator, the Monster in a fit of rage strangles the young boy to death.... ... middle of paper ... ... Before killing William, the Monster did stop to think and pondered the possibility of taking him as a friend or companion, but quickly dismissed the idea and went on to kill him anyways. With Justine, he stopped to admire her beauty but knew that she would reject him as everyone else did, so he went on to frame her anyway.
When Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is analyzed, critics comes to a conclusion about Victor Frankenstein's creation. The creature invokes the most sympathy from the readers than any other character in the novel. Because he is abandoned by society which manipulates the creature to do evil things despite his good heart. Therefore Shelley's message throughout the novel is that a person is not born evil, they are made evil.
Tragedy shows no discrimination and often strikes down on those undeserving of such turmoil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature more repulsive than one can imagine is brought to life by a young scientist. Although this creature is horrifying in sight, he is gentle by nature. Unfortunately, the softer side of the creature is repeatedly overlooked and the so called “monster” is driven to a breaking point. Even though the Creature committed many crimes, Mary Shelley’s Creature was the tragic hero of this story because of his efforts rescue the life of a young girl and helping destitute cottagers.
Although it is the same monster we see in the previous film, more depth is added to the character. The first major breakthrough for the monster was the scene he encounters the blind man. This is the first time we see him be kind. The air between the two is light and friendly, creating hope for the monster. They even solidify themselves as friends, the first big stepping stone to the transformation of the monster we soon will see. Another big plot revolves around the monsters want for someone “like him”. This suggests deep down in that conscious of his, he has realized how different, and unaccepted, he truly is. When he finally gets his wish, he soon realizes it was never meant to be. Another big breakthrough for the development of his conscious. He makes the courageous, even humane, decision to end both of their lives. The monster knows they were never meant to live, because death was always their calling. We even catch a glimpse of a lone tear stream down his cheek because of his valiant
to dominate over and control his kingdom/state, it was obviously not meant for lesser mortals. It
The Monster’s confusion about the world and his inability to understand why he cannot simply be accepted in society drives his actions. Dutoit elaborates on the not so apparent truth that The Monster goes to great lengths to assimilate by acquiring language, understanding mannerisms and participating in customs. The Monster grows fond of a family, at first he watches them carefully, paying close attention to the details of their life and even steals food, unaware of their poverty. Supporting evidence which allows for the conclusion that he is innately good and simply longing for domesticity is shown by The Monsters willingness to help the family with chores, in secret of course. Nevertheless, he is universally shunned by everyone he encounters, except for the old blind man who was willing to have a social connection with him, until his family returned home and in fear rebelled against The Monster. This constant exile only leads to a greater alienation from the social world he deeply longs to be a part of. Unfortunately, due to his outward appearance, his good intentions are ill received by the people he