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The Nature of Human Values
Personal values and attitudes
How does society shape personal values
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In society, there are those that live up to “normal standards” and are considered insiders and those rejected from society, or the outsiders. Each one relates to different perspectives on life, people, and beliefs. Some outsiders wish to become part of a community, and others are satisfied in exile. Communities are based on relations with other people and systems to depend upon, while outsiders depend on themselves and don’t share relations with other people. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the monster as an outsider tries to gain entry into a community, but eventually turns against society due to the fact that he seeks vengeance for his misery. One of the main reasons why people become outsiders is because of their physical appearance. In Frankenstein, many considered the monster’s physical appearance a disability, and because …show more content…
The monster believes that he has an opportunity of being accepted into this family because as he assumes: “when they should become acquainted with my admiration of their virtues, they would compassionate me, and overlook my personal deformity.”(144) This means that he believes they will look beyond his physical appearance and see the good in him. He also admits: “As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil; benevolence and generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed”, meaning he would do anything to become someone with good and admirable qualities, such as them. But with his past experiences, he is afraid they might reject him: “I longed to join them, but dared not”.(127) When his cottagers turn against him, he looses something very dear to him, the only people he felt close to. Therefore, he also looses his hope of becoming part of
Seeking friends, they found enemies; seeking hope, they found hate. Social outcasts simply want to live as the rest of us live. Often, in our prejudice of their kind, we banish them from our elite society. Regardless of our personal perspective, society judges who is acceptable and who is not. Some of the greatest people of all time have been socially unacceptable. Van Gogh found comfort only in his art, and with a woman who consistently denied his passion. Edgar Allen Poe was considered "different" - to say the least. These great men, as well as Grendel and Frankenstein, do not “fit” into society. Also like these men, Grendel and Frankenstein are uniquely superior to the rest of mankind. Their superiority is seen through their guile to live in a society that ostracizes their kind, their true heroism in place of society's romantic view, and the ignorance on which society's opinion of them is formed.
This is one of the first times the monster feels the way he does. Thus leading to the desperation for friendship from De Lacey and his family, which doesn’t work. As humans we judge books by their cover a lot, this is what happened in the creatures’ case. He was judged by his hideous appearance before they knew he was compassionate, and affectionate. The family was terrified, and moved away never to be seen again by the monster. This builds up an unstoppable rage within him, leading for the desire of friendship grow stronger. The monster is desperate for friend ship, for the love and attention that other humans have. The creature states, “…my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures; to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition” (94). This quote shows how the monster yearns, or craves the affection of a human being. No one else understands what it is like to be on this side of the story because he is so alone, and the only of his kind. The monster cannot talk to anyone, he is of no relation to anyone, or anything on the planet he was forced into and
When the monster dwells on the fact that he has no friends, money, and property because of the way he looks he claims, “I was besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man”(Shelley 102). With the monster’s emotion toward his first encounters, he struggles with accepting who he is because he feels the hatred from others. The words “deformed and loathsome” express the disgusted and discomfort that clouds the thoughts of each human during their first encounter. He recognizes his differences in comparison to others and begins to become self-conscious when he attempts to come out into the community. In the same aspect, humans today feel the same way when they look different than the ones around them.
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.
...society as a whole. When one is taunted or ostracized, the pain they feel is not only emotional but physical as well. The notion “sticks and stones” has been shown to be untrue. Sian Beilock, Ph.D. spoke about research which shows that, “intense social rejection really does share a lot in common with physical pain”. People that are abandoned, teased, rejected, taunted, or ridiculed by their peers may at first seek to do good things, as the monster in Frankenstein attempted. Should this not result in acceptance, these same seemingly weak people can strike out with devastating consequences. This leaves us to wonder, “How could we have stopped the tragedy “? As Shelly’s novel Frankenstein demonstrates, if society treats a person as an outcast simply because of their physical appearance, the end results can be catastrophic for the victims and for the perpetrators.
His time watching the cottagers taught him what true kindness is. His benevolent actions of helping the cottagers without them knowing proves that he did not need to learn compassion from a creator. The monster is horrified to learn that his good nature does not show on his physical appearance, and he was “...unable to believe that it was indeed [the monster] who was reflected in the mirror; and when [he] became fully convinced that [he] was in reality the monster [he] was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. ”(Shelley 417). He is kind to the blind cottager in hopes of getting the compassion back that he always craved; however when he is rejected by even his ‘cottage friends’ he realizes how unjust it is that “no entreaties cause [them] to turn a favorable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion,” (Shelley 360).
The point is everyone looks the same when it comes down to it, so society should not judge by the way a person lives their life without the background information. The monster wants to be able to be loved by someone, which will not hurt him or disown him. “It’s warmth and rest that I need,” Humans are not accepting of new things which makes the
I had the opportunity to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley several years ago and it became one of my favorite books. My initial feeling was sorrow, what a wonderful story that has been slowly destroyed by Hollywood through the years. We think of Victor Frankenstein as a mad scientist trying to destroy mankind, and the monster having bolts in his neck with very little intellect. Mary Shelley’s book is completely different from the Hollywood version we are accustom to. The monster is intelligent and has emotions, the mad scientist or Victor was scared of his own creation due to his appearance. The monster initially showed no signs of evil in the novel, but where did he learn it from? Who is the real evil monster
There are so many types of friendship that can be developed intentionally or unintentionally by all humans. It's hard to accept that sometimes because we might need the help of someone who if it wasn't for the current need we would be happy not to even speak a word to him or her. All of us at some time or another we make conscious decisions on who our friends are. Frankenstein didn't have such luxury. He didn't have a circle of friends to choose from. He only had those who wanted to use him for their own convenience and it is in this way that he learned that friendship could be that. An exchange of favors by people he really didn't trust.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, loneliness is a key theme. There comes a point in the novel where Dr. Frankenstein has to make a decision: to either make his creature an equal woman companion or to refuse his protégé and face the dire consequences. At this point, Frankenstein is knowledgeable that his creation is the murderer of his brother (and indirectly caused the execution of his family friend Justine). He sees just exactly the problems that his creation has caused and how much pain his family is in from suffering these losses. On the other hand, the monster offers peace and a ceasefire on Frankenstein’s family if he obtains what he most desires. This could potentially make his creature less miserably alone, which ultimately could benefit Frankenstein and those who are dearest to him, as well the rest of mankind because the monster would in theory not be harming humans anymore. I personally take the stance that there are too many variables in the creation of life for Frankenstein to be messing with them not once, but twice in one lifetime.
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
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein expresses human nature specifically through the character of the “Creature” and his development. The Creature has an opportunity to explore his surroundings, and in doing so he learns that human nature is to run away from something so catastrophic in looks. The Creature discovers that he must limit himself in what he does due to the response of humans because of his deformities. I feel that Mary Shelley tries to depict human nature to running away from the abnormal, which results in alienation of the “abnormal.” Even today, people have a prejudice against someone or something that is abnormal, and these people will act differently towards this abnormality that is put in front of them. In the novel, Shelley seems to suggest a conception of humanity that is deeply influe...
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.
At first, The Monster is very kind and sympathetic. He has a good heart, as shown when he collected firewood for the family on the brink of poverty. Like every other human creation, he was not born a murderer. All the Monster wanted was to be accepted and loved by Victor Frankenstein and the other humans but instead he was judged by his appearance and considered to be dangerous. The Monster says, “like Adam, I was created apparently united by no link to any other being in existence…many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (page 105). This line is an important part of the novel because the Monster lets it be known how like Adam he was created into this world completely abandoned and like Satan he is angry with those people who have found contentment and satisfaction in their lives. The rejection and unwelcome feeling he is faced with, is the main reason the Monster becomes a killer. Watching another family show love towards each other made the Monster realize how alienated he truly was. He did not know how to deal with his pain and emotions so he murders as
Friendship is one of the most common human desires found all over the world in every different type of people. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this deep-seeded need is explored, especially as it manifests itself in the hearts of three great men. Captain Walden writes to his sister about the loneliness that he is experiencing on his journey at the very start of the book. Then, as the story progresses, a similar want can be found in Victor despite his tightly woven relationship with Henry Clerval. The Creature is constantly denied his lust for companionship demonstrates the horrible consequences of incessant loneliness. His amiable nature combined with his grotesque appearance proves to be a horrific collaboration that serves only in gaining rejection as he is shunned, quite irrationally, over and over again by all living beings. The Creature's suffering could only be abandoned if he were able to encounter an unprejudiced and completely tolerant friend. Shelley masterfully conveys the importance of a kindred spirit and the overall necessity of loyalty between people.