Ben Kuskowski
Mrs. Rita Chapman
AP English Literature
12, September 2015
The Monster’s Prophecy
The subconscious has dominion over the vast majority of the brain. It holds influence over the vast majority of all actions within humans. It is ironic therefore, that the dominant belief among people is that the conscious mind is able entirely control one’s body. The subtle forces of the subconscious can be seen clearly in Marry Shelley’s book Frankenstein. In which, the protagonist’s creation falls victim to a self-fulfilled prophecy and is in turn met by fear and disgust from his creator.
Frankenstein’s monster was a horrid creature, Frankenstein described him as “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.” (Shelley, 58) Symbolically, the monster represents evil incarnate, a living representation of
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The real world phenomenon of self-fulfilling prophecy can be seen in the phenomenon called the Golem effect. The Golem Effect demonstrates that when people, like the monster, are viewed as lesser beings, they will act in a manner that conforms to these expectations. This effect explains the fact that once the monster had realized that his appearance was a horrid one; he began to subconsciously act like the monster that other people saw, in essence, fulfilling his prophecy. Therefore, in order to fully understand the connection between the monster’s transformation and Shelley’s argument is necessary for one to understand this phenomenon in order to understand the reasons behind the monster’s shift in
What is a monster, really? Is it really a Creature that has three eyes instead of two, with pus seeping out of every crevice in his face and an abnormally large form? Or is it someone with a mind so corrupt it rivals that of Satan? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a story within a story that centers on the tale of a man with an immense thirst of knowledge and a fetish to imitate the Creator. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a lot like the Greek mythological tale of the Greek God, Prometheus, and his brother, Epimetheus, who were assigned the task of creating man. The story captivates the theme of monstrosity. Mary Shelley wrote the novel in a form so the reader’s opinions never stray far from sympathy for the monster and apathy for Victor Frankenstein. The novel looks at “Monstrosity” and “Humanity” in a deeply analytical way.
Humans are seen by many as the exemplary species on earth, intended by God to dominate and take control of others. Humanity cannot be characterized as a physical trait; for one can appear to be human on the outside but within are nothing near a human. Within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, humanity can be considered an emotional experience; an experience where one is always longing for acceptance and naturally conforms to avoid being ostracized or different. The monster is made from human parts and in human likeness, but is not seen as a human being by many. Such is a question raised by many; is the monster human, or is he a filthy demon to which Victor Frankenstein had given life? Although a clear definition of humanity is not expressed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is in fact human due to its ability to adapt and utilize the human culture and lifestyle in many ways including longing for a companion, discovering its soul and yearning for acceptance.
As time goes on, many things tend to change, and then they begin to inherit completely different images. Over the years, the character, created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s famous novel, has changed dramatically. The monster, regularly called “Frankenstein,” has been featured in numerous films, such as Frankenweenie and Edward Scissorhands. Although, the characters in today’s pop culture and the monster in the well-known 1800’s novel have similarities, they are actually very different. The many similarities and differences range from the character’s physical traits and psychological traits, the character’s persona, and the character’s place in the Gothic style.
At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.
The creature’s moral ambiguity characteristic was a vile ingredient to the construction of this novel Frankenstein because it made the reader 's sympathies with him even after the audience knows he had committed murder because the readers had seen the truth this creature had to face. That he had tried everything within his power to peacefully live with them, to interact, communicate, and befriend them “these thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language”, that even though he was seen as a monster because of the looks he was created with, something he had no control over, he still had hope to be seen as equals, ”My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the ass and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration;” this hope of his was utterly crushed, and can only set him up for utter disappointment(12.18). Because in the end he only received hates, scorns, violence, and prejudice from his good will. So in the end of the story, Mary Shelley’s forces the readers to see within the creature’s heart and for
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein explores the downfall of certain human characteristics, set to the backdrop of creation, destruction, and preservation. The subtitle denoted by Shelly herself supports this idea, by relating the fact that the title can be viewed as either Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. One scholar, Marilyn Butler, also maintains this by noting, "It can be a late version of the Faust Myth"(302). Shelly uses the story of the main character, Victor Frankenstein, to produce the concept of a dooming human characteristic of which Frankenstein states, "I have . . . been blasted in these hopes"(Shelley, 152). The reader finds, as a result of his thirst for knowledge and infatuation with science, Victor creates a living being by whom he has "suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes"(Shelley, 17). Eventually, Victor realizes this self-destructive trait, but he is not able to save himself stating, "I have lost everything, and cannot begin life anew"(Shelley, 16). Although everything in his life that is dear has been lost, Victor is able to convince one in his same position--Robert Walton--to not "lead [his crew] unwillingly to danger"(Shelley, 151). While addressing the concept of characteristic and self-discovery, it is possible to realize that the monster also possesses the characteristics held by both Victor and Walton; except in his learning, the monster is driven to continue to cause destruction. Most important about the thirst for knowledge is that, as a form of human characteristic or downfall, it leads to large, critical pieces of self-discovery. In obtaining these critical pieces, Frankenstein finds satisfaction in j...
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.
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
A monster is not a monster unless he intentionally wants to hurt many and his plans are to hurt many. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the monster is portrayed as an evil, hideous creature through everyone’s eyes. Victor Frankenstein creates a monster and once he brings him to life he abandoned him, leaving him to learn and discover the world by himself. The monster has to learn his way around society while being rejected by society because of this looks. Frankenstein’s monster is seen as evil because the way people treated him caused him to act out. The monster is not inherently evil because he helps others, has emotions, and does not fight back when he is attacked.
The fact that Frankenstein’s creation turns on him and murders innocent people is never overlooked; it has been the subject of virtually every popularization of the novel. What is not often acknowledged is the fact that Frankenstein himself embodies some of the worst traits of humankind. He is self-centered, with little real love for those who care about him; he is prejudiced, inflexible and cannot forgive, even in death. While some of these traits could be forgivable, to own and flaunt them all should be enough to remind a careful reader that there are two "monsters" in Frankenstein.
However, this proves to be insufficient, as once the monster uses the symbolic power of language, an expression of the conscious, he no longer ca...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment.
For moviegoers Frankenstein’s Monster is a green, shambling corpse, with its stitched together construction held together by two bolts on its neck, as it moans and groans inhumanly. A deeper look into the actual book by Mary Shelly, Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus, however, shows a far more terrifying visage: something that’s almost, but not quite, human. A being that, while “about eight feet in height”, still had a soul that “glowed with love and humanity” at birth, which causes it’s transformation into a serial killer to be far more chilling (Shelly 100). The source of the Monster, and how it differs from other characters, is what obviously creates this irreconcilable gap from the human characters. Contextually, during the writing of Frankenstein, industrialization swept through Mary Shelly’s Great Britain. The change in society caused by industrialization can be seen in the work as a whole. Thus it is clear Frankenstein argues that the loss of originality in an industrialized society leads to dehumanization and alienation, as exemplified in the manufactured Monster.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Shelley uses irony through a character, Victor Frankenstein, to show the flaws of humanity. Victor tries to act as God and creates life using dead bodies from a graveyard to form a new one, in doing so, Victor becomes horrified of the monster and his looks and abandons the creature, leaving it to fend for itself. By doing so, Shelley showed Victor’s true humanity, a man who wanted to play God, yet he disregarded his role as a creator to care and teach his creature the way of life. Similarly, Shelley also uses the monster to show the importance in nature versus nurture, the consequences of the monster seeking revenge, and man’s importance of appearance.