Fallen Innocence in Frankenstein
"All things truly wicked start from an innocence."
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
The Creature was not born evil. Nor was his corruption his fault.
He was born innocent, without fault or sin. The Creature was turned to a
Monster after he learned of humanity, and what a cold, cruel thing it can
be. He was shunned, beaten, chased, and persecuted by those who did not
understand him. The Monster then turned bitter and vengeful, and hated his
creator for giving him life. In Marry Shelly's Frankenstein, The Creature
symbolizes fallen innocence, his childlike naivete stripped away by the
cold, uncaring world.
The Creature was truly innocent after his creation. At first, he
knew nothing but base urges and desires. He was confused buy his senses,
unable to distinguish between them. He only took clothes to shelter him
from the bitter cold, not because he was shameful. He did not even
remember his first meeting with is creator. All he desired were basic
animal needs. He hunted for fruit and nut to stop the pangs of hunger. He
slept in the forest under the stars. He sought meager shelter to keep him
dry. These were all he desired before he knew of man. Only after silently
observing a family for months did he learn of the ways of mankind. He
became self-aware and learned common knowledge. He tediously acquired a
written and oral language. Then he yearned to meet his benefactors. For
years after his creation, the Creature was innocent.
Throughout his bitter life, the Creature was dealt one blow from
humanity after another. After spending time in the cold, wet woods, he
sough...
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...ined in the wilderness, the Creature would have
retained in virtue. However, once he was brought into the world of man, he
slowly became a diabolical demon. He became bitter as he realized what he
was, and as humanity shunned and beat him. The Creature was not evil, but
he was more like Adam, who tasted of the Tree of Knowledge and opened his
eyes to his world, and was then cast from the blissful paradise of
innocence.
Works Cited and Consulted
Botting, Fred. Making monstrous. Frankenstein, criticism, theory. Manchester University Press, 1991.
Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley. Her Life, her Fiction, her Monsters. Methuen. New York, London, 1988.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Spark, Muriel. Mary Shelly. New York: Dutton, 1987.
The Australia Outback is portrayed in films as vast and red. Of Course Australia is not completely this description. In the film, Crocodile Dundee, Sue Charlton (heroine character) is a New York journalist visiting Sydney. The Irony is the complete contrast between the desert landscape, shown as a bird’s eye view in the helicopter (Scene 2 Crocodile Dundee). In Priscilla, Queen of the Desert the imagery of a “never-ending” road reaffirms the idea that Australia is an isolated place. Similarly to Crocodile Dundee, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert exposition began in Sydney. The main difference between the films the ‘outback’ where both film plo...
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maurice Hindle. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Norton Critical Edition. New York: New York. 1996.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W.
Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley - Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. New York, New York: Routledge, Chapman, & Hall, Inc., 1989. p 136.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited by: D.L. Macdonald & Kathleen Scherf. Broadview Editions. 3rd Edition. June 20, 2012
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 1999.
Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. The 1818 Text. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
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