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Mary shelley's narrative style and diction used in frankenstein
Critically examine the character of the monster in mary shellys frankenstein
Critically examine the character of the monster in mary shellys frankenstein
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Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley is the perfect support novel for the ongoing controversial debate of nature vs. nurture. Frankenstein, a story about Robert Walton, who is a swedish young student, learns that he can take a dead being and its body parts, and can create a monster. In this story after Walton creates a monster who is rejected from society, the monster promises that he will get vengeance on his creator for the rest of his life. The nature vs nurture debate is used to help answer the question “what makes a person who they are?”. Nature, like a person’s genetic code, and nurture, like a person’s surroundings mentally and physically, have strongly affect how we as individuals are different when it …show more content…
comes to our behavior, mental processes, and personality.
There is an ongoing study of this phenomenon where scientist are trying to be able to pinpoint whether nature or nurture plays a more dominant role in making who we are as individual people. Frankenstein accurately portrays how nurture is the dominant component in what makes a person who they are. Through comparing and contrasting nature vs. nurture, we see how both of these affected the outcome of the monster’s life, but when viewed with a larger microscope it is obvious that the nurture of the monster played a larger role in how his life turned out.
To see how the nurturing of the monster affected him in the future, we first view what and how nature changed him. The English Victorian Explorer known for being a Statistician, sociologist, psychologist, and many other titles, Sir Francis Galton said “Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world; nurture is every influence from without that affects him after his birth.” In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Shelley addresses the
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nature vs. nurture conflict. Are kids the end result of their genetic makeup or the surroundings, mentally and physically, that they were raised in? Victor Frankenstein created a child, who after creation, he abandons. If Victor hadn’t abandoned this child, would his future have turned out differently? Did this abandonment, being forced to live in isolation, and anger of the situation cause him to be evil, or was he born with a genetic makeup that made him evil and that be how he was supposed to live? The nature of frankenstein is shown in the novel. “Some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country.. Here then I retreated, and lay down happy to have found a shelter, however miserable, from the inclemency of the season, and still more the barbarity of man (Shelley 93-94).” The creature doesn’t resort to violence or make an effort to defend himself against his attackers, which shows how innocent he really is. In the beginning he is pure, and has the best intentions at heart even when others show him cruelty. But over the course of the novel, we see how as the environment he’s in becomes more negative, the more his actions, feelings about himself/others, and future intentions change badly because the environment he was in and negative energy of it all changed him. Then on the other hand, there is how if the monster was nurtured better then maybe his life would’ve turned out that much better.
“Perhaps, if my first introduction to to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations (117)”. Now we see where the creature recognizes how the environment affected his attitude, actions, and character. If it weren’t for the cottagers teaching him and shaping him into a being who possessed qualities like kindness, caring for others, and being helpful then he would’ve been a totally different being. He acknowledges that if he were brought up by someone like a soldier, then his behavior and actions would’ve been completely different in line 124 of the novel: “There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me, and sent me forth to this insuperable misery (124)”. The creature doesn’t act the same anymore after his discouraging confrontation with Safie, Felix, and Agatha. Ever since that encounter he is completely different. He went from being such a helpful and kind trusting being to a creature that is so hateful. The environment and his struggles caused him change who he was and the way he saw people in a way that reflected his never ending depressing
life. While there are many lines and important touching parts in the novel that support the value of nurture in a person/being's life over the nature of that being, these are a few that stuck out to me. If you were that monster, would the love and compassion shown/not shown to you through nurturing him have had a greater impact on your morals and the way you see life/people? Or if something is born a monster and just automatically posses those qualities, does that mean they have to be a monster? Humans are born with teeth which allow them to chew tough food like meat.. But what if someone’s a vegetarian? Do they have to eat meat because they were born thinking they had to because everyone else did and they had teeth, or is one's upbringing and the love/support of one's family change that person’s life and views? It’s clear that how someone is nurtured at the beginning and throughout life has the more dominant impact on that person’s life.
In Frankenstein, various themes are introduced. There are dangerous knowledge, sublime nature, nature versus nurture, monstrosity, and secrecy and guilt. I chose a main theme as nature versus nurture. Nature is some traits that a person is born with, and nurture is an environment that surrounds a person. The novel indirectly debates whether the development of individual is affected more by nature or by nurture through Victor and the Monster.
“I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am” (Shelley 92). Frankenstein’s Creature presents these lines as it transitions from a being that merely observes its surroundings to something that gains knowledge from the occurrences around it. The Creature learns about humanity from “the perfect forms of [his] cottagers” (90). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.” Shelley believes that the nurture of someone, or something, in the Creature’s case, forms them into who they become and what actions they take. While this is true for Frankenstein’s Creature, the same cannot be said about Victor Frankenstein.
In a world full of novelty, guidance is essential to whether a being’s character progresses positively or negatively in society. Parents have a fundamental role in the development of their children. A parent’s devotion or negligence towards their child will foster a feeling of trust or mistrust in the latter. This feeling of mistrust due to the lack of guidance from a parental figure is represented in the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his creation in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The creature created by Frankenstein was shown hatred and disgust from the very beginning, which led to its indignant feelings toward his creator and his kind.
American psychologist and well renowned author Jerome Kagan states “Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form.” The topic of nature vs. nurture is highly known to the English literature community and is classified as a major aspect of gothic works. In the novel Frankenstein the author Mary Shelley uses the monster’s constant rejection from society to demonstrate that an individual’s traits are affected more by their environment and their surroundings than by nature.
The creature who has been leading a solitary existence by observing the Delacey family, exclaims “The more I saw of them, the greater my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures” (Shelley 112). Being isolated from most of society, the creature’s only contact with mankind is through observing the Delaceys. Unlike any base monster, the creature has “yearning” that originates in his heart. Because the creature relates with the Delaceys as “amiable creatures” his desire for companionship with them is brought forth, further distinguishing him as distinctly human. Miserable and lonely, the creature desires to also “claim their protection and kindness” which demonstrates how the creature desires even more than just mere companionship but also to be loved. Most importantly, the creature desires acceptance into their family as one of their own. Although he observed the family, the creature took a radical and somewhat desperate choice to abduct Victor’s younger brother: “If I could therefore seize him, and educate him as my companion and friend, I should not be so desolate”. (Shelley 121). Such extremes show to what lengths the creature was willing to go to gain companionship and acceptance. Without companionship, the creature cannot survive in happiness, but he yearns for it and cannot do without it. Once again, the human need for companionship comes to the forefront of the creature’s purpose and endeavors and he is not fulfilled without it. Far from being an emotionless, brutish monster, the creature need for a friend aligns it to mankind’s basic
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.
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s inevitable evilness. Victor was not predestined to failure, nor was his creation innately depraved. Rather, it was Victor’s poor “parenting” of his progeny that lead to his creation’s thirst for vindication of his unjust life, in turn leading to the ruin of Victor’s life.
The question “What makes us who we are?” has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born “good”, “evil”, and as “blank slates”, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in “good” homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818 to voice her opinions about determining personality and the consequences and repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially "good" in the beginning of life, but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as Frankenstein), Victor Frankenstein’s creature with human characteristics shows us that people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates how the influence of society can change one’s outlook of others and life itself by his reactions to adversity at “birth”, and his actions after being alienated and rejected by humans several times.
After his creation, Frankenstein’s monster is left in isolation, cursed to endure people’s hatred towards him. This revulsion met by onlookers is merely based on the creature’s hideous looks. The monster is not actually a monster at all. He displays more humanity than many other characters in Frankenstein. The ultimate irony is that the prejudicial belief is what caused the reanimated human to become a monster. In the nature versus nurture debate, proponents of the nature theory believe that a person is unchanging and that one’s experiences do not affect that person’s behavior. If this were true, the monster would not change as a result of his interactions with humans. It is undeniable that the creature does immoral things, but when Frankenstein’s monster saves a little girl from drowning, Mary Shelley takes a clear stance that the creature was naturally noble but became monstrous as a result of interactions with humans.
In today’s world of genetically engineered hearts and genetically altered glowing rats, the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, seems as if it could be seen in the newspapers in our near future. The discoveries seen in modern science, as well as in the novel, often have controversy and negative consequences that follow them, the biggest of which being the responsibility the creator of life has to what has been created. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a variety of internal and external conflicts stemming from the creation of his monster, which in return also experiences similar problems. Shelley uses these tumultuous issues to portray the discrepancies between right and wrong, particularly through romanticism and the knowledge of science.
Andrew Lustig proposed a great question to the readers of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, “How far should we go in out efforts to alter nature, including human nature? As stewards of God’s creation what are our responsibilities?” (Lustig 1) This question results in theme of nature vs. nurture in the novel. The nature vs. nurture debate is an important topic in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The two central characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he creates; both, characters were raised differently. The nature and the nurture of their upbringing can be a cause of why they are, the way they are. Victor and his creature are subject to very different nurturing styles. Shelley also incorporates the representations of light and fire. This representation is key to the nature vs. nurture discussion in the novel.
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. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
This paper will concentrate on the definition of human nature, the controversy of morality and science, the limits to scientific inquiry, and how this novel ties in with today’s world. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein expresses human nature specifically through the character of the “Creature” and its 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 as running away from the abnormal, which results in alienation of the “abnormal.”
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
In Mary Shelley’s romantic novel Frankenstein Or The Modern Prometheus, she conveys many of the themes of the romantic period such as the romantic view of nature. Her novel follows the life of Victor Frankenstein as he develops an interest in natural physiology which gives him the inspiration to create the monster. The monsters creation affects many of the characters, and creates misery and grave consequences. Throughout Shelley’s novel many of the character’s ignorance, foolishness, or overconfidence blinds them from the harsh reality of the world.