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Frankenstein by mary shelley critical analysis
Analysis of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Analysis of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
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Thesis: Nature versus nurture plays an important role in Frankenstein from the way the monster portrays his complicated character. This characterization may have been a result of the way he was abandoned and not educated, looking from the nurture perspective. Or it could have an indirect result of nature, which would be from environment he had to endure.
The monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a being created entirely out of old body parts and brought to life by the ingenious use of electricity. As the monster comes to life, his creator, Henry Frankenstein, flees his house in horror of what he accomplished, thus, abandoning his creation. The ugly, incompetent, and uneducated man- made creature is now left on his own to face a world
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that will forever reject him. So, what turns him into a monstrous killer? It is because he was not nurtured and loved after he was created and, also, from the harsh nature of the people and environment which he had to endure on his own. Nature versus nurture is a debate in which the ultimate goal is to determine whether someone’s environment or child rearing habits make the most influence on a life.
“The nature vs. nurture debate is concerned with the relative contribution of both [nature and nurture] influences make to human behavior.”(McLeod). The debate discusses whether the environment, which may include, where a person lives and the people they interact with; or the way their caregivers nurture them by providing the necessities they need in order to sustain life, including a positive environment. “What is clear, however, is that neither genes nor environment alone can account for how we live our lives.”( Franzoi 76).While most people focus on determining whether nature or nurture is the most influential, researchers state that the two cannot function without each …show more content…
other. Nature is how the environment shapes a person’s life.
“... factors other than genetic and biochemical ones, including poverty, job and family stability, stress, and social isolation are influential.”(Raingruber). A person’s physical makeup is not the only factor of their nature , life stressors are also included. In Frankenstein’s monster’s situation he didn’t really have genes that were passed to him; therefore, some examples of the “nature” that impacted him would be social isolation and lack of education. "...we appear to inherit the building blocks of personality from our parents; and then our interactions with our social environment create the personality that we develop."(Franzoi 483). While children are young they start learning how to make since of their emotions and turn them into their personality. How people interact with others and situations as they get older, further creates and changes their personality. The monster never learned how to interact with people. So at first, he interpreted the reactions toward him as hateful and rude. This in turn, made him angry, because he realized he would never be able to fit in, and he sought to find a way to change people’s minds by educating himself and even raising a child to understand and like
him. “Many of the environment’s effects on development are obvious in our language, our customs, and our beliefs. They can also be seen in the damaging effects of deprivation as well as in the beneficial effects of enrichment.” ( Lefrancois 93) Through the creature’s abandonment, lack of shelter, and human contact, the harmful effects of the environment are understood. Nurture can be described as providing the basic needs for someone ( food, water, shelter, etc), showing attention and affection, and by allowing many educational moments throughout someone’s life. “It is how you are brought up (nurture) that governs the psychologically significant aspects of child development and the concept of maturation applies only to the biological.” (McLeod). This quote is explaining that how a person is raised determines psychological/ mental development and how the physical features are determined by genetics. The monster learned how to act from the culture he was dropped into. “... nurturing must be understood as deriving from a wide variety of sources such as one’s upbringing… including self- nurturing and attention to biological needs.”( Raingruber). Nurturing in one’s life, like nature, is not determined by a single factor. After he brought the creature to life, Frankenstein was so horrified at what he had done he went into a state of denial thinking he created a destructive monster. According to Holbarch, on the other hand, when the creature was created it was “neither good nor evil, though he is capable of becoming either.” Throughout the novel the creature is first seen as the “ good guy,” being polite and helpful, and seeking attention, then slowly becoming the violent, murderous monster Frankenstein saw him as. “ Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity…” ( Shelley 87). One can also view the creature’s behavior through behavior genetics. “Behavior genetics- the study of how the genotype and the environment of an organism influence its behavior."( Franzoi 76). Instead of being accepted in society for who he was, the creature was rejected because of his looks. This left him alone in the cold, dark, and harsh weather. As a means of survival, the creature’s behavior became harsh as well as determined to survive, because if this he quickly learned how to make fire, hunt, and find shelter. Not ever being nurtured or taught how to handle his emotions and becoming isolated because of his nature, or his looks, caused him to hate people and seek out revenge on his creator. On the other hand, the creature was extremely intelligent. “My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language… I also learned the science of letters…”( Shelley 106-107). Franzoi questions “...to what degree does heredity determine intelligence, and to what degree do the physical and social environment in which we are raised determine it?" (pg. 365). According to Higgins, “... the creature seems to have superhuman mental powers as well as physical ones.” this is how the creature learned to read and talk by observing a family teach a friend the native language, therefore, the environment had the most influence on his intellectual ability. Frankenstein’s creature lacks the bond between him and his creator that would have saved him from becoming the monster he is. “In Bowlby’s view, early attachment to a… permanent caregiver is so crucial that in its absence, the infant is likely to suffer emotional problems and to experience great difficulty in establishing affectional bonds with others.”( Lefrancois 54) The creature never encountered an attachment with Frankenstein nor anyone else, thus, leading him to a difficult and lonely life. "There is nothing innately monstrous about the creature's mind; it follows the normal process of development… However, it is not a pleasant process, particularly for an abandoned child; unprotected from the cold he becomes overwhelmed by pain and confusion." (Higgins). The creature, if raised properly, may not have ever become a monster intent on revenge. In conclusion, Frankenstein’s creation has a complex characterization that can be explained by the nature versus nurture debate. Both nature and, a lack of, nurture play a significant part in the creature’s development from the beginning, when he was a helpless and rejected being, to the end, where he became an intelligent and murderous monster.
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.
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.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein describes a mad scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein and the initially amiable creature assembled by him. Through questionable means of experimentation, this monster is constructed through the reattachment of several cadavers and a bolt of lightning. Upon achieving the magnificent feat of reanimation, Victor, rather than revelling in his creation, is appalled, abandoning the creature. The physical appearance of the monster terrorizes everyone he meets and is unfortunately shunned from the world. The newborn monster develops a nomadic lifestyle after being ostracized by nearly every community he travels to, but eventually finds refuge near a secluded cottage. While returning from a nearby forest, the creature
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.
The philosophical root of Frankenstein seems to be the empiricist theory first promoted by John Locke in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In that essay, the mind is concieved as beginning as a blank slate or tabula rasa, upon which the various impressions gained by the outside world shape the personality. According to this strict empiricism, the mind contains no innate basis for the basic prerequisites for human socialization: a social code and/or morality with empathetic roots. As a result of the monster's isolation, he is unable to sympathize with human beings and loses respect for other intelligent life. Even though the monster has good intentions, his beneficence is subverted by the negative and anti-social reactions he receives from the people he encounters.
Are nature and nurture required when creating a person? In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the nature vs. nurture discussion is put to the test by the actions of the main character Dr. Frankenstein's creation: a monster. In the novel Dr. Frankenstein is enthralled with the scientific creation of life and creates what he thinks will be a human but actually turns out to have the makings of a monster. Dr. Frankenstein is terrified by his creation and abandons it by running away and leaving it locked up. The monster breaks out of Dr. Frankenstein's confines and goes into the world to explore in his surroundings and hates his creator for not caring for him. By looking at environmental effects on a child's intellectual ability to learn, and a child's inherent sense of direction it is apparent that at birth the human mind is a blank slate.
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.
Victor Frankenstein is an obsessed scientist who is trying to make a living human being out of dead body parts. He uses dead body parts because he had to get body parts from somewhere where nobody would find out because it was illegal. Therefore he got his body parts from criminals that had been hung. However not everything goes to plan, the Monster comes to life and tries to fit in with everybody else. He is kind to them and all he wants to do is make friends. Consequently when people see him, they see him to be a vicious monster that is going to hurt them, they don’t realise that all he wants to do is fit in. For example he lived in the woods in some stables for a while, he watched a family through a crack in the wall and learnt how to read, write and live like a human. One night the Monster went outside and spent all night picking all the potatoes for them. In the morning the family rushed outside and saw all the potatoes sitting in their wagon. Their first instinct was that it was a spirit that lived in the woods. They then left gifts for him outside to say thank you.
In the novel, Frankenstein, a doctor named Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Victor’s monster was created using old human parts, chemicals, and a “spark.” Victor wanted to create this monster in order to benefit mankind, and for the purpose of playing God. Victor thought his creation would turn out great, but in all actuality, his monster ended up terribly wrong (Shelley, 145). The monster was a deformed man, standing eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, black hair, black lips, and skin that did not conceal his internal features (Shelley, 144-145). Even though the monster was very grown, he had the mind of a newborn child, and he was very kind and gentle (Shelley, 327). The monster’s appearance terrified Victor, and he immediately abandoned it. Dr. Victor Frankenstein also never named his creation because he disliked it that much. The monster was longing for love, and since no one loved him, he became very violent. He ended up killing Victor’s brother and best friend out of pure revenge (Shelley, 193). Anytime the monster tried to help people, he was bea...
Frankenstein, a novel written by Mary Shelley that tells the tale of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, and Wuthering Heights, a book authored by Emily Brontë that tells the story of a character named Heathcliff, both include the concept of nature vs. nurture. The pair of works include death, a passion-driven villain, and madness, which are all elements present in Gothic literature. The two novels both exhibit the prevailing theme of nature vs. nurture through the usage of these Gothic elements.
Many people believe that psychopaths are creations. People have genetics that make them, though people also have home lives that shape their mentality. The hate that humans receive from their guardians is their first look at life. Throughout existence, different circumstances add attributes to human character. Life is a toss up of Nature vs Nurture; people are born one way, but peer influence makes a person’s well-being. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Shelley creates Victor to be a non-nurturing creator in order to suggest that care in the early stages is fundamental to the development of character.
Nature vs. Nurture is one of the world's oldest psychological debates that questions whether your environment or how you were raised or treated impact on someone's development, like how someone behaves, their intelligence and personality. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein were going to look at which nature or nurture had more effect on the characters in this novel. I believe that nurture had the strongest impact on the characters. You should always think about how your actions are going to have an impact on those around you. ” The fatal impulse that has lead to my ruin” (Shelley 21).Victor became so obsessed with creating this creature that he didn’t think about the outcome of how he was going to feel once the monster was created.
A child’s development plays a big role in who they become later in life. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it becomes obvious very quickly that nature versus nurture shows up in the creature’s development. He is abandoned by Victor Frankenstein, his creator, and is forced to fend for himself, in order to live as a normal human. He learns nearly everything from nature and is very amused at all it has to offer. But as much as he wants to be like everyone else, the creature is far from normal. He was created from a plethora of body parts that Victor stitched together and was then placed into a bath. Using electricity from lightning, the creature was brought to life. Scared and disgusted with
The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest and most controversial issues in psychology. The debate is concerned with whether heredity or the environment most impacts human psychological development. So, which possesses a more substantial role in creating a villain? Some may state that a villain is born inherently evil in their nature. However, many studies in sociology and psychology suggest an opposing view; almost any of us can be nurtured into an evil being. People often find themselves being nurtured through the influence of social roles. Social Roles refer to the expectations, responsibilities, and behaviors we adopt in certain situations. The ideas for expected or “normal” behavior are reinforced both by the individual and