Frankenstein was written to tell the most frightening story. The author, Mary Shelley, told a story of how Victor Frankenstein made a monster and the effects that had on his life and others’. Whether or not Mary Shelley succeeded in making a scary enough story to leave people with nightmares, there is a true horror present in the book. I believe the true horror of this book was not a scary monster, but the horror of human nature. The effects that is has on us is staggering. The scariness of Frankenstein is a deeper terror. In this final essay I will discuss this. Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the monster in the book. He starts out as a naive person who dabbles in things he shouldn’t have, and when faced with the consequences of his actions he runs away. I feel like this shows human nature. Victor wanted to create the monster to advance science, but he also did it so he could be famous and advance himself. When the thing he created actually turned out to be a frightening monster, he gave up. I believe this is because he didn’t think the monster would be able to offer him anything. …show more content…
He starts out as a blank slate, much like everyone in the world. The hardships he faces shaped him into a true monster. He wanted to interact with people and make relationships, but time after time he was rejected and ostracised. This led him to want to hurt people and create misery for others, as is shown throughout the book as he torments Victor. The horror in this element of the book is that is shows that anyone can become a monster. A theme that I think Shelley was trying to get across throughout writing Frankenstein is that people are not born monsters, but are made monsters, which can be when the monster says to Victor, “I was born with a good heart. Misery made me a monster. Make me happy, and I will again be good.” The proof is also in life itself, with people such as Adolf Hitler and {Notable Serial
In Frankenstein, everyone treats Victor’s creation like a monster including Frankenstein himself. This leads to the creation accepting that title and going on a murder spree. His creation says “When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation” (69). Victor’s creation shows that
This is why he needs vengeance toward the monster so desperately. The monster is one of the first people or things that does not do as he says. He makes the monster to prove to the people who doubted his alchemy, and abilities. The monster running wild proves that he is incapable of getting his revenge on the teachers who doubted him. The monster also kills his family so that Victor is alone like the monster.
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
When Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is analyzed, critics comes to a conclusion about Victor Frankenstein's creation. The creature invokes the most sympathy from the readers than any other character in the novel. Because he is abandoned by society which manipulates the creature to do evil things despite his good heart. Therefore Shelley's message throughout the novel is that a person is not born evil, they are made evil.
If Victor had stayed around and showed the monster the real world, he might have not have went on to perform violent actions. This portrays Victor as a selfish character and gives more of an insight on his personal life. As a child, Victor is only interested in furthering his own knowledge and not worried about anyone else. He spent much of his time “drawing the picture of [his] early days... when [he] would account to [himself] for the birth of that passion which afterwards ruled [his] destiny” (Shelley 34), or otherwise a magnificent creation that would change his future. When constructing the Monster, he put all of his relatives in the back of his mind, and only focused on his own success and victory. This further explains the theme of being selfless and only doing certain things that will benefit
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
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.
Is it possible for one thing to have such a negative impact on a person? Because of his creation, Victor Frankenstein was a recluse who did not tell anyone of his creation because he regretted creating it. Although this may be true, Victor only wanted to do good and help humanity by bringing loved ones back to life. In order to create life, he isolated himself from his family to work on his experiment. After the monster committed homicide several times, Victor could not tell any sane person the truth. And he felt guilt because his loved ones died too early and at the hands of his scientific advancement. To conclude, isolation, secrecy, and guiltiness are prevalent in the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
The monster of the novel is often misattributed with the name, “Frankenstein.” However, Victor Frankenstein can ultimately be considered the true monster of this tale. His obsession would lead to the corruption of his soul and the creation of two monsters—one himself, and the other, the creature. In attempting to take on the role of God, nature would become a monster to Victor and destroy his life. These elements of monstrosity in Frankenstein drive the meaning of its story.
Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time ("Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography."). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place (Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.”). Her purpose, though possibly unconsciously, in writing the novel was to resolve both her feelings of abandonment by her parents, and fears of her own childbirth.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is an old classic that has been enjoyed by many generations. Despite the fact that the novel was written over a hundred years ago, it is not only beautifully written but also enthralling and well composed. At the young age of eighteen, Mary Shelly raises questions about education and knowledge to which are answered through the well written characters in the novel. The Monster, who is a creation of another character, is highlighted as an individual who goes through an intellectual change.
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.
Victor has a lack of respect for the natural world that leads him on the path to becoming a monster. In creating the monster Victor is trying to change the natural world. He is trying to play the role of god by creating life.
The creation brings joy to Victor, but he becomes affected by the fact that his work came to life. He ends up running and leaving his work alone in that it brings him a lot of sadness to the monster, which makes the creature decide to seek revenge against him. Victor`s viewing his creation after he gets finished with the process makes him abandon it. Therefore, he stops being responsible for his creation. The monster`s desire for revenge against Victor because of being an irresponsible creator is one of the reasons for his
The real monster may not be who most expect. One of the most memorable works in Monster Literature is the story of Frankenstein. In this story, most people regard Victor Frankenstein’s creation as the monster, but Victor himself is the true monster. As Victor delved into his studies of becoming a doctor, he became obsessed with the concept of life and death, and with it, his identity as the true monster developed. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein adhered to the conventions of a monster in literature as he alienated and isolated himself from the rest of society.