In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, is intrigued by science and creating new life. However, Victor is obsessed with successfully giving life to his eight-foot-tall creature, and he fails to think of the consequences of his actions and leaves his creation to discover the world on his own. This creature is considered a “monster” and shunned by his creator and all humankind. During his quest to find love and acceptance, the creature unfortunately only finds rejection, leaving him to turn on the world and wreak havoc on his creator. While most readers view the creature as a monster, Shelley reveals society as the underlying problem and characterizes society as her intended monster. Using Robert Walton and …show more content…
As Victor witnesses the creature’s first breath, he finds himself appalled by his experiment, saying, “now that I [have] finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 47). Fleeing from his creation, he leaves the creature to fend for himself to learn the ways of the changing world. Victor’s actions show the creature early on that society will view him as an eight-foot-tall wretch with black hair and yellow skin instead of a human being. After being forsaken by his father, the creature ventures into the world and encounters the DeLacey family. He soon sympathized and chose to help by “spend[ing] a great part of the day collecting wood for the family fire” (Shelley 94). Soon, the creature longs to be a member of the DeLacey home and attempts to introduce himself to Mr. DeLacey. However, as the creature is speaking to him, his family arrives home and is immediately horrified by his appearance. The creature describes how “Agatha fainted” and “Safie rushed out of the cottage” (Shelley 114). Yet, worst of all, Felix, Mr. DeLacey’s son, “darted …show more content…
Justine’s unjust trial allows Shelley to reveal how the court system is unjust and illogical. Justine is “threatened and menaced” until “she began to think that [she] was the monster that he said [she] was” (Shelley 71). She admits, “I did confess; but I confessed a lie. I confessed, that I might obtain absolution; but now that falsehood lies heavier at my heart than all my other sins” (Shelley 71). Unfortunately, Justine pleaded guilty in hopes of receiving a lighter conviction; however, society clouds human judgment, causing Justine’s own defense to turn against her. The young girl receives the death penalty and “hell fire in her last moments” (Shelley 71), proving how wrongly accusing Justine is another example of society’s corrupt court systems. Society often causes people to act with apathy just to finish a job, instead of uncovering the truth. Elizabeth, William’s sister, is also affected by Justine’s unjust trial and reveals her anguish when she laments, “I no longer see the world and its works as they before appeared to me” (Shelley
Previously portrayed through Frankenstein’s letters as the sole cause of both his and society’s despair, the monster’s use of the word “abortion” instead demonstrates Victor’s individual contribution towards his creature’s destructive path. Since the definition of abortion serves as the premediated act of terminating life, Frankenstein’s deliberate decision to desert his artificial creature exhibits society’s lack of sympathy for those with uncontrollable differences such as the monster’s physical deformities. Nevertheless, the textual irony of the monster’s frustrations eventually becomes apparent when the creature exclaims “Was there no injustice to this?”. Setting off a chain reaction of several more questions, Shelly’s text further mirrors the monster’s bafflement with the careless actions of Victor Frankenstein. That is, although Frankenstein gave his creation the “gift” of life, the monster has been perpetually denied every chance to live happily because of mankind’s relentless and inescapable hatred. More so, explained as the abandonment or failure of a process, Frankenstein’s ultimate refusal to love his own creation typifies how the creator’s ironic choices remain accountable for failing both the monster and
Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature highlights Frankenstein as the work of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, published in 1818, and it brought into the Western world one of its best known monsters. Elements of gothic romance and science fiction help in telling the story of young Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein, as he creates a horrible monster by putting together limbs and veins, leading to destruction and his later regret. The creature is left alone in the world, even by his own creator, for his hideous appearance, and through watching humans he learns their ways of living. Haunting Victor due to his loneliness, he forcefully makes Victor agree to make him a female companion, but Victor’s regret and misery enables him to tear up his
Science fiction writing began in the early 1800’s as a reaction to the growth in science and technology. The genre is characterized by its intellectual excitement, high adventure, and its making of the fantastic possible. Due to the nature of science fiction, film has become an essential piece to its popularity. Science fiction films have been popular since the earliest silent clips because of the outlandish visuals and creative fictional story lines that capture an audience’s attention. Under the guise of this popular platform writers relay political, social and philosophical messages to their audience. The popular 1931 version of Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, depicts an anti-exploration and anti-intellectual philosophy. In Frankenstein there is criticisms for the immoral behavior that is involved with progresses, the natural tendency for humanity to attempt to be greater than God and the pursuit of knowledge.
Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature is brought through the killings which take place throughout the story. Regardless of his unfortunate upbringing and life, however, the creature is a being determined to ruin the life of Victor, through being the master of Victor’s life and every day existence, almost in a slave and master scenario, who feels remorse but continues to kill anyway and is therefore deserving of the title, "monster".
In the 1818 text of Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, various forms of human exploitation and oppression lead to the dehumanization of two major characters in the novel: the creature which Victor Frankenstein brings to life, and Victor himself. The creature is deemed an outcast just by his very existence. Victor oppresses his creation solely based on the creature’s grotesque features. Although the creature shares qualities, feelings, and emotions that categorize him as a human, Victor’s oppressive behavior and rejection of the his creation immediately lead to the creature’s dehumanization. Victor is driven by human exploitation, and treads on the laws of nature as he successfully attempts to cheat death and create an artificial being.
In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the protagonist, Victor tampers with the laws of nature by creating life through unnatural means resulting in the production of a wretched creature whose abnormal appearance defines him as monster in the eyes of others. Victor successfully fulfills his goal of creating life with the chemistry of his own hands, yet instead of celebrating his triumph, he is repulsed and marks his creature as a being destined for destruction. The monster’s appearance ignites pure disgust from anyone who sees him; however, ironically his actions, language, and respect towards his creator and the Delacy’s indirectly brings upon another reality that diverges from the narrator’s depiction of this horrid “daemon”. A monster, by definition, is a person of “inhuman cruelty or wickedness,” yet this creature demonstrates
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.
As time progresses technology increases and improves. However, this progression could pose as a serious problem for generations to come, and New York University department chair of communication arts Neil Postman expresses this concern in his 1992 book, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. In the opening of Postman’s book he expresses that technology is indeed our friend because technology provides our society with fast and easy convenience and accessibility. As with most other things, there are always two sides to everything and Postman notes, that “of course, there is a dark side to this friend” referring to technology (Postman, 1992). Many people do not address the negative sides to technology and just turn a blind eye to them so it is refreshing to have someone point them out and discuss the issues technology possess on our society.
“Frankenstein’s creature, in visioned to be a beautiful being with larger features then humans turned out to be a grotesque monster. Once it came to life, Victor Frankenstein himself could not even bear the sight of it, his own creation” (Watkins). Victor hoped the creature would exceed his expectations, but it does the opposite instead. He describes the horrible monster from which he made with his two hands as revolting and an abomination to the Earth. Shelley gives an eerie description of the creature that tells of just how disturbing it looks. “His limbs were in proportion, I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!--Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was 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 the same colour of the dun white sockets in which they were set, his drivel led complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 36). When he looks onto the atrocity, he is not only sickened with it, but himself as well for bringing life to it. Victor knew better than to interfere with the unknown. From the beginning, he regrets his selfish intentions and became so carried away with his scientific breakthrough, that he loses sight of his
Early in the novel, a scientist named Victor Frankenstein treats his creation worse than anyone. He does not give the monster a fair chance, before he knows anything about the monster he regrets creating artificial life. Victor sees his monster and is astounded by him at first, then, triggered by appearance and early observation, hates his creation and only sees evil. Frankenstein says, “I never saw a more interesting creature: his eyes have generally an expression of wildness… he is generally melancholy and despairing” (Shelley 51). Frankenstein’s hate and lack of respect for his own creation represents the shallowness of society. When Victor uses words like “wildness” and “creature”, he connotes that he sees the monster as nothing more than an animal. Animals live in the wild and have wildness about them because they only know survival. Victor does not think the monster possesses any human like qualities otherwise he would not regret creating him. Fr...
In the 1980’s classic The Breakfast Club, John Hughes wrote it best, “We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all.” Societal normalcy is more of a false notion and facade rather than an fact. Who dictates what normal is? With every person on Earth being different, how is there a norm? The idea of what is “normal” in society is what plagues the monster in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Wanting to be a functioning member of society, the creation of Doctor Frankenstein is judged based on his physical differences rather than given a chance to show his true nature. However, society is not always to blame for a person or creatures’ adversity with society.
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.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (sometimes also known as The Modern Prometheus) is the classic gothic novel of her time. In this eerie tale, Dr. Victor Frankenstein – suffering from quite an extreme superiority complex – brings to life a creature made from body parts of deceased individuals from nearby cemeteries. Rather than to embrace the Creature as his own, Frankenstein alienates him because of his unpleasant appearance. Throughout the novel, the Creature is ostracized not only by Frankenstein but by society as a whole. Initially a kind and gentle being, the Creature becomes violent and eventually seeks revenge for his creator’s betrayal. Rather than to merely focus on the exclusion of the Creature from society, Shelley depicts the progression of Dr. Frankenstein’s seclusion from other humans as well, until he and the Creature ultimately become equals – alone in the world with no one to love, and no one to love them back. Frankenstein serves as more than simply a legendary tale of horror, but also as a representation of how isolation and prejudice can result in the demise of the individual.
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.
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).