The monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein says, "Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy - to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you will be my first victim." This quote represents the monster’s desire to get revenge after Victor abandoned him. The book has multiple occurrences of revenge, even before the monster's creation. Therefore, the theme of Gris Grimly's Frankenstein is revenge. There are two cases of revenge in Volume 1. On page 35, Victor gets revenge on death by reversing it and bringing a creature to life after his mom died. An explanation of how this is revenge, Victor feels that the force of death should be stopped after his mom's death, so he makes a way to make the undead come back to life, counteracting death. The second case in the first volume is on page 45. On page 45, Victor runs away from the monster after he gets chased. To clarify, Victor gets chased by his creation after it has been brought to life, but this monster poses a threat to Victor, so Victor leaves his creation and doesn't teach him about the world, leading to the monster having to live in the forest. This is revenge because the monster doesn't know how to live on its own yet, and with Victor running away, the monster will be clueless. …show more content…
This case starts on page 111 when the monster gets shot after saving a girl from drowning. This angers the monster. On page 113, the monster kills Victor's brother, William, after being shot by a hunter. The monster kills William because he finds out the child is related to Frankenstein, meaning this is an act of revenge. Then the monster makes a deal with Victor to end their hatred if Victor makes the monster a
Mary Shelley’s idea of friendship is very important throughout the novel because it is the goal of Walton throughout the beginning, as well as the monster Frankenstein created throughout his narration period. In chapters fourteen through sixteen the creature learns that he is the only man of his kind, the only monster created on this Earth and he himself is much like Satan and Adam. He stumbled across three novels in which he reads and interprets differently. Paradise Lost having the most impact on the creature made him realize that he is utterly alone, and wretched. Adam was created from God, and was protected, whereas the creature who was created by Victor, was the complete opposite. He was dragged into this earth. The creature states, “But
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves” is a quote from Chinese philosopher, Confucius, that immaculately describes the knowledge the characters in the story of Frankenstein lacked. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main character, Victor Frankenstein, creates a creature whom he abandons soon after. After the abandonment the creature gets treated horribly by other humans, feeling alone in a world where there was no other like him. This causes the creature to feel hate towards his creator, whom he continuously tries to seek revenge from. The desire for revenge transforms the creature into a true monster that has no feelings or aspirations beyond destroying Victor, leading to his miserable death.
The thirst for power and knowledge is what drives the characters in this novel. Victor Frankenstein comes off as a sincere person but only because of the state in which we find him but, overall he is driven by his work and his appetite for power and knowledge. Dr. Frankenstein is a man crazed with his own ambition that recklessly desires the god-like powers of creation. In the beginning of the novel, the audience does not have a lot of information on Victor. The reader’s first impression on Victor is that he is vulnerable, weak, and favorable but something about him was just not right. The audience’s opinion differed from Walton’s, for example in this quote: “My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my admiration and
Victor’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death. ”(Shelley 731).
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, is dr. Frankenstein a god? God is the all being who creates everything, but also looks after what He has created. If dr. Frankenstein is Mary Shelly’s “god” figure, then dr. Frankenstein is a very irresponsible and carefree “god.” He is very irresponsible because he does not look after his creation. God looks over everything, dr. Frankenstein can not even look over one creation. Victor runs from his creation throughout out the whole novel and he is also trying to run away from the fact that he made his “mistake.” When the creature and his “god” meet up, and by meet up it is really implied that the “mistake” tracked him down, the creation tells his creator how bad of a “god” he has been and tries to make him realize how he has abandoned his duties. The creatures lectures him by saying, “remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but i am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drives from joy for no misdeed”(Shelly). This quote is showing that the “mistake” has more
In Mary Shelley’s work of literature Frankenstein many themes such as family, compassion, secrecy, and revenge are present throughout the story. Of all the themes, the one that stands out most is revenge. When revenge is brought up in any conversation the outcome is typically people saying revenge is not worth the outcome. Revenge is bittersweet but usually has an ugly aftermath because it can be dangerous in its own way. Throughout Frankenstein there are numerous examples of revenge and characters seeking revenge. The two main characters constantly pursuing revenge are Victor and the creature.
“But when I discovered that he, the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for happiness, that while he accumulated wretchedness and despair upon me he sought his own enjoyment in feelings and passions from the indulgence of which I was forever barred, then impotent envy and bitter indignation filled me with an insatiable thirst for vengeance” (Shelley 212). It makes sense that the monster would not be happy in this world, he never even asked to be here. He holds Frankenstein responsible for his sorrow as he is the one who created him. To only be seen as a monster despite your attempts at compassion and thoughtfulness can get to someone. Once again, the insight into what the monster is feeling here, envy and rage, makes him more and more human to the reader. The murder the monster partakes in becomes his inclination, “Evil thenceforth became my good. Urged thus far, I had no choice but to adapt my nature to an element which I had willingly chosen. The completion of my demoniacal design became an insatiable passion. And now it is ended; there is my last victim!” (Shelley 212). With his creator also dead, he finds his vengeance at an end. The monster does not murder Victor however. He wants him to suffer as much as he has since his creation. The isolation and abandonment inflicted from Victor is the catalyst for the Monster to murder members of his family. Despite this hatred for this man, the monster still views him as a father figure. This is why he weeps and pleas to Walton, the regretful words of a son who has lost his father. Walton is witness to the creature’s deep depression, he wishes he could take back all the pain and suffering caused by both parties. His sense of longing and remorse in his words are
It is through these actions that the monster acts out his evil doings and murders those that Victor loves. The monster does this because he wants to seek revenge on Victor and wants to make him pay for neglecting him all throughout his life. The monster is seen as awful and evil in every aspect by every person, but if he was nurtured and cared for by Victor, and the human societies didn’t initially judge him based on his appearance, he could have kept the goodness that he originally had when he was
Revenge is a fairly strong emotion; it’s wanting to retaliate towards those who wronged you. Revenge is such an uncontrollable way of retaliation that it can result in a destructive outcome or carried out successfully. Although the results may vary, revenge sums up to one thing which is pain of some sort, affecting both parties or just one. Throughout history we see many tales of revenge and redemption. Often revenge does leave the one carrying it out feeling victorious but this can suddenly change as the process of karma generally begins in some tales.
Death is a slippery concept, I’ve surely never managed to grasp the idea. Wrapping your head around it is like grappling with a bar of soap. There’s no use trying to make sense of it, it’s only a matter of time until we find out what it’s like. That being said, some have too fun of a life and their last wish is to find out. I would go through hell and all the way back, in order to be able to dive, head first, in the fountain of youth. However, to believe in the idea that dabbling one’s feet in a certain puddle, would in turn restore health and, let alone, youth, seems somewhat delusional. In spite of immortality not really being thing, you can actually go about immortalising your name. It’s fairly simple; you just have to be the “first one”.
The monster is left to live his life with no help from his creator after being abandoned. While having the mind of a newborn, this is not easy for him. By not knowing right from wrong, he murdered Victor's loved ones in order to get attention. He never had anyone to teach him how to live life with dignity and respect. This is a major loss for a living being. The creator is at fault here because the monster does not know better. Victor should have taken responsibility by accepting, raising, and controlling the monster.
The monster wanted revenge only to satisfy his needs and to get even with his creator Victor. The only way the two would avoid any other conflicts that would have come their direction would be to eliminate and face the reality of their own catastrophe. Victor wanted to kill the monster because he killed and destroyed many things that he loved; however, the monster was the image of his own guilt and mind. The monster wanted closure and wanted to know why he was brought to the world only to be abandoned, lonely, and
Matthew Ahmad Mr. Hsu BME April 18, 2024 The Theme of Revenge in Frankenstein For Victor, creating a creature in a lab had always been his dream, but quickly turned into his worst nightmare after the creature's creation. Both Victor Frankenstein and the creature seek revenge against each other, due to different motives. In the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, an aspiring scientist, works in a lab and succeeds in creating a living being. Mary Shelley, the author, uses revenge as a theme and a driving force for both characters throughout the novel Frankenstein.
Revenge is not the Solution. People often assume that revenge will make them feel better. This important theme is shown throughout Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The monster in this novel portrays this evil character because of the actions he took and because of revenge toward his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Revenge controlled the monster’s life and caused him to kill many of the people Victor loved.
At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.