Free Essays - Themes and Voices in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1285 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Human nature in mary shelley's frankenstein

Themes and Voices in Frankenstein

There are many different narrative voices that take place in the novel Frankenstein. These narrative voices not only help the reader appeal to different characters, but they develop characters personality as well.

The monster's character evolves in many ways throughout the novel, depending on the point of view it's coming from. When the monster himself speaks (first person) the reader tends to feel sympathy as well as pity, towards him. He is loving and gentle at the beginning of his life, childlike in his curiosity and experiences, but after several harsh encounters with humans, he becomes bitter. Thus seeking revenge on his creator for making him so hideous and rendering him permanently lonely because of his ugliness. He doesn't come across nearly as horrific as he is believed to be in the eyes of Frankenstein. All the monster wanted was to love and to be loved in return and instead he was the true outcast of society. The monster shows a unique ability to analyze humanity because, though he's not a human himself, he has the intelligence of one. He explains, "I heard about the slothful Asiatics; of the stupendous genius and mental activity of the Grecians; of the wars and wonderful virtue of the early Romans--of their subsequent degenerating--of the decline of that mighty empire; of chivalry, Christianity, and kings." This synopsis of culture in a nutshell shows the monster's ability to put humanity in perspective. Yet this education only furthers the monster's realization that he is disconnected from the humans he admires.

The reader's take on the monster however changes dramatically when Victor is the narrator. Frankenstein's creation becomes a wretched and terrible villain of the story when it is told through him (third person). For example Victor's disgust and hatred for the monster is evident right from the first time he sees him, as he says "A flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life." When the story is told through Victor it is all about what the monster is doing to him and how heartless the creature is.

Show More
Related

  • Free Essays on Frankenstein: No Hero iin Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Victor Frankenstein may be the leading character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but a hero he is not. He is self-centered and loveless, and there is nothing heroic about him. There is a scene in Chapter twenty-four where Captain Walton is confronted by his crew to turn southwards and return home should the ice break apart and allow them the way. Frankenstein rouses himself and finds the strength to argue to the Captain that they should continue northwards, or suffer returning home "with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows." He quite obviously has alterior motives and if he were not the eloquent, manipulative creature he so egotistically accuses his creature of being, he might not have moved the Captain and the men so much that they are blind to the true source of his passion. Unfortunately for Frankenstein, the crew, (however "moved") stand firm in their position. Yet the things he says in his motivational speech are prime examples of the extent to which Frankenstein is blind to his own faults and yet will jump at the chance to harangue others. He is so self-centered that his lack of interaction and love for others after his experiment has been completed, would barely qualify him as a person, if the difference between being human and being a person lies in the ability to have relationships with others.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on Frankenstein: The Creature as a Foil to Frankenstein

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    Frankenstein, speaking of himself as a young man in his father’s home, points out that he is unlike Elizabeth, who would rather follow “the aerial creations of the poets”. Instead he pursues knowledge of the “world” though investigation. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word “world” is for Frankenstein, very much biased or limited. He thirsts for knowledge of the tangible world and if he perceives an idea to be as yet unrealised in the material world, he then attempts to work on the idea in order to give it, as it were, a worldly existence. Hence, he creates the creature that he rejects because its worldly form did not reflect the glory and magnificence of his original idea. Thrown, unaided and ignorant, into the world, the creature begins his own journey into the discovery of the strange and hidden meanings encoded in human language and society. In this essay, I will discuss how the creature can be regarded as a foil to Frankenstein through an examination of the schooling, formal and informal, that both of them go through. In some ways, the creature’s gain in knowledge can be seen to parallel Frankenstein’s, such as, when the creature begins to learn from books. Yet, in other ways, their experiences differ greatly, and one of the factors that contribute to these differences is a structured and systematic method of learning, based on philosophical tenets, that is available to Frankenstein but not to the creature.

    Read More

  • St. Mark's Gospel and the Nature of Discipleship

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    To be a true disciple of Jesus one must not disown or deny Jesus but

    Read More

  • Essay on Death and Sorrow in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is filled with death and sorrow. They occur in almost every aspect of the book. The four "squares" of the book, Walter, Victor, the monster, and the cottagers, all suffer from them at one time or another. Some perceive Frankenstein as a horror story; however, in actuality it is a book of tragedy and despair. Every page reveals more misery than the page before. Thus, death and sorrow are inevitable in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Religious Motifs in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upon completion of this novel, a clearly prevalent and outstanding motif is that of religion and biblical reference. The frequent references to religion come in varied forms from that of biblical role-playing, to that of the fate of our current society. Another related argument that occurs can be the relationship of biblical role-playing and character domination. When all are combined appropriately, a very strong and prominent key motif in this novel is produced. Mary Shelley might have used religion reference as a method of showing us how something that happened during the creation of the earth can be related and brought to us via modern day fantasy creations. It is important for us to realize this connection because it will help us to understand an important deeper meaning of this work.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein: Examples Of Feminism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    When first reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the examples of feminism are not apparent. Although learning more about Mary Shelley 's history helps one relate the events in Frankenstein to what occurred in Shelley 's actual life. Shelley 's feminist pedigree plays a huge role in her novel Frankenstein as it sublimely elaborates her own tragic loss of her first born child, reflects a man 's decision to create life, and Victor the creator of Frankenstein, leaves despite the connection with his own creation, and last influences Shelley 's jargon throughout her novel.For example, the moment the monster was created and throughout the rest of the story he was isolated from society. All the characters in the novel automatically feared the monster

    Read More

  • Role of Identity in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    People are defined by their environment and how they react to their environment. Environments that appear to be perfect on the outside may very well be the cause of misery in man's life because one must be able to cope with their environment. Victor could not cope with his environment and lashed out at the world by trying to attain power. However, things do not always go as planned, and sometime this may be beneficial. One should not judge by external appearance alone. It is what is on the inside that counts. Had Victor Frankenstein been taught ethics such as this, his life, as well as the lives of those he loved, could have been saved. Also, the life of the creature could have been free of pain and hatred. The monster is a symbol for the outcasts and rejected of society. He is also a reflection of Victor, meaning that Victor was also considered an outcast. The reality of an animated object reflecting something that one does not want to see, combined with being alone in the world, is enough to drive man mad. The monster, in some ways, creates a harsh reality for Victor. Either love what you create or be destroyed by it.

    Read More

  • External Conflict In Frankenstein

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    A monster is usually viewed to be a supernatural creature that humans judge based on looks and not necessarily on personality. In the novel, Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the monster is a creature Victor creates but abandons immediately because he is horrified by his own creation. Due to the monster’s appearance, society does not give the creature a chance to show his true self. Therefore, the monster faces an external conflict because of Frankenstein’s and society's rejection, making it difficult for him to blend into his new life. Victor creates the monster because of his unusual compulsion of aspiring to be like God. However, Victor does not know how to treat or be responsible for his creature. Victor Frankenstein is the true monster

    Read More

  • Free Essays: The Themes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mary Shelley discusses many important themes in her famous novel Frankenstein. She presents these themes through the characters and their actions, and many of them represent occurrences from her own life. Many of the themes present debateable issues, and Shelley's thoughts on them. Three of the most important themes in the novel are birth and creation; alienation; and the family and the domestic affections.

    Read More

  • Narration in Frankenstein

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although “Frankenstein” is the story of Victor and his monster, Walton is the most reliable narrator throughout the novel. However, like most narrator’s, even his retelling of Victor’s story is skewed by prejudice and favoritism of the scientist’s point of view. Yet this could be attributed to the only view points he ever gets to truly hear are from Victor himself and not the monster that he only gets to meet after he comes to mourn his fallen master.

    Read More

  • Essay On Frankenstein Tragedy

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    In gothic novels tragic figures are symbols of pain to the characters. Victor Frankenstein brings misfortune to his loved ones, which concludes to his overall tragedy. Ironically the monster in this novel is Frankenstein the creator not the creature. He has seven victims including himself and his fall is due to his ambition to be superior.

    Read More

  • Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Othello, the character of Iago is alienated from society by his personal values. He is used by Shakespeare to demonstrate societies assumptions and moral values on a whole. Iago is the main antagonist to Othello in this story, and he succeeds in his plan to ruin Othello by forcing him to believe that Desdemona is cheating on him. Because Iago succeeds, because he was able to carry off the plan, we are able to see exactly the assumptions on society that Shakespeare laid out to demonstrate. These assumptions and morals fall under three main categories: that people largely use each other, that we should do whatever needs to be done to go for our goals, and that the words of a man and more believable than those of a woman, even when it is a wife. Shakespeare uses Iago to demonstrate all three of these quite well.

    Read More

  • Victor is the True Villain of Frankenstein

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • My Personal Plan Of Discipleship

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many different ways that you can make disciples, but am going to talk about the way that I was a disciple. First I would have a meeting with some older man and woman in the church to ask them how do they feel about discipline some of the kids in our church? We are going to assume that each one of them said yes. And then I would explain

    Read More

  • The Nature of Discipleship According to Mark's Gospel

    1812 Words  | 4 Pages

    went to him. "Jesus said to them, come with me, and I will teach you

    Read More

More about Free Essays - Themes and Voices in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Open Document