Good And Evil In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Shelley takes the side of natural good of humanity and the creature but believes that when faced with events one is not accustomed to they result to evil. When the creature saved a girl from drowning he was shot; “On seeing me, he darted towards me, and tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood...he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body and fired….“This was then the reward of my benevolence!” (Shelley 286). The monster demonstrated his selflessness, risking himself to save a girl, a stranger. The man, on the other hand, was faced with a hideous creature. In his mind regardless of what the creature did it was dangerous and scary so he took a shot at it. The creature came to know that by doing good he would be rewarded with evil. The creature cursed his creator and surrendered to evil by vowing to kill everyone that Frankenstein loves; “Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me….comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends” (Shelley 191-192). The creature, neglected and hated by …show more content…

The ultimate point Shelley tries to make is that when one is faced with violence or things not easily understood they turn to evil to find the fastest way out of that problem. The creature and humans are born good but it is the decisions and choices that bring out the evil. Though the creature kills many at the end he feels remorse; “What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me?....Alas! He is cold, he cannot answer me” (Shelley 459-460). This shows that if one chooses a path of evil they can find their way back to a life of good. Even though all are born good evil is very good at roping people in. However, good is always there, but sometimes one has to dig deep to find it even when under the control of

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