In Frankenstein, various themes are introduced. There are dangerous knowledge, sublime nature, nature versus nurture, monstrosity, and secrecy and guilt. I chose a main theme as nature versus nurture. Nature is some traits that a person is born with, and nurture is an environment that surrounds a person. The novel indirectly debates whether the development of individual is affected more by nature or by nurture through Victor and the Monster. In the novel, Victor is raised up by two happy parents in caring and indulgence. He receives a sister, an education, affection, and a wife from his family. However, unlike Victor, the Monster does not have any maternal or paternal figure to care and teach him values. When the Monster first escapes from Victor’s apartment and enters into the forest, he lives like an animal. He eats berries, drinks water from the streams when he gets thirsty, and sleeps in anywhere. These actions illustrate the Monster’s natural impulse for needs of food and shelters. Soon after, the Monster discovers the De Lacey family and starts to learn the language, emotions, and many other human traits. For example, when the Monster watches Mr. De Lacey comforting Agatha by hugging, playing the guitar, and telling stories, the creature expresses his feeling as a mixture of pain and pleasure such as he never experienced before. He also learns that the family is poor, and instantly quits stealing food from them. So the Monster starts to have an ability to think reasonably and sympathize with people. Moreover, the Monster learns history and social systems from Felix’s instructions to Safie, and becomes a rational, deep thinking being. All these actions of the Monster apparently show that nurture outweighs the nature of the Monster. Also, the story of the De Lacey family draws the significance of how nurturing determines one’s personality and characteristics. “The patriarchal lives of my protectors caused these impressions to take a firm hold on my mind; perhaps, if my first introduction to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations.
“I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am” (Shelley 92). Frankenstein’s Creature presents these lines as it transitions from a being that merely observes its surroundings to something that gains knowledge from the occurrences around it. The Creature learns about humanity from “the perfect forms of [his] cottagers” (90). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.” Shelley believes that the nurture of someone, or something, in the Creature’s case, forms them into who they become and what actions they take. While this is true for Frankenstein’s Creature, the same cannot be said about Victor Frankenstein.
This particular lyric pointed out the need humans seek for love and attention. Society feels like enable to be happy there needs to be affection given to a person. The monster is the same way; he craves for some kind of affection. Whether the affect were to come from Victor his creator, or the cottagers he sees as his friends. This crave for attention, love, affection, anything becomes stronger throughout the book. When the monster said to Victor, “My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create.” He starts to understand this would be the only way he will be...
The juxtaposition of the happiness and deep despair of the monster is only separated in chronology by the man shooting him. It is obvious that there is a cause and effect relationship between the shooting and the monster’s hatred for humanity. This hatred for humanity cannot be explained by nature because it contradicts the monster saving the little girl. Since nurture is about external stimuli shaping a person, one can directly conclude that monstrous behavior was a result of human interaction.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
In any novel the author is free to create and shape their characters in whatever way they see fit. In Frankenstein, Shelley does an excellent job of shaping her characters, be it however minute their part in the story, so that the reader gets a clear picture of Shelley's creations. It seems that each character in Shelley's Frankenstein is created by Shelley to give the reader a certain impression of the character. By doing this Shelley creates the characters the way she wants us to see them. She tells us certain things about them and gives them certain traits so that they will fit into the story the way she wants them to. In particular I will examine the characters of the monster, Elizabeth, and old man De Lacey.
The debate of nature vs nurture, or whether genetic makeup or environmental impacts determine the thoughts and actions of a person, is a classic controversy that is also prevalent in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein. In the book, scientist Victor Frankenstein irresponsibly creates a man out of many body parts. He is appalled at the sight of the hideous creature with “yellow skin [that] scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath,” and abandons the monster, leaving it full of hate and a need for revenge (Shelley). Frankenstein’s monster was inclined to be murderous due to a lack of nurture from his creator as opposed to having a malevolent nature in his genes. The lesson to be learned in Frankenstein is that monsters are
The monster portrays more humanistic qualities than his creator as he portrays his compassion, intelligence and feelings throughout the novel. Instead of wreaking havoc on his neighbors, ambushing them for food and shelter, the monster decides to live in secrecy in the De Laceys’ shadow to observe their ways. The monster demonstrates compassion as he refrains from stealing the De Lacey’s food when he realizes that the family suffers from poverty. In this sense, he sacrifices an easy dinner to scavenge for himself. He also expresses intellectual thought in his strategy to advance his knowledge of the English language by observing Felix’s lessons to his Arabian lover, Safie. The monster recalls to Dr. Frankenstein that, “… I found, by the frequent recurrence of some sound which the stranger repeated after them, th...
Throughout history, many have debated whether an individual's behavior is a result of DNA inheritance or developed through the environment they have grown to experience. One side believes that an individual inherits their behavior through nature which is DNA just like how it determines the child’s eye color, type of hair and the possibility of diseases. The other side argued behavior is developed through the environment in which they have experienced through the years. John Locke explains that at birth, a child is born with a blank slate and as they grow their mind is filled with experiences. The question arises whether the creatures’ horrendous behavior was a result being born a monster or his experience of being abandoned constantly.
He accomplishes that through foraging the forest and providing the family with food to feed their hungry stomachs, and chopped wood to supplant their weak supply. The monster learns of the family’s troubles and is frustrated that such a wholesome group can be afflicted with such pain, so he attempts all that he can to remedy their issues. The monster matures further through his discovery of the intellectual and educational elements of life. He finds a few literary works (90) and develops through it. The monster acquires an eloquent and educated manner of speech, suggesting he was indeed intelligent.
Both Victor and the monster respect nature; however, they respect nature in various ways and at different times. Unlike Victor who only seeks out nature when he has reached his lows, the monster is true to nature and constantly shows appreciation for it. The monster inhabits the mountains of Switzerland mainly because his physical appearance acts as a barrier, preventing him from any other type of habitat, thus the monster is forced to respect nature he lives among. The monster says “The pleasant sunshine, and the pure air of day, restored me to some degree of tranquility…” (95). Like any type of animal living in the woods, the monster feeds off of berries and roots but does not eat any of the animals, which also inhabit the land. There is also an instance in the novel where a girl slipped into a stream and the monster noticed that she was about to drown. He acted quickly to save the girl and was instantly shot at by the people who accompanied the girl. This is a pivotal moment for the monster because it shows how he is a kind-hearted creature who has overcome the fact that the humans do not respect him- but he still shows respect for them by risking his life to save the girl. Victor seeks refuge within nature and is constantly seen in the novel turning to nature for comfort but only when he needs it, or when something upsets him. On the other hand, the monster who did not ask to be created and whom his creator abandoned, still finds appreciation for nature without having anything else, like Victor does. Victor uses nature for his own selfish reasons while he has many other options to act as a refuge. For the monster, it is his only safe haven. After Victor’s cousin is murdered, instead of seeking other supportive sources (such as a group of friends or family), Victor takes a walk through the woods at night and decides to retreat to nature for his own rehabilitation. The monster, on
violent acts. After facing denial from Felix and the family, the monster later attempts to find love from one of his kind (Weekes 12). The creature requests that Doctor Frankenstein create a female partner for him, with whom he can share his passion and acquire empathy (Shelley 130). The monsters demand shows today’s current situation where people desire to depend on others for acceptance and validation.
The elements of romanticism and nature in Frankenstein, these elements lend suspense and literary merit to the novel. Nature is used as a godlike figure that controls and enhances the emotions of Victor and the creature. It is used differently for each character, creating a contrast between the two of them throughout the novel. The romantic elements lend literary merit and cultural identity to the novel that sets it apart for other novels of the time, while lending it to the creation of the genre on science fiction.
monster as an example of the potential outcomes that are the side effects of poor nurturing,
The Delaceys also taught the monster what a family is; the monster is able to see the love behind the actions of each family member that serve the greater good of the family. The monster’s observation of the love the family members have for one another is a benefit to the monster 's understanding of family life, as he comes to crave for such a relationship. He begins to care for others, he sees the Delaceys as family and he secretly helps the family out. The love he sees in the DeLaceys’ household is what he truly wanted because he lacks of love. The monster never experienced or even seen love. The monster recalls memories of Felix’s kindness towards Agatha. He also saw Felix waking up before his father and sister to clear paths through the snow for Agatha’s chores, gathering wood for the family’s fire and getting water for the family to drink. Felix’s actions put him into his father’s shoes, as he is the one to take the responsibility of caring for his family because of his father’s inability to do so. He learns as family members they must help each other out. This is the first time the monster ever came to contact with love, even though he was not able to experience it himself, but he finally was able to witness the love he has been searching for. This experience made want to experience love and companionship himself, causing him to find victor and asking victor to make him a companion so he
The monster later encountered a poor farming family. The monster watched the way that the different family members interacted with one another. In his observation of them he learned the lessons that his father had neglected to teach him. The monster learned the concepts of love and affection. When the monster watched th...