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Morality in literature
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The purpose of the Delacey family
People can often feel lonely and helpless, they may feel they are the only person with such a terrible fate. There are other people with somewhat equally tragic life, it is important to learn to move on, not always looking back and complain about life. The DeLaceys were the first people the monster encountered and observed secretly. He learns a lot from them; he realizes he was not the only person with a hard life. One of the main purpose of the DeLaceys in the novel was to act as the monster’s teachers without knowing it and their cottage was the connects the Monster to the world. They taught him what is good and wrong; the feeling of sympathy to others and the definition of family. They helped the monster
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People who are hating their life should always look around them and they will learn that they are not the only people suffering and learn to recover from people with similar experience; because people with similar experience could become the best teachers for the individual. DeLacey is the Parisian-turned-blind-peasant who lives in a cottage with his son and daughter. He is a nice old man: "descended from a good family in France", he was the only person who treats the monster kindly because he was blind. His family experiences were also tragic. This gives the monster the idea that he is not the only one who suffered from an injustice. At first the monster did not know any of the family stories or had the courage to meet them; he camped around their cottage and observed them. He started his self-education through the observation …show more content…
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
This is one of the first times the monster feels the way he does. Thus leading to the desperation for friendship from De Lacey and his family, which doesn’t work. As humans we judge books by their cover a lot, this is what happened in the creatures’ case. He was judged by his hideous appearance before they knew he was compassionate, and affectionate. The family was terrified, and moved away never to be seen again by the monster. This builds up an unstoppable rage within him, leading for the desire of friendship grow stronger. The monster is desperate for friend ship, for the love and attention that other humans have. The creature states, “…my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures; to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition” (94). This quote shows how the monster yearns, or craves the affection of a human being. No one else understands what it is like to be on this side of the story because he is so alone, and the only of his kind. The monster cannot talk to anyone, he is of no relation to anyone, or anything on the planet he was forced into and
Jeannette gets too scared so she runs outside to her father for comfort, then tells him what happened. He says, “ It’s that old ornery demon’’ (p;36). He was her source of comfort and she felt it by how empathetic he was with her whenever she was distressed.
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.
The creature who has been leading a solitary existence by observing the Delacey family, exclaims “The more I saw of them, the greater my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures” (Shelley 112). Being isolated from most of society, the creature’s only contact with mankind is through observing the Delaceys. Unlike any base monster, the creature has “yearning” that originates in his heart. Because the creature relates with the Delaceys as “amiable creatures” his desire for companionship with them is brought forth, further distinguishing him as distinctly human. Miserable and lonely, the creature desires to also “claim their protection and kindness” which demonstrates how the creature desires even more than just mere companionship but also to be loved. Most importantly, the creature desires acceptance into their family as one of their own. Although he observed the family, the creature took a radical and somewhat desperate choice to abduct Victor’s younger brother: “If I could therefore seize him, and educate him as my companion and friend, I should not be so desolate”. (Shelley 121). Such extremes show to what lengths the creature was willing to go to gain companionship and acceptance. Without companionship, the creature cannot survive in happiness, but he yearns for it and cannot do without it. Once again, the human need for companionship comes to the forefront of the creature’s purpose and endeavors and he is not fulfilled without it. Far from being an emotionless, brutish monster, the creature need for a friend aligns it to mankind’s basic
...e seeking help and strength to take care of problems in their lives. Victor Frankenstein is a man with a loving and caring family. Family and friends are an important part of his life. He has his whole life in front of him, when creates his monster. He creates the monster in the likeness of man with same need of love and affection as man. Although, this is his creation, he lets the monster down and does not care for him. The monster begins to feel neglected and lonely and wants desperately to have a human relationship. The monster turns angry and revengeful because he is so sad and abandoned. He wants Victor to feel the way that he does, all alone. The monster succeeds and Victor ends up losing all the important in his life and his own life. In the end, the monster dies and the need for human relationship becomes the destruction for both the monster and Victor.
A monster can be characterized by an extreme deviation from the normal standards of society including an internal or external wickedness. In the case of Mary Shelley’s Creature, his appearance overwhelms those who lay eyes upon him. A mere glance can send a villager running for the hills. It was not until the Creature caught a glance of his own reflection that he understood why villagers were so afraid of him. The realization of his ghastly appearance began the monster’s journey into hopelessness. In Peter Brooks’ article he writes, “Self recognition as the ‘filthy type’ completes the mirror stage of the Monsters development.” (Brooks 377). Seeing oneself as ugly and slovenly can cast shadows on even the most compassionate of hearts.
Rather, it is others who alienate it because of its grotesque appearance. The monster is quite literally ‘born’ into perpetual isolation beginning with Victor’s abandonment of it. He denies it domestic safety when he flees to his bedchamber. Victor disregards the monster’s utterance of “inarticulate sounds while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” then escapes its outstretched hand “seemingly to detain [him]” [Shelley 49]. Examining the monster’s body language as though an impressionable infant, its actions can be read as a child-like plea for its father though the absence of speech not yet learned. Instead, its unattractive appearance causes Victor to run, leaving the creature alone with no information about himself or his surroundings. Therefore, Victor’s abandonment is a crucial justification of the monster’s negative experiences with society and nature and actions in desiring community. The monster’s alienation from family is the missing first school of human nature, and the first lesson where he learns he does not belong. The creature leaves into the wilderness to learn about the world and himself on it own, only to understand his interactions are
The definition of ‘monstrosity’ and what it means to be ‘monstrous’ can be understood to mean something that is visually unattractive, malformed and/or terrifying. However, monstrosity is not exclusively about something aesthetically ugly, it can also apply to what differs from what is considered ‘normality’. What is ‘normal’ versus what is ‘monstrous’ is closely linked when exploring ideas about the human condition. The representations of monstrosity in Frankenstein and in The Tempest reveal how what is monstrous and what is normal are often found side by side, challenging the idea that it is limited to outcasts who do not ‘fit-in’, and that deep down, a desire to be understood, accepted and included and to live life with meaning are central to the human condition and that monsters in society often reveal our deep seated fears and anxieties about our own existence.
The monster does not resemble Victor physically; instead, they share the same personalities. For example, Victor and the monster are both loving beings. Both of them want to help others and want what is best for others. Victor and the monster try to help the people that surround them. Victor tries to console his family at their losses, and the monster assists the people living in the cottage by performing helpful tasks. However, Victor and the monster do not reflect loving people. The evil that evolves in Victor’s heart is also present in the monster.
...the story of the DeLacy’s, and from his own experiences the monster learned its evil ways.
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...
The Monster’s confusion about the world and his inability to understand why he cannot simply be accepted in society drives his actions. Dutoit elaborates on the not so apparent truth that The Monster goes to great lengths to assimilate by acquiring language, understanding mannerisms and participating in customs. The Monster grows fond of a family, at first he watches them carefully, paying close attention to the details of their life and even steals food, unaware of their poverty. Supporting evidence which allows for the conclusion that he is innately good and simply longing for domesticity is shown by The Monsters willingness to help the family with chores, in secret of course. Nevertheless, he is universally shunned by everyone he encounters, except for the old blind man who was willing to have a social connection with him, until his family returned home and in fear rebelled against The Monster. This constant exile only leads to a greater alienation from the social world he deeply longs to be a part of. Unfortunately, due to his outward appearance, his good intentions are ill received by the people he
At first, The Monster is very kind and sympathetic. He has a good heart, as shown when he collected firewood for the family on the brink of poverty. Like every other human creation, he was not born a murderer. All the Monster wanted was to be accepted and loved by Victor Frankenstein and the other humans but instead he was judged by his appearance and considered to be dangerous. The Monster says, “like Adam, I was created apparently united by no link to any other being in existence…many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (page 105). This line is an important part of the novel because the Monster lets it be known how like Adam he was created into this world completely abandoned and like Satan he is angry with those people who have found contentment and satisfaction in their lives. The rejection and unwelcome feeling he is faced with, is the main reason the Monster becomes a killer. Watching another family show love towards each other made the Monster realize how alienated he truly was. He did not know how to deal with his pain and emotions so he murders as
Monsters are creatures that don’t fit in society. Some don’t try to hide themselves, but some on the other hand do. Since society doesn’t except them, they try to find a way to fit in societies image. Even when monsters try to hide their true identity, society makes them who they actually are by pushing them back to their monstrous state. Several monsters that go through this are Frankenstein’s Monster, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Edward Cullen.
...e the same kind of attachment to their father as Felix does to his. The DeLacey’s have to work together and support each other; physically and emotionally. Through their poverty they grow closer, and there is a more apparent appreciation for what they do have. This is the kind of father son relationship that builds morals. Domestic affection is present and Felix can turn to his father for guidance.