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The factor affecting self expression
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In the book Frankenstein everyone considered "human" rejects the monster based on his looks. To have everyone you've ever met reject you in such a strong way that they attack you is horrible in an almost indescribable way. Constant rejection and hatred being thrown in your face. With the kind of abrupt awakening that the monster had carved him into the "man" he is today. With sensory overload and no help to get started. He was left to his own devices in a world that wanted to kill him. It's really not that hard to see why people wanted to kill him, but when you look at it that way it's really not hard to see why he had the mindset that he did. After multiple times of trying to be killed; he himself killed. Not to surprising and not even that far off from a human mindset in that scenario. To …show more content…
Curiosity, violence, intelligence, and adaptability. These are the most important qualities of a human being in my the standards. These simple four words describe humans at almost a base instinctual level. These four facts of the human race have been with us ever since the beginning driving us to evolve to our present selves. I think these are the most relevant when you think large scale human race. Amazingly enough the "monster" has them too. You've read the story, you know how he adapts to his new found world. You also see his curiosity go along with that. You know he is intelligent too. He learned French along with reading books, that were university level no less. I know for a fact you understand his anger and therefore you know how violence fits into his new found personality. Curiosity is a wondrous thing, helping us form new inventions and finding new ways to solve problems. Of course, then there's the simple fact of discovery that moves along with curiosity like a sister. Can't have one without the other. This simple form of human nature told him to run and explore (if not directly then
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a Complex Character "Frankenstein" is a gothic horror novel which was written by Mary Shelly in 1818. It was inspired by a biological scientist named "Luigi Galvani". He had experimented with electricity and deceased frogs, and discovered that a charge passing through a inanimate frog's body will generate muscle spasms throughout its body. Frankenstein is about a man on a pursuit to create a perfect being, an "angel" however his experiment fails and his creation becomes an atrocity compared to an "angel". The creature is created using Luigi Galvani experiments of electricity and dead corpses of criminals, stitched together to form this creature.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different. We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human than we think.
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” These are the words of, once president of the United States, John Francis Kennedy. He relays a message of strength and a lecture on what it means to perform one’s duty as a member of a modern, accepting society. Likewise, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein exploits one of mankind's most persistent and destructive flaws that has never died down over the thousands of years of our existence, prejudice. From his very beginning, the creature was abandoned and left to question his very existence. Nearly every character in the novel assumes that the monster must be dangerous based on its outward appearance, when in truth the monster is essentially warm and open-hearted. Continuously the monster
How are the themes of good and evil explored in Chapters 16 and 17 of
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly explores the concept of the body, life, ‘the self’ and most of importantly humanity, which is repeatedly questioned throughout the novel. The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane or in other words someone that can feel or possess compassion. Despite all the facts against the “monster” in “Frankenstein” he is indeed what one would consider being human. Humanity isn’t just about ones physical appearance but also includes intellect and emotion. Some people argue that the “monster” is not a human for he was not a creature that was born from “God” or from a human body. That being said, the “monster” is not only able to speak different languages, he can also show empathy - one of many distinct traits that set humans apart from the animals. Both the “monster” and his creator, Victor, hold anger and feel a sense of suffering throughout the novel. Victor is a good person with good intentions just like most individuals, but makes the mistake of getting swept up into his passion of science and without thinking of the consequences he creates a “monster”. After completing his science project, he attempts to move forward with his life, however his past – i.e., the “monster” continues to follow and someone haunt him. While one shouldn’t fault or place blame on Frankenstein for his mistakes, you also can’t help but feel somewhat sympathetic for the creature. Frankenstein just wants to feel accepted and loved, he can’t help the way he treats people for he’s only mimicking how people have treated him, which in most cases solely based on his appearance. Unlike most of the monsters we are exposed to in films past and present, the character of the “monster” ...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein originated as a ghost story told among her close friends. "It was a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils" (Shelley 34) is the first line Shelley conceived when she began composing her famous novel. In this sentence, the "accomplishment" to which Victor Frankenstein refers is the creation, which receives animation on this "dreary night." By calling the creation his "accomplishment," Victor unintentionally names the creation. However, by the end of this "dreary night," Victor names the creation no less than six times, each time getting progressively more derogatory, and more insulting. This evolution of Victor’s attitude about the creation occurs during the time immediately following the creation. In these few hours, Victor’s imagination creates an increasingly grotesque image of the creation. This developed condemnation that Victor imposes onto the creation is similar to all of the creation’s other encounters with human beings. This repeated rejection causes the creation to realize that "All men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things" (Shelley 65). Eventually, therefore, the creation accepts its role as a monster based solely on the reactions it receives from other human beings. However, these spiteful reactions are inspired by irrational fears that result from the human nature of the characters to form preconceptions about the creation based on their prior experiences.
The Human Need for Love Exposed in Frankenstein Written in 1817 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a novel about the "modern Prometheus", the Roman Titian who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The story takes place in several European countries during the late 1700's. It is the recollection of Victor Frankenstein, a ship captain, about his life. Victor is a student of science and medicine who discovers a way to reanimate dead flesh. In a desire to create the perfect race he constructs a man more powerful than any normal human, but the creation is so deformed and hideous that Victor shuns it.
Analysis of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Analyzing a book can be a killer. Especially when it contains tons of subtle little messages and hints that are not picked up unless one really dissects the material. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a prime example.
In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the relationship of external apperence and internal feelings are directly related. The creature is created and he is innocent, though he is seaverly deformed. His nature is to be good and kind, but society only views his external appereance which is grotesque. Human nature is to judge by external apperence. He is automatically ostracized and labeled as a monster because of his external apperence. He finnaly realized that no matter how elequintly he speaks and how kind he is, people will never be able to see past his external deformities. Children are fearful of him, Adults think he is dangerous, and his own creator abandons him in disgust. The creature is treated as a monster, therefore he begins to internalize societies view of him and act the like a monster.
Sometimes, in novels like Frankenstein, the motives of the author are unclear. It is clear however, that one of the many themes Mary Shelley presents is the humanity of Victor Frankenstein's creation. Although she presents evidence in both support and opposition to the creation's humanity, it is apparent that this being is indeed human. His humanity is not only witnessed in his physical being, but in his intellectual and emotional thoughts as well. His humanity is argued by the fact that being human does not mean coming from a specific genetic chain and having family to relate to, but to embrace many of the distinct traits that set humans apart from other animals in this world. In fact, calling Victor's creation a `monster' doesn't support the argument that he is human, so for the sake of this case, his name shall be Phil.
Throughout the story Victor Frankenstein’s creation is constantly judged and rejected solely for how he looks. In the monsters first couple of days alive he wanders to a village and attracts everyone’s attention. Some people ran away, but “some attacked [him], until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, [he] escaped to the open country”(109). There is no explanation for the villager’s actions, other than the fact that they were unable to look past his inhuman appearance. Even though they had never interacted with the monster, their unnecessary actions impacted his negative view on mankind and physically hurt him. Later on when the monster decides to travel to Geneva he sees a young girl slip and fall into a stream. Immediately after he “rushed from [his] hiding place, and, with extreme labor from the force of the current, saved her and dragged her to shore”(143). Right after the monster saves the girls life a man grabs her from the monster and shoots him. As the monster says, he “saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense [he] now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone”(143). Shelley shows that while this man had only been around the monster for less than a minute, he went to the lengths of shooting him because of his
Society is a concept found in all aspects of life; it is a slant which is impossible to avoid. For instance; sadly in life society labels things or people as good or bad, poor or rich, ugly or pretty. The literary piece of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley clearly reflects this act of society in which they classify all things. The novel reflects how society labels everything; by being judgmental from the way the family is seen, how people view Frankenstein as a monster, and how the monster is affected, his conduct gets altered by all of society judgmental actions.
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Shelley addresses many debatable topics such as creation, sciences and guilt. Indeed these are important topics to discuss. However, morality is the most concerning issue that she discusses. When Victor Frankenstein creates his monster, he believed that he had created a hideous creature that he should not reveal to the world. Frankenstein abandons the monster because he cannot cope with his creation. Immediately, he assumes that his creature is an evil beast, but contrary to this idea, the monster is not evil in nature and possesses what every human has: a soul. The being
...between human nature and individual characteristics? He also acknowledged three criteria from evolutionary biology for determining a characteristic as a part of human nature. These are: it must be universal. Must be “innate, unconditioned, and relatively difficult to modify” (p.1139). And lastly it must have an adaptive function (Lindsey and Campbell p. 352,1998).
The Enduring Appeal of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. "Frankenstein" is a gothic novel written in the 19th century by nineteen year old Mary Shelley. It was written in 1816 during a time of great social, political and cultural change. Science was seen as the means for progress and Shelley lived in a time of great scientific development and discovery of the world. This is reflected in her novel where Victor Frankenstein is a young and idealistic scientist whose obsession with the nature of human existence drives him to pursue science.