How the Smaller Role Influences the Bigger Role
Both Frankenstein and his creation share a love for nature, a longing for knowledge, and a desire for companionship. The character, Victor, and his creation of a monster show many similarities and differences in the novel, Frankenstein. Mary Shelley describes many points and views in Victor and the monster’s life that show similarities and differences in the two lives of Victor and his creation. A lot of times people believe that seeing a monster like Frankenstein is cool and amazing but really the monster can do a lot of destruction too many people. This topic sparked my interest because of the distress the monster caused in the novel. I believe that Victor Frankenstein plays a more influential
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role in the story Frankenstein than the monster that he created.
Victor, the main character in the story develop an obsession with recreating lives from death, causing heartbreak by creating the monster and as Mary Shelley writes “deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge” (Shelley 20). With this obsession comes his first creation of a monster. Victor comes to reject the monster profusely and they have a difficult relationship. Victor is deeply loved by his family and friends and has a clear mind in nature. He had many friends and close family members and the use of nature to describe Victor’s feelings is prominent in this novel. Victor has a very prized childhood with a great deal of attention given to him from his loving parents. The monster that Victor creates kills his brother which takes a big toll on Victor’s life. Victor was very close with his family and friends but also had heartbreak intervene with their relationships and it …show more content…
shows in the novel. Heartbreak is one of the toughest thing a person has to overcome and Victor experienced many instances of terrible heartbreak. Shelley states, “My father! Cried I, while every feature and every muscle was relaxed from anguish to pleasure. Nothing, at this moment, could have given me greater pleasure than the arrival of my father. I stretched out my hand to him and… My father calmed me” (158-159). When Victor is faced with a tragedy, his response is coming down with illness. Victor spends most of his time during the novel trying to defeat the monster he has created, because of all the bad things he has done and heartbreak it has caused in his life. After killing Henry Clerval and Elizabeth after his brother, Victor gains even more motivation to destroy the horrendous creature he has created. The monster has a big passion for revenge because his creator did not teach him how to correctly deal with problems as a human.
The monster is formulated by Victor and longs for someone to love it. When coping with tragedies, the monster becomes violent which is how the three deaths in its creators’ family happens. By not being taught how to deal correctly with problems like not having a companion, and being left alone the monster decides to take that out on people that Victor cares about. Shelley states, “His first speech, some years after his disastrous birth, follows his first two crimes, the murder of the boy William, Victor’s little brother, and his culpable incrimination of the nursemaid Justine, wrongly judged and executed” (Ronald Britton 7). As a result of coping with tragedy, the monster kills three of his family members. The monster suffers from rejection and loneliness. The monster has to learn how to cope with rejection because Victor rejects him in all aspects of life. Toward the middle of the novel, the monster has a request for a female companion because of how much loneliness the creature feels inside. Loneliness is demonstrated when Shelley states, ‘‘I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet’’ (Shelley 101). The monster realizes what it has destroyed and with the destruction of its creator means there is absolutely nothing left for the creature to live for. In the end it
comes out to Victor not teaching the monster how to cope with feelings of loneliness. The creature does not know how to correctly deal with his life and any problem that he faces. A family who plays quite a significant role in the creature’s life is the DeLacey family. The DeLacey family teaches the creature many human characteristics such as how to speak and how powerful speech can be. The monster that Victor has created and Victor himself share many similarities which causes problems between the two of them and Victor’s family. Both the monster and Victor have a huge passion for revenge. After the monster kills his first victim, Victor and his little brother come to find out that the creation he has created killed him. Shelley states, “You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains- revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food! Man, you shall repent of the injuries you inflict” (Shelley 146-147). When coping with tragedies both Victor and the monster become violent. Harrison states, “Victor’s abandoned and poorly-designed creature brings these moral imperatives of the narrative to light with deep feeling and persuasive reasoning when he meets his maker on the icy fields of the Montanvert glacier” (Gary Harrison 1141). The two characters will do whatever they need to do bring peace and acceptance to themselves, which is very common in the world today. A similarity that really stuck out to me was how much both characters want revenge on anyone and anything. Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. If you ask any person it is assured that they have gotten revenge on somebody. After Victor destroys the female creature, he was making for the monster acts out and wants Victor to feel the same type of loneliness that the monster is feeling. The monster comes out on Victor and Elizabeth’s wedding night and kills Elizabeth so that Victor can know how it feels to yearn for a female companion. Victor and his creation are similar but also very different which causes conflict in the novel Frankenstein. The biggest difference in the characters was the need for a female companion. Victor had Elizabeth, a woman who loved him more than anything. In return for her love Victor weans away from her as it states, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (Shelley 17). From the creature’s point of view it yearns for a female companion. The desire for this female companion is because of how lonely it truly feels. In fact, that is the number one thing that the creature is wanting in life. Anna Clark writes “The differences between the psychologically complex Walton (we get pages of his history, desires, and fears) and the characters he renders shallow through his external focalization are not merely another iteration of "round" versus "flat," or Woloch's inequities of character space”. (Clark 249) Another very different aspect in the lives of the creature and Victor Frankenstein are how the two are loved by their creators. Victor comes from a very loving home which allowed him to reach his goals, accepted for who he was and allowed him to study at the University of his dreams. On the other hand the creature’s creator, Victor is not accepting of who the creature he created is at all. He does not give any love like his parents displayed to him to the creature. In the norm of society this would be what would be expected of Victor. Parents are supposed to love their children more than life itself and even though the monster isn’t truly Victor’s child he created it which is equal to it being his child. Just like his parents gave him the opportunity to go to college, Victor should give the creature an opportunity to have a female companion. Social acceptance was another difference between the two characters that I pin pointed in this novel. Social acceptance is the deliberate attempt to look or act like somebody else, in order to fit in with others. Shelley states, “When I mingled other families, distinctly discerned how peculiarly fortunate my lot was, and gratitude assist the development of filial love” (Shelley 30). From a very early age no matter the social situation, Victor was socially accepted. Because of how his parents raised him and the reputation his family had, he was accepted in society. The book states, “He struggled violently. ‘Let me go, he cried; ‘monster! Ugly wretch!” ‘You wish to eat me to tear me to pieces-you are an ogre- let me go, or I will tell my papa’ (Shelley 122). This quote comes from William for even how young he is judges the creature for his appearance. The creature was never socially accepted because of his appearance even though his creator had a great reputation. In society, people are judged for their outer appearance and looks, and accepted determining these looks. Not only do the two characters differentiate in social acceptance but also in self-acceptance. Victor is socially accepted which in my opinion makes him also accept and respect himself. The book states, “I am alone, and miserable’ man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny himself to me. My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create” (Shelley 123). The creature is not socially accepted which also makes him not accept itself. The monster has a very low self-esteem because of the way he is judged and looked at, which is the way any other human would react. No one will associate with it which also makes itself think with a very low self-esteemed mind. All the creature yearns for is to be accepted, loved, and to have a companion for life. To conclude, Victor Frankenstein and the creature he created share a lot of common similarities and varying differences. Victor, with how smart and intelligent he truly is establishes a want to create a creature who ends up causing distress and suffering. The monster develops a spirit for reprisal after Victor refuses to teach him how to deal with problems. Victor and the monster have many things in common but also many things that are quite different which causes more distress and suffering. The differences these two characters display are what causes the most conflict in the novel. When longing and looking for somebody, especially a female make sure you look for the right person with no harm. I still believe, however, that Victor has a bigger role in the novel Frankenstein than the monster he creates in the story.
Victor animated the creature from dead body parts, effecting his creature’s appearance when he came alive. He couldn’t even look at his creation, and thought that it was malodorous, without thinking how unwanted and helpless the creature feels. With little hope for the creature because of his unappealing appearance, Victor does not bothering to wait and see if he has a good interior or not. As a result of Victor not taking responsibility, the monster decides to take revenge. The monster is repeatedly denied love and deals with the loneliness the only way that he can, revenge, killing Victor’s loved ones making him lonely just like
The monster tells Frankenstein of the wretchedness of the world and how it was not meant for a being such as himself. At the end of his insightful tale the creature demands a companion of the same hideous features but of the opposite gender to become his. Victor only has the choice to make the monster or suffer a lifetime of horror his creation would bring upon him. Which the creator ultimately agrees to make the female monster to save the lives of his family but gains a conscious that fills with guilt of all the destruction he has created and creating. When the monster comes to collect the female he tears her apart and the monster vows to destroy all Victor holds dear. The monster’s emotional sense is consumed with rage against Victor, murdering Frankenstein’s best friend. Though when the monster’s framing ways do not work to lead to Victor being executed, he then murders Frankenstein’s wife on their wedding night. This tragedy is the last for Victor’s father who becomes ill with grief and quickly passes within a few days, leaving Victor with nothing but his own regret. Shelley doesn’t give the audience the monsters side of the story but hints that the remainder of his journey consisted of being a shadow to that of his creator. It is at the graves of the Frankenstein family when the creature makes an appearance in the solemn and
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
In this essay I will be looking at the differences between the creation of the first and second monster, how Mary Shelley portrays the feelings of Victor and the monster and the different myths and legends that she refers to within the novel. Victor Frankenstein had a wonderful life as a child: 'No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself' (p.39) He was loving and cared deeply for his family, especially for his foster-sister, Elizabeth, who he looked upon as his own, and saw as a 'more than sister' (p.37). Victor always had an 'eager desire to learn' (p.39) about 'the secrets of heaven and earth' (p.39). When he was thirteen years old he started studying the works of Cornelius Agrippa and the fact that his father called it all 'sad trash' (p.40) fuelled his curiosity and enthusiasm and caused him to study even more which was to him, 'the fatal impulse that led to my [his] ruin' (p.41).
...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.
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. Throughout the novel, Shelley investigates the idea of monstrosity. She makes the point that a monster does not have to be genuinely evil in order to be considered monstrous.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the monster that he creates are very similar. For example, Victor creates the monster to be like himself. Another similarity is that the anger of both Victor and the monster is brought about by society. One more parallel between Victor and the monster is that they both became recluses. These traits that Victor and the monster possess show that they are very similar.
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
Within Mary Shelley’s gripping novel “Frankenstein”, Victor’s creation is a complex character due to his two dominant characteristics being in conflict with each other. Throughout, it is clear the creation’s greatest desire is to be loved by another. When he sees his creator is unable to do so, he ventures into the world looking for someone to show compassion toward him, only to be rejected over and over again. As anger arises from getting virtually no acceptance and Victor fails to build him a companion, the creation seeks revenge on those close to Victor. His battle to locate a balance between love and hatred during his existence defines him as a seemingly threat who is a truly good person.
The novel follows Victor, an aspiring scientist as he first searches graveyards in search of materials to create a new being. Once animated, he imminently proves irresponsible to the reader and labels it as a monster, where the creation later sets out to seek companionship and affection from his creator. Shelley utilises techniques such as contrast, the theme of alienation shown by Victor and narrative perspective to cause the reader to feel negatively towards Victor as his selfish and isolated nature is revealed throughout the novel.
In an attempt to clear his mind, Victor goes alone to Montanvert. Momentarily he finds peace, but it is very short lived when he comes face to face with the monster he created. The monster tells him the things he has endured in life. He says to Victor “Remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.” (Shelley 96) At this point the monster places the burden of his actions onto Victor’s shoulders. Not only did Victor’s secret lead to the death of Justine, now the very creation of the monster lead to William’s death. The monster then requests that Victor create a new creature, a female companion for
The monster was thrown blindly into the world with no one to look to for support. He was left to fend for himself, wandering the countryside. The entire time his hatred for Victor, who is responsible for his miserable existence, grew. The monster was continuously rejected by society due to his horrifying appearance and the way he reacted to such rejections. He was not created evil; he was shaped into the monster society sees him as. The monster has a personality that cares for others and longs for acceptance and a family. His personality really showed when he stayed in hiding near a small cottage owned by the De Lacy family. The monster observed the family for a long period of time, growing attached to their lives. He was able to learn how to read and speak as well as how to act properly. The monster began to feel like the he could trust the family. The monster confronted the family and, as expected, the family reacts negatively. The monster felt that he had been created out of hatred and, believing that the entire human race believes the same, swears vengeance on Victor Frankenstein. All he wanted was for someone to accept him, and his only chance of getting someone to make him happy was destroyed in front of his eyes. The monster was able to threaten Victor, forcing him to create a female companion, but before she was complete, Victor changed his mind and destroyed the second creature.
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).
Victor creates his creature from corpses, and he succeeds in his goal of creating new life. However, the creature terrifies him and he ends up abandoning his creation, this becomes the creature's first experience in abandonment. As a result a result of Frankenstein’s abandonment the monster now has to fend for himself. Upon creation the creature had to find a way to learn how to speak as well as learning basic concepts such as; hot and cold, light and dark, as well as hunger and thirst. On his journey of trying to find himself the creature comes across many different people, whom he doesn’t have the best experience with. Whenever people look at him they are both terrified and disgusted by his hideous features causing them to run away from him. The creature is chased off and he makes his way to a cottage where he comes across a family of peasants, he lives outside their home in secret. The family is totally unaware of his presence. The creature is able to observe the family and their mannerisms, through his observation he is able to learn how to read and write, as well as the differences between good and bad. He is also able to observe their relationship with one another, he sees the love and care which they have and he hopes to have the opportunity for the same
His famished appearance and his tales of woes entice the reader to believe that he is the person who has suffered the most agony in his tale and that his quest for revenge is just. However, this first impression is entirely juxtaposed by the presence of the monster, which from the moment of his birth is detailed as hideous and villainous, yet displays emotions of longing for love and care from others. The monster’s views of the world are entirely shaped by the initial rejection that his creator gave him, leaving him without even the ability to communicate with others or understand what he is. The creature is forced to scavenge for food and learn from afar what it means to be alive, how to speak and communicate with others. His murderous actions would have been prevented had someone cared enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. This responsibility falls immediately to his creator, who was the person who brought him to life as a whim, and his failings as a compassionate human being are what ultimately doom the monster to a life of hatred. Worse, Victor has also cursed the monster to a solitary life with his refusal to create a companion after giving him initial hope of finally being able to be with someone who would accept him. The monster is left without a choice but to accept that there would never be another being that