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The main characters in the novel, Frankenstein express characteristics that vary tremendously. Victor Frankenstein and the monster shared the feelings of both hatred and love, they each felt isolated and alienated, and each are intelligent creatures. They portrayed numerous physical differences, their interactions with people and love for others differed immensely. Each of these characters were essential to this classic novel. Victor Frankenstein was an interesting character. While growing up in Geneva, Victor found a love for science. Victor was described as always being concentrated. His eyes were wild, almost as a mad man, “I never saw a more interesting creature: his eyes have generally an expression of wildness, and even madness” (Shelley …show more content…
He was described as having yellow skin, his veins and muscles were easily seen though the thin layers of skin. The monster had “lustrous black, and flowing” hair (Shelley 5.2). He had beautiful white teeth, but his eyes were set deep into grey colored sockets; his lips were straight in shape and gloomy black in color. This creature frightened any person who came into contact with him. When first created, the monster lacked knowledge, he did not know how to talk. The monster even had trouble sorting out his five senses, it took him a long while to understand the difference between seeing and hearing (Shelley 11.2). Despite the monster’s ugly appearance, he only wanted people to love …show more content…
As mentioned before, the monster did not feel like he was a part of society because of his appearance. After the humans ran from the monster and Victor abandoned him, he traveled to the mountains to survive alone. The monster was aware of the way humans interact, because he watched the De Lacey family (Shelley 13.2). He wanted a female monster to share the same experiences as the family. Victor felt isolated from society while creating the monster. He devoted all of his energy and time to his creation. As a child Victor recalls that he was somewhat lonely. He claims that he was “turned not towards childish pursuits, but to an eager desire to learn” (Shelley 2.4). Isolation was an issue for each of these characters.
The amount of intelligence obtained was important to each character. Victor was fascinated by the study of science since he was a small child. He read many of the books written by ancient philosophers. Victor gained more knowledge while attending the university. When first created, the monster had little information about human life stored in his brain. The monster learned many things by observing other people. This was important to the formation of the monster’s and Victor’s
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is about a creature born in an unaccepting world. Shelley's idea of Gothicism changed the subgenre of horror, due to its dark look into nature. It became an influence on Tim Burton's movie Edward Scissorhands, moved by the sadness of the creature trying to fit into society, he creates a monster of his own. Mary Shelley and Tim Burton use literary and cinematic elements to show that isolation from society can destroy your relationship with others.
1. He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl who committed herself to his care.
The phrase, “opposites attract” occurs in the thoughts of all the hopeless romantics available in the world. However, what is factual in life is also disturbingly accurate in books. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley encompasses the thoughts that hinder the sleep of many individuals across the world in her novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. Victor Frankenstein’s foil, or opposite, happens to be his childhood friend Henry Clerval. Their relationship portrays the themes of life, or existence, and the pursuit of science.
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...
If Victor had stayed around and showed the monster the real world, he might have not have went on to perform violent actions. This portrays Victor as a selfish character and gives more of an insight on his personal life. As a child, Victor is only interested in furthering his own knowledge and not worried about anyone else. He spent much of his time “drawing the picture of [his] early days... when [he] would account to [himself] for the birth of that passion which afterwards ruled [his] destiny” (Shelley 34), or otherwise a magnificent creation that would change his future. When constructing the Monster, he put all of his relatives in the back of his mind, and only focused on his own success and victory. This further explains the theme of being selfless and only doing certain things that will benefit
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, as the name implies, centers on the character of Victor Frankenstein. Over the course of the novel, the point of view switches across a cast of several characters, all of which have interacted with Victor, some more than others. Victor’s pursuit to find the source of life, and the events thereafter, show him making countless questionable decisions, hurting the people close to him, and getting away wit hit all because of the society he lives in. These points unequivocally prove that Victor Frankenstein is a sociopath.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. 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.
In the novel, Frankenstein, a doctor named Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Victor’s monster was created using old human parts, chemicals, and a “spark.” Victor wanted to create this monster in order to benefit mankind, and for the purpose of playing God. Victor thought his creation would turn out great, but in all actuality, his monster ended up terribly wrong (Shelley, 145). The monster was a deformed man, standing eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, black hair, black lips, and skin that did not conceal his internal features (Shelley, 144-145). Even though the monster was very grown, he had the mind of a newborn child, and he was very kind and gentle (Shelley, 327). The monster’s appearance terrified Victor, and he immediately abandoned it. Dr. Victor Frankenstein also never named his creation because he disliked it that much. The monster was longing for love, and since no one loved him, he became very violent. He ended up killing Victor’s brother and best friend out of pure revenge (Shelley, 193). Anytime the monster tried to help people, he was bea...
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.
Victor Frankenstein finds himself exploring the world of science against his fathers wishes but he has an impulse to go forward in his education through university. During this time any form of science was little in knowledge especially the chemistry which was Victors area if study. Victor pursues to go farther than the normal human limits of society. “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Chapter 4). He soon finds the answer he was looking for, the answer of life. He becomes obsessed with creating a human being. With his knowledge he believes it should be a perfe...
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
It is when Frankenstein realizes how different he is to other people that he realizes his uniqueness and individualism. “I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man. I was more agile than they and could subsist upon a coarser diet; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?” (Frankenstein, 150). While Frankenstein is by no means a human, he is made up of human parts and still craves love and affection. His rejection from everyone he sees, including his creator makes him feel like an outcast. It was because of Victor that Frankenstein couldn’t bear to be who he was made to be and felt a need to run into isolation. Victor not only created a monster physically, but also mentally turned him into someone he didn’t have to be. Both Frankenstein and Victor struggle with balancing their personal wants and needs with societies expectations and the people around them. That is one of the true struggles of being one person living in a world of many, you have to do what makes you happy while making sure it doesn’t effect other peoples happiness negatively. Victor doesn’t do a good job of
Monsters can come in various physical forms, but all monsters share the same evil mentality. A Monster is a being that harms and puts fear within people. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of how appearance does not determine whether a creature is a monster or not. In the story, Victor Frankenstein tries to change nature by creating a super human being. The being appears to be a monster. Victor becomes so obsessed with his creation and then rejects it. Victor is the real monster because of his desire for power, lack of respect for nature, and his stubbornness.
The obvious clash is introduced all through Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Clash, anticipation and a raising peak are three noteworthy parts to an elegantly composed novel. The parts of conflict in a novel consistently propel the plot and must dependably influence the primary character in a manner that depicts through alternate characters in the novel too.
While he is typically on the receiving end, the monster still makes decisions throughout the story that depend on how others have viewed him. The first person to harshly judge the monster is its creator, Victor. The monster is composed of the compounding together of miscellaneous body parts to create something new. Upon first seeing his creation brought to life, Victor calls him a “catastrophe” and takes “refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which he inhabited” (Shelley, 37-38). While the monster is internally kindhearted, visually he is very displeasing to the eye. Since Victor, the initial creator, is not capable of looking past the posterity of the beast to see what its personality is, the monster is instilled with the idea that no one can accept him. This idea is furthered when the monster finds a strange hut and scares a man upon entering. This man “turned on hearing a noise; and, perceiving the creature, shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly appeared capable” (Shelley, 78). While both Victor and the strange man were not used to the monster at the point of their first encounters, their reaction to flee from its presence seems to be a bit overboard. The comments from both of these characters shows the tolerance of prejudice from both of these characters, as they also show no remorse for their