Victor Frankenstein Persuasive Essay

The story of a Monster and his creation

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you today an unfortunate case. One in which is based on the development of a monster. Now, what defines someone being a monster? Is it a gigantic stocky being whose appearance is offensive to the eye? The answer to this question is, no it is not. This judgment based off appearance, is a prejudice assumption and should not be taken into consideration in the case of Victor Frankenstein and his ‘creature’. What truly defines someone as a monster, is the character of his or her being. The truth about the creature in this case, is that he did make mistakes. However, it is imperative to understand the circumstances of which lead to such tragedies. I’d like to take

this opportunity to point out the true monster in this case, and his name is none other than Victor Frankenstein.

From the beginning of Creature’s creation, he was doomed to a life of agony, depression, persecution, and loneliness. His appearance alone gave way to challenges that no human should ever have to endure. Creature’s very creator, Victor, called him horrid, a monster, a demon as well as many other cruel names. Victor’s harassing nature is an incredibly important aspect of this case; therefore it should be taken into consideration when evaluating who the true monster of this story is. Upon the Creature’s first moments of life, Victor stated that his heart was filled with a “breathless horror and disgust” (Shelley 45). What chance did this poor creature have if his own creator, or father if you will, could not even accept or love him. Moreover, Victor’s carelessness upon this creation was of his own purely selfish desires. There was little thought put into the life that the creature would have to live, thus providing us proof, that he did not care that this was a person he was creating. There is no defense for this, especially since Victor himself stated that he

knew this would in fact be a person, his words where that he “began the creation of a human being” (Shelley 43). Therefore, there is no excuse to Victor’s negligence, nor his thoughtlessness of creating a person that is “gigantic in stature […] eight feet in height and proportionately large” (Shelley 43). What kind of life could someone of Creature’s appearance and stature live? How is it the Victor, someone who is supposed to be of remarkable intelligence, did not prepare for this? At the same time the creature himself is aware of his creator’s negligence. He asks Victor “why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from me in disgust?” (Shelley 90). This not only shows that the creature is a being with feelings, it also provides evidence that the misfortunes that follow, are the fault of Victor and his obsessive need to satisfy his own ego.
Moreover, this poor creature was abandoned nearly immediately.

This deprived creature was not taught, nor was he provided with the basic tools that would be necessary for his survival. His first memories where him wandering around alone “cold [and] half frightened” (Shelley 73). In contrast Victor has lived a leisurely life of privilege, was provided with all the essentials to life that a growing boy could ask for. Victor is not a victim and has no reason other than that of his own making to be thought of as such. The creature however, despite circumstance as well as having the odds against him, still retains his respect for life. He states that after all that he has been through, that “Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me and I will defend it”. (Shelley 72). This statement distinguishes him from Victor greatly. Where the creature respects life, Victor manipulates it, and is apathetic to both life, death and the laws of nature. The distinction of victim and monster does not end

here.
In addition to Victor’s negligence, and apathy he exhibits many other sociopathic, as well as psychopathic behaviors. There are seven main traits of a psychopath that Victor exhibits that the creature does not. Victor is a narcissist, he lacks empathy, has a hyper-obsessive personality, can often times be a recluse, admits to feelings of rage, and lacks basic morality. He himself has admitted or eluded to such traits in his own account of the instances that occurred. The first of which he admits to having before the creature is even brought into existence. In his testimony he revealed that as a small child he was apathetic to others. He stated that he was “more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge” (Shelley 32), and it was made a habit of his “temper to avoid a crowd and to attach [himself] fervently to a few [and he] was indifferent, to [his] school-fellows in general” (Shelley). His obsession leads him to “[shun] his fellow creatures as if he had been guilty of a crime” (Shelley 44). These unhealthy views of peers, as well as his feelings of “being guilty of a crime”, show just how consumed he allowed himself to become by his obsession. Furthermore, he is guilty of a crime. He admitted to the “horrors of [his] secret toil as [he] dabbled among the unhallow damps of the grave [and] tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay” (Shelley 43). This shows that not only was capable of killing live creatures, it also shows that he is indifferent to the dead due to his view of dead bodies as simply fragments of material for his usage. This ladies and gentlemen of the jury, sounds an awful lot like the making of a murderous monster to me.
Often Victor excuses his behavior and blames others for his misdeeds, this includes his father, his mother, his professors as well as fait and destiny. He rarely ever admits to having a continence. The only time he says anything to do with his feelings about his actions he admits that he “considered whether [he] should not declare [himself] guilty and suffer the penalty of the law” (Shelley 120). However, no matter how many times he mentions he was guilty of a crime, he never truly owned his behavior and still persuade to act on his rage, and to seek vengeance of the creature.
My client however has shown he has a conscience. It is true that Creature has acted on some of his hostility towards man, nevertheless he has shown remorse. These actions where also motivated by consistent persecution, abuse, and loneliness which is more than I can say for Mr. Frankenstein.