What is monstrosity? According to the Oxford Dictionary, monstrosity is “something that is very large, ugly and frightening.” In literature we have encountered numerous characters that fall under this description, however only a few have been labeled as monsters. Two famous examples would be Shakespeare's Caliban from The Tempest, and Victor’s “monster” from Merry Shelley’s Frankenstein. Caliban is a native of the island Prospero encounters, that is physically deformed; while Victor’s ‘monster’ is Victor’s creation that is also physically deformed. Both, Caliban and the monster, are outcasts from normal society, and viewed as The Other. The only think that distinguishes them from being human is their deformity.
Their deformed appearance is readily explained by their unnatural origins. Caliban is said to be the son of a witch and devil; while the monster is cobbled together from dead body parts.
They are also alike in that both are misunderstood and mistreated by everyone, but most importantly by the person that is closest to them. For example, Prospero keeps Caliban as his slave, while Victor resents his creation.
Despite their appearances however, both characters can be eloquent; Frankenstein’s creature and Caliban display high levels of learning, while they also express desires of their own. For instance, they both want to mate and reproduce. Would a monster long for love? this brings us to the next question, what makes a human human? Well according to the Oxford Dictionary, a human is “a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.” Based on this definition, then, both Caliban and Frankenstein’s creature ar...
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...example above defends Brooks assertion in that even Victor has conflicting thoughts about his creation.
Through the knowledge he, the creature, acquires he “discovers himself as different, as violation of the laws,” (Brooks, 376). However, by comparing himself to someone like Adam and Eve he demonstrates that monstrosity truly does lie in the eyes of the beholder, and is not solemnly upon the beholdee.
This brings us to our conclusion and the new questioned that needs to be answered, is one born a monster or is one defined as being a monster based on their acts there after? Based on the evidence provided above through Caliban and Frankensteins creature, one can say that being born physically deformed does not make one a monster, rather making them being labeled as different, hence, being treated differently will ultimately result in one making monstrous acts.
According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, a monster is a “strange or horrible imaginary creature”. But monsters don’t necessarily need to be fictional; even humans can be monsters. The only thing that distinguishes us from fictional monsters are our appearances, human-monsters are hard to detect. Therefore, it’s easy to treat people based on their appearances since the human mind gets deceived by looks.
...as made of different people, so he had different personalities, and therefore could not be expected to act as a normal person. Upon his creation, he was left not receiving the protection and guidance he desperately needed. His feelings were the same as any other humans: grief, and distress, anger. But, instead of calmly diffusing his anger, he chose to destroy that which made his “enemy” happy. There was never a good reason to bring the dead to life, despite all of Victor’s claims. Because of his arrogance, and lack of a functioning human heart, he disregarded everyone’s opinions and advice and sought to do what was right for himself and not even attempting to protect his family, regardless of how he claimed he did. His incompetence cost his entire family’s life, but fortunately, saved that of Walton and his crew mates. So, at least, he did one good.
Humans are seen by many as the exemplary species on earth, intended by God to dominate and take control of others. Humanity cannot be characterized as a physical trait; for one can appear to be human on the outside but within are nothing near a human. Within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, humanity can be considered an emotional experience; an experience where one is always longing for acceptance and naturally conforms to avoid being ostracized or different. The monster is made from human parts and in human likeness, but is not seen as a human being by many. Such is a question raised by many; is the monster human, or is he a filthy demon to which Victor Frankenstein had given life? Although a clear definition of humanity is not expressed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is in fact human due to its ability to adapt and utilize the human culture and lifestyle in many ways including longing for a companion, discovering its soul and yearning for acceptance.
Monsters are symbols and representations of a culture. They exist because of certain places or feelings of a time period. Monsters are “an embodiment of a certain cultural moment”. Author of Grendel, John Gardner, and author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, both create a monster to represent something larger than itself in order to have the reader reflect on their “fears, desires, anxiety, and fantasy” in society, which is explained in Jefferey Cohen's Monster Culture (Seven Theses). The latest trend in monster media, zombies, also fit into Cohen's theses on what a monster is.
While scientists pursuing the progress of science today, it would be good if they do it for the benefits of human race. However, if their desires for scientific discovery are caused by their selfish ambition, and they do not take responsibility of them if fail, their creations might become threats for human. As an example of Frankenstein, written by the English author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, tells the story of a young science Victor Frankenstein who creates a grotesque creature in a scientific experiment, and that cause the tragedy for the rest of his life and the death of many innocent people. When people read this book, many of them might see the creature as a monster as the fact that it has a horrible
Throughout most of her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley establishes a them stating no one can be born evil but the life a person lives turns them evil. The creature becomes a monster everyone believes him to be after continuous rejection and abuse. This is the reason why readers become more sympathetic towards Frankenstein's creation than any other character in the novel.
Imagine an eight-foot-tall, misshapen human child. You might complain that this is contradictory - but do it anyway. Imagine some sort of humanoid being with the mind of a human child in an eight-foot body, green with a nail in its head if you want. This is what Frankenstein's creature is. Frankenstein's creature is mentally a child, and we see its evolution through traditional child development in the course of its narrative. But the creature is the only member of its species, and therefore its narrative can be taken to represent the history of an entire species - the creature's first experiences can be viewed as an amalgam of creation myths.
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 Creature, Victor Frankenstein’s creation, is shaped into a monster through its experiences, instead of the nature of itself, which is more expected. Victor Frankenstein, on the other hand, is shaped into a monster because of his mind’s power-hungry nature. Victor treats his creature poorly and he himself becomes wicked. While the Creature also becomes wicked in the end, its actions are more justified because multiple people treated it poorly, causing the Creature to lash out. Even though Victor Frankenstein and the Creature both turn into wicked monsters, to some extent, only one of
“Caliban...takes shape beneath the arc of wonder that moves throughout the play between “creatures” and “mankind,” between animate beings in general and their realization in the form of humanity. Is he man or fish? creature or person?" (Lupton, 3).
Brooks begins his argument by analyzing the relationships of the novel and how they build tension between the characters. He speaks to how the narrative frame itself positions the reader to "supplement" the story of the "speaker", which in the case of Frankenstein is both the text itself and the individual narration of the characters. Most importantly, he sets up how Frankenstein's narrative frame, essentially a series of conversations relating one characters unresolved issues to another, begins creating the concept of the monster. Creation of the monstrous, in the idea of Brooks happens solely through language, a medium deemed corrupt and insufficient. This is the source of the monstrous, as Brooks reveals that through the Monster's exposure to the world, he no longer takes part in the imaginary order as he finds that he cannot be accepted on appearance alone, and instead uses language as a tool to express his desires.
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.
Shelley presents two characteristics of mankind in order to prove her case. The first example is Frankenstein’s creation. Upon first being introduced to his creation, the reader initially labels him as a monster because of his physical appearance. He is portrayed as a man with “.yellow skin scarcely cover[ing] the work of muscles and arteries beneath.watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set.shrivelled complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 58). Not only does the reader view him as a sort of horrifying being, but his deformed exterior also causes society to reject him; they brand him the title of a monster.... ...
A monster is usually viewed to be a supernatural creature that humans judge based on looks and not necessarily on personality. In the novel, Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the monster is a creature Victor creates but abandons immediately because he is horrified by his own creation. Due to the monster’s appearance, society does not give the creature a chance to show his true self. Therefore, the monster faces an external conflict because of Frankenstein’s and society's rejection, making it difficult for him to blend into his new life. Victor creates the monster because of his unusual compulsion of aspiring to be like God. However, Victor does not know how to treat or be responsible for his creature. Victor Frankenstein is the true monster
After his creation, Frankenstein’s monster is left in isolation, cursed to endure people’s hatred towards him. This revulsion met by onlookers is merely based on the creature’s hideous looks. The monster is not actually a monster at all. He displays more humanity than many other characters in Frankenstein. The ultimate irony is that the prejudicial belief is what caused the reanimated human to become a monster. In the nature versus nurture debate, proponents of the nature theory believe that a person is unchanging and that one’s experiences do not affect that person’s behavior. If this were true, the monster would not change as a result of his interactions with humans. It is undeniable that the creature does immoral things, but when Frankenstein’s monster saves a little girl from drowning, Mary Shelley takes a clear stance that the creature was naturally noble but became monstrous as a result of interactions with humans.