A Caveat to the Pursuit of Knowledge

Frankenstein is just plain cruel and neglectful to his creation. He does not care for it, shelter it, provide it with food or love, nor teaches his creation. This neglecting truly shows that Frankenstein is a self-absorbed monster. Upon Frankenstein's return to his castle he tells how he searched his house for his creation but found him not, "I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune could have befallen me; but when I became assured that my enemy [his creation] had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy,". Frankenstein already refers to his creation as his enemy when is has done nothing to him at all. Frankenstein takes no responsibility for his creation and acts like nothing has happened when he doesn't find it in his house. A decent, responsible person would not "clap for joy" but rather start looking for his creation. Frankenstein even states that, "A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind, and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility" yet when he thinks about his creation, "my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation…I wished to see him again, that I might wreak the utmost extent of abhorrence on his head". Now does that sound like some one who has preserved a calm and peaceful mind? Frankenstein's irresponsibility leads to the death of three innocent people, "I called my self the murdered of William, of

this in such a way that the reader feels sorry for the monster, but we

The reader can immediately see this because the Monster says, “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?” (Shelley 124). He begins to murder members of Victor’s close friends and family. His first victim is William Frankenstein. The Monster has no intentions to kill William, but he says, “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed” (Shelley 116). The Monster shows his frustration with Victor creating him in this way and for making him into an outcast. After Victor breaks his promise of creating a female monster, the Monster murders Henry Clerval. The Monster’s anger continues to build up over time and he believes the only way to face it is by taking the lives of those who have a close relationship with Victor. The Monster kills Elizabeth Lavenza on her wedding night. He takes the lives of the people who are in a close relationship with Victor due to the anger he feels toward him. The violence the Monster uses is his way to try and seek revenge on Victor because he feels that he set him up to fail, to be an outcast, and to be unacceptable to

Mary Shelley’s ability to create such multidimensional characters in Frankenstein proves that writing is a powerful tool that has the ability to provoke vastly different opinions amongst readers. Even though each individual reading the story is reading the exact same words, their interpretation of those words often leads to opposing views in regards to the fate of the characters. The creature, in particular, has been a popular topic of discussion when conducting a close read of the novel due to his arguable versatility as a victim and villain. The concept of the villain has evolved over the years, however its basis still rests upon the simple fact that as a character in the story, their actions are a result of malicious intentions

At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.

There is a seemingly endless cycle of revenge throughout the novel, which connects Frankenstein to his creation. When Frankenstein finds out his creation is the reason for William and Justine’s death, it drives his deep emotions for the beast. “My abhorrence of this fiend cannot be conceived. When I thought of him I gnashed my teeth, my eyes became inflame, and I ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had so thoughtlessly bestowed”(Shelley74). He is reflecting on the creatures actions which have pushed him to wish the creature was never born. In a sense, he is

The loneliness of the Creature leads it to unbelievable acts of violence, the first one being the killing of Frankenstein's youngest brother William. The monster describes its terrible act in detail: "I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph: clapping my hands, I exclaimed, 'I too can create desolation; my enemy is not impregnable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him'" (Shelley 97). Shelley is trying to teach the world a lesson by illustrating that the monster is not just a scientific project, the monster is a living emotional being. Frankenstein even further rejects the

Frankenstein was a coward that used science selfishly to become a God without taking responsibility of the retaliation of defying the laws of Nature. The Monster did kill many and became a murderer, acts that cannot be forgot except that they are the consequence of the negligence of its creator. That is why ethics are necessary, as people like Victor Frankenstein, in the name of the human civilization, do terrible and unethical acts. Victor had an obsession, just like the Monster, the first one with building and the other one with destroying. In the end, the Monster could have been the result of an experiment that could have to be useful for society in some way, at least, better than an indifferent criminal. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the biggest threat to society as he has a negligent attitude, governed by impulsive attitudes, Frankenstein, in the beginning, tries to be good but the Monster embraced his darker side, his ambition, and egotism which consumed Victor's entire life, ending up in misery that involved not only the one playing as God and its creation but everyone around them that had nothing to do with

He envied these people most, because they were the perfect beings they did not have his horrific defects. "...from that moment he declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against Frankenstein who had had formed him and sent him forth to this insupportable misery" (Shelley 121). This shows that the monster fought against his label as an outcast. The monster killed William, for something William could not have affected. "...you belong then to my enemy-to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim" (Shelley 150). The monster not only wished to kill Victor for his creation but to kill everyone associated with his eternal enemy. The monster has been pushed so far that he will not give any humans a chance, the same chance he once wanted. The monster is treating William just the way he was treated, with no remorse.

In addition to being rejected by his creator, Frankenstein’s monster is also treated very violently by humans, leaving him alone and feeling like he did something wrong, even though their reactions are based solely on his appearance. The monster does not want to be thought of as a monster at first, but as he comes to realize from human interactions, no matter what his actions are, people will always judge him by what he cannot control. The monster explains the first interaction he had ever had with

In doing so, Frankenstein condemns the creature to loneliness and persecution. The creature's hatred and violent acts are not an inherent part of his character, as he explains, "I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous" (81). If Frankenstein had raised and cared for him, the creature would have experienced compassion, and had someone to support him and be his advocate. Instead, the creature is left to learn about the world on his own, and develop a set of morals based on the way society treats him. Because he grows up outside of, and shunned by, society, he feels very little moral obligation towards other human beings. "...and tell me why should I pity man more than he pities me?" the creature asks Frankenstein. "Shall I respect man when he contemns [sic] me?" (122) The creature is not a monster in his own eyes; he is behaving rationally given the treatment he has received. If he were taught a better way to act, he would almost certainly behave in that way. The monster is not born a monster, his ugliness notwithstanding; he becomes one because society behaves monstrously towards him.

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature

“ I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest...” Here, Frankenstein has isolated himself to create another creature but he states that he is scared of what future generations may think of his work, for he is on the verge of creating a another specimen on Earth who is just as if not more abnormal and loathed than the first. In chapter 15, the creature visits a blind man and is accepted as a friend, but as soon as the blind man’s son sets eyes on the creature, he is seemingly judged as a monster and villain. This exemplifies how standards of appearance in society must be met in order to be accepted and in this case, the creature is far from appearing “ normal,” and is shunned by mankind. The two fall into misery and blame each other, causing much conflict and

In the Romance novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley she illustrates themes of innocence and revenge. The book focuses on a wild scientist named Victor Frankenstein. The novel goes through many stories and perspectives on the life of Frankenstein's creation. Throughout the novel the monster tries to prove to the society that he is not a horrible creature and that his physical attributes do not represent him. Although he tries hard to accomplish this goal, society does not believe him so the monster decides to get revenge on Frankenstein. The society is responsible for the deaths that occurred in the novel because they assumed he was a certain way based on his looks, their violent towards him, and they mentally hurt him with their words which turn him evil and make him obsessed with revenge.

In the book Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein was a scientist who made a scientific discovery that resulted to his own destruction. He ended up creating a monster to which he failed to give love and support it expected. The monster was lonely and sad which led him to seek revenge from Victor and eventually be the reason of his death. The revenge by the monster was a just punishment for Victor’s actions because he attempted to give life to the dead which was completely against the law of nature and the outcome of anything against God’s will would ultimately be the nemesis of the one who created it.