Analysis Of ' Frankenstein ' By Mary Shelley

In a similar way, Victor’s monster was subjected to hate and ridicule from the society around him because he did not get the nurturing he deserved. He did not get education and was left to take care of himself. Wherever he went people were scared by him, and he is confused about his existence. When troubles invaded his life, he had no one to guide him and in the process of self-education he made some wrong decisions that proved fatal, both for him and the others. He yearned for counsel and a family to belong to. Since he did not get this from his creator, he tried to substitute him with the family of the De Laceys in the forest.

Like a baby, Frankenstein’s creature was born innocent and inexperience of how society works. Neglected by his creator, the creature had no one to teach him, this caused him to become isolated. While wandering in the wilderness the creature came upon the De Lacey family. He does not approach them, instead he studies them and becomes accustom to their doings. He uses his isolation to educate himself and gain courage to meet the family. Aghast by the creature’s monstrous appearance, the De Lacey family fled away leaving the

"A Hermit is simply a person to whom society has failed to adjust itself." (Will Cuppy). In the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley we follow the life of Victor Frankenstein in 18th century Germany. Shelley displays a recurring theme of isolation and how it drives once good people to do terrible things. If civilization does not adjust itself to a creature of any kind they will be forced into isolation and ultimately self destruction.

Every work is a product of its time. Indeed, we see that in Frankenstein, like in the world which produced its author, race, or the outward appearances on which that construct is based, determines much of the treatment received by those at all levels of its hierarchy. Within the work, Mary Shelley, its author, not only presents a racialized view of its characters, but further establishes and enforces the racial hierarchy present and known to her in her own world. For the few non-European characters, their appearance, and thus their standing in its related hierarchy, defines their entrances into the narrative. For the Creature, this occurs on the ices of the Artic, when, “atop a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile;” Walton and his men perceived, “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature.” (Shelley 13) Shelley clarifies, even this early in her novel, the race of its principal Other as soon after the intrepid adventurers rescue its namesake, Victor Frankenstein, who, Shelley clarifies, “was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European.” (Shelley 14) Later, closer examination of the Creature reveals a visage and figure of near unimaginable disfigurement, with a “shrivelled complexion,” and yellow skin which “scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.” (Shelley 35) This could be contrasted directly

Alienation is a product of society’s inherently discriminatory bias, catalyzed by our fear of the unknown in the realm of interpersonal conduct. Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, dissects society’s unmerited demonization of individuals who defy—voluntarily or involuntarily—conventional norms. Furthermore, through her detailed parallel development of Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley personifies the tendency to alienate on the basis of physical deformity, thereby illustrating the role of the visual in the obfuscation of morality.

Shelley addresses romantic conventions in Victor to convey his loss of identity. Victor is impatient and restless when constructing the creation, so much, that he does not think about it’s future repercussions. One of the great paradoxes that Shelley’s novel depicts is giving the monster more human attributes than to it’s creator [p. 6 - Interpretations]. This is true as the monster seeks an emotional bond, but Victor is terrified of it’s existence. The monster later reveals, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurred at and kicked and trampled on [Shelley, p. 224].” Victor’s lack of compassion is rooted from the inability to cope with his reality. He distances himself from others and is induced with fainting spells [Shelley, p. 59]. From this, the nameless creature exemplifies Victor’s attempt to abandon his creation to escape his responsibilities. His creation is described as, ‘wretched devil’ and ‘abhorred monster,’ eliciting that the unobtainable, pitied identity [Shelley, p. 102]. The act of not naming the creature reveals Victor as hateful, and unnaturally disconnected to his own created victim.

John Locke is one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and is famously known for asserting that all humans have natural rights. He also believed that humans are born with clean slates, and that the environment humans grow in, especially at a young age, has massive influences on aspects of their personalities, ideals, and motivations. Shelley was most definitely influenced by this claim when writing Frankenstein. As the reader, we can see the monster that Victor Frankenstein creates grow up alone, without guidance, and be formed by the experiences it is put through while trying to survive. Its emotions and beliefs throughout the book were merely a result of its experiences as it encounters the harsh reality of the world. Mary

The creature’s greatest desire is to be welcomed by man, and he is prepared to work hard to achieve this goal. He says, ‘“What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but dared not... I would remain quietly in my hovel, watching and endeavoring to discover the motives which influenced their actions,”’ (Shelley 77). Upon gathering more information about people, the creature leaves his hovel. When he is alone with the blind man, De Lacey, in the cottage, he says “‘...I trust that by your aid, I shall not be driven from the society and sympathy of your fellow creatures.’”(Shelley 98). The creature genuinely believes that despite his physical deformities, he will be accepted by mankind. He thinks that through his ability to contribute to society and his kindness, people will treat him with respect even though he is not physically like them. The creature’s confidence that he would be accepted shows that was overly optimistic about the morality of mankind. At the start of their tumultuous journeys, both the girl and the creature are confident, optimistic beings that seem on track for success.

When the creature was first created he was unable to defy who he was, but when you are born, you are born neutral. You learn right and wrong from your guardian. The creature never had any guidance because his own father disowned him. Even after that the creature tried to stick with being a nice fellow, but people were just disgusted with him and thought he was a cruel creature because of his appearance. “He turned on hearing a noise, and perceiving me, shriekeed loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the fields with a speed of which is debilitated form hardly appeared capable” (90). The creature tried to get over this world of pain by intriguing himself with a small family. The creature decided to help the family out by lending an invisible hand.”When I returned, as often as it was necessary, I cleared their path from the snow and preformed those offices that I had seen done by Felix” (99). Unfortunately the DeLacey family did not respond so nicely to the creature after all he had done for them after the creature exposed himself to the family.”Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father, to whose knees I clung; in a transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick” (119). The one thing that pushed the creature over was when he tried to save a girl from drowning.”This was the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone” (126) . The creature just wanted to help, but instead of a thank-you, he got

Because of its appearance, the monster is often feared by all who lay eyes on it. From his own creator to the villagers in the town, from the moment it is born it is judged based solely on looks. Society teaches that such judgements should not be made based on a mere glance. Despite this, there are several occurrences of the monster being chased off by people after conversing in a normal discussion or even saving a woman's life. Anytime the monster is seen with a someone by a passerbyer their immediate thought is it is attempting to harm them. The ideal that one should not be judgmental based on appearance is presented when the monster converses with an old blind man named De Lacey. Because he is blind the man cannot make a snap judgement and must talk to the monster to make a decision on what kind of personality or level of morality the creature possesses. De Lacey even goes so far as to say that aiding the monster would make him feel, “True pleasure.” (96). This ideal is shattered when the man's son comes home and, horrified by the monster's appearance, kicks him out of their house. These negative reactions cause the monster to feel more isolated and bitter at the world, wishing only for family and companionship. The creature sums up his woes thus, “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel.”

Once he realizes the fault of his actions, Victor’s lack of involvement in the creature’s life forces it to learn on its own, which ultimately leads it to develop negative conclusions about human interactions and life itself. The importance

He encounters the home of the de Laceys, and as he watches them, he learns how to speak and read. Through the books he reads, he finds a sense of understanding. The Creature then attempts to befriend the blind patriarch, M. de Lacey, who is friendly and open to listening to him. While conversing with father de Lacey, it is evident that the Creature isn’t as he immediately appears to be. As Peter Brooks so eloquently states in his criticism “What Makes a Monster?”, the Creature, “As a verbal creation, … is the very opposite of the monstrous: he is a sympathetic and persuasive participant in Western culture.”

One’s natural benevolence is warped by society. The creature, after being rejected once, continues to prove his kind heart when rescuing a child from drowning. Rushing to save the child with urgency, the creature proves his humanity. But once again, his appearance is at fault for others believing he is doing the harm, and he is shot. Rageful now, the creature swears his revenge on mankind. “Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind[….]Shall I respect man when he condemns me?” (Shelley) Society has only shown hate and violence toward him; how else is the creature expected to reciprocate? The creature is not taught love or belonging, he is only taught hate. “ I am malicious because I am miserable” (Shelley). The devastating events in the creature’s life demonstrate the haunting effects of careless parents or creators that fail to care for their creation.

Throughout the novel, the creature encounters several different humans, all of which, he tries to establish relationships. The creature is sad because the De Lacey family rejects him based on his appearance. The creature encounters another test to decide whether or not he should hate humanity, specifically, his creator or should he give humans, including his creator, another chance. When a girl fell into the river near the creature, he rushed to save her. In the process of reviving the girl, a “rustic” man quickly takes the girl away from the creature because he fears the creature is dangerous. No matter how much the creature performs good deeds, he never receives recognition because everyone only sees him as a savage monster and thus, he states:

Introduction: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is a book with a deep message that touches to the very heart. This message implies that the reader will not see the story only from the perspective of the narrator but also reveal numerous hidden opinions and form a personal interpretation of the novel. One of its primary statements is that no one is born a monster and a “monster” is created throughout socialization, and the process of socialization starts from the contact with the “creator”. It is Victor Frankenstein that could not take the responsibility for his creature and was not able to take care of his “child”. Pride and vanity were the qualities that directed Victor Frankenstein to his discovery of life: “...So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”[p.47]. He could not cope with this discovery and simply ignored it. The tragedy of Victor Frankenstein and the tragedy of his creature is the same – it is the tragedy of loneliness and confronting the world, trying to find a place in it and deserve someone’s love. The creature would have never become a monster if it got the love it strived for. Victor Frankenstein would have never converted his creature into a monster if he knew how to love and take responsibility for the ones we bring to this world.