Appearance and Acceptance in Frankenstein and the Modern World

   Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, sheds light on the importance of appearance through the tale of an unwanted creation that is never given a chance by society. Ironically, the supposed beast was initially much more compassionate and thoughtful than his creator, until his romantic and innocent view of the human race was diminished by the cruelty and injustice he unduly bore. Not only does the creature suffer the prejudice of an appearance-based society, but other situations and characters in the novel force the reader to reflect their own hasty judgment. The semi- gothic novel includes several instances of societal prejudice that include the isolation and outcast of Frankenstein's creation,

In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the relationship of external appearance and internal feelings are directly related. The creature is created and he is innocent, though he is severely deformed. His nature is to be good and kind, but society only views his external appearance which is deformed. Human nature is to judge by external appearance. He is automatically detested and labeled as a monster because of his external appearance. He finally realized that no matter how well he speaks and how kind he is, people will never be able to see past his external deformities. Children are fearful of him, Adults think he is dangerous, and his own creator abandons him in disgust. The creature is

Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1817, is a story of obsession, heartache, abandonment, vanity, and more. This is a fiction with many levels and views for people of all ages, and it was assigned to our Senior English class. The novel is centered around the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation and the many trials and affairs they go through. Throughout the story, both characters make many choices that they shouldn’t. However, when you take into account all of the events that lead to those poor choices, I believe it’s the creation that is most justified. To be abandoned and hated simply because of your appearance, something you had no control over and can’t change, is enough to turn anyone into a vengeful soul.

I believe that the novel Frankenstein questions several social conventions and norms of society, especially when it comes to our notions of humanity and monstrosity. What makes a monster? What makes a human? This leads to the question of whether we are really humans or monsters. Humanity tends to place a large emphasis on appearance and those who do not fit into this category of the “ideal or typical physical appearance” are unfortunately more likely to be looked upon unfavorably. While we say to not judge a book by its cover we, in fact, do so, on a regular basis. The media plays a major role in influencing our perspective in terms of the fine line between humanity and monstrosity. This has led to

In the book Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, the subject of discrimination because of looks appears in many instances. When Frankenstein created the monster and finally realized how it looked he was very disappointed. After the monster was spotted by the villagers, they were terrified because of the way he looked. The creature began looking for food and shelter and encountered a older man, whom he frightened. Looks seem to be a major subject throughout this entire book.

Frankenstein is to be “sometimes considered one of the first science fiction novels” (Fox,stacy ”Romantic and Gothic Representation in Frankenstein”). Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley. In this novel the main characters where Victor Frankenstein, his creation the monster, Robert Walton, Elizabeth Lavenza, Alphonse Frankenstein, and Henry Clerval. Frankenstein starts out with a normal boy named Victor Frankenstein who discovers an early interest in science. Victor later goes off to college to study science and ends up creating a monster. Throughout the novel the monster is stereotyped by his looks and is traumatized and goes for revenge against his creator when Victor refuses to make him a

Frankenstein is a complex novel written during the age of Romanticism. It contains many typical themes of Romantic novels, such as dark laboratories, the moon and a monster; however, Frankenstein is anything but a common novel. In this paper, I shall analyze some aspects that make this novel unique in the history not only of Romantic literature but also of literature in general. At first, I shall deal with the socially constructed morality present in our society. Later, I argue how appearance may be central with respect to social interactions. As it is known, morality and appearance are concepts which are constructed in social interactions. We may notice that by comparing how these

The first instance of the aspects of human nature appearing in the book is when Victor Frankenstein first brings the Creature to life, and immediately regards his appearance as horrid. This is an aspect of human nature that is deeply engrained in society—rejecting those that do not fit the standards of beauty. The only reason Victor rejects the creature is because of its horrible appearance:

In her book Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights the fact that society relies more on looks than personality. She shows this by contrasting her characters C and Victor throughout the novel. When Victor Frankenstein built C, he selected C’s “features as beautiful”— but when C actually comes to life, Victor is horrified (47). The man runs to his bedroom, somehow falls asleep, and awakens to find C standing over his bed with an attempted smile on his face. Although Victor’s point of view interprets C’s actions as a threat, which is why he runs, there is more evidence to the fact that C was simply trying to be affectionate to his creator.

One of the main themes in Frankenstein is appearance and acceptance. In today’s society and the society in which Frankenstein is set, people often judge one another solely based on appearance. Social prejudice is often based on looks. Be it the colour of one's skin, the clothes they wear, facial features or even ones body expressions. People make snap judgements based on what the eye beholds. Today’s schools are a prime example of this as people are classified instantly and almost unknowingly.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature is alienated from society because he looks deformed and hideous. In romantic writing, in one looks normal then he or she would be considered good but if one looks unpleasant then he or she is considered evil. The creature was ostracized from society because of his appearance which is similar to how Shelley was shunned by society because of her liberal actions. The creature was excluded from society because society's values were based on appearances.

Society adjudges those with abnormal appearances as immoral. Similarly, someone saves a girl and is shot due to an unfit understanding of his appearance (Shelley 140). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Dr. Victor Frankenstein struggles to parent an inhuman individual. Firstly, Victor experiments with parenting an inhuman individual in isolation, then this creature suffers alone due to his appearance’s amiss apprehensions. In other words, Shelley uses “parenting” experiences to amplify the ideas of isolation as an incommodity and how appearance provides a perverse perception of personality.

Savannah Reitz Mrs. Schroder English III 7 December 2016 Beauty vs. Ugliness In the story of Frankenstein the author Mark Shelley illustrates the dichotomy of beauty vs. ugliness. Beauty is more than just looks beauty is about the inside of a person who they are. In society, very many people base beauty from looks instead of seeing beauty of who someone or something is deeper down inside. In Frankenstein, the author illustrates the monster’s actions as a reflection of how people’s ignorance view others by not seeing the beauty from someone on the inside but instead by just looks on the outside.

Although humanity prides itself on its continuous societal improvements, superficial judgment continues to thrive, especially between those who differ in looks. The art of physiognomy dates back to the beginning of mankind and has continued to evolve with humanity, negatively impacting those who are categorized into unfavorable stereotypes. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there are flagrant displays of the upsetting role appearance plays in society, as modern-day racism parallels the prejudice the monster experiences due to his exterior. Despite its publication year of 1818, the novel is still pertinent, especially as the world struggles to override unconscious biases correlating to race or unorthodox physicality.

A reader's subconscious often disables their ability to notice moral foundations that the author develops through the text; thus, making it difficult for an individual to recognize the value the text holds and its importance. In the article “Why Study Literature?” the author explains that “literature teaches us better courses of action and more effective responses to situations”; essentially he or she says that literature has the ability to shape one’s morals; as it can teach us what do in certain situations and how we should act. Similarly, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the author builds morality in readers by stressing the wrongs of using one’s visual appearance to determine their inner nature. At birth the monster is abandoned for his hideousness, the monster is “endowed with perceptions and passions” (Shelley, Chapter 16) after which he is “cast[ed] as an object for the scorn and horror of mankind” (Shelley, Chapter 16). For example, the monster chases for love when he assists the poor De Lacey family in collecting their lumber, however he is driven out by their horror upon seeing the face of their secret patron for the first time. Looking at this from an aesthetic stance, Shelley appears to be examining our natural tendency to judge a book by its cover. The author manifests the importance of inner beauty rather than one’s outer beauty, for it speaks more sincerely of their qualities as an individual. Had the protagonist realized the creature’s nobility from the