“Every five minutes, somewhere in the world, a child dies from violence. Millions more are in danger of physical, emotional (neglect) and sexual abuse that could destroy their childhoods forever” (Beckham). Sadly, this is not a shocking fact, because child abuse is a very big issue in our world. The problem with child abuse and neglect is that someone is harming a child, most likely their own, and they don’t care about it. In the novel Frankenstein, Shelley argues that child abuse and neglect are unethical and that no one should be abused. This concept is scattered all over the book, because throughout the whole story, Victor is running from or yelling at his monster. Shelley’s argument is still valid today because child abuse has not …show more content…
According to ChildLife, a child abuse hotline in Pennsylvania, there were more than 400 child deaths due to abuse between 2010 and 2014, and approximately 29,273 cases of abuse in the year in 2014 (Routh).
One aspect of child abuse that makes it so bad is that people who are guilty of child abuse do not always do it on purposefully. For example, in July of 2011, Jaren Hare, age 21, was charged with manslaughter, third-degree murder and child neglect. Her 2 year old daughter had been killed by their python. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the snake was underfed, and when it escaped from the cage, was found in the morning wrapped around the baby. When Ms. Hare’s boyfriend found the lifeless child, there were fang marks on her arms and forehead (Anton). This is seen as unethical because we could argue if this is or is not the mother’s fault since she had a python in the same house as a baby. Even though the mother didn’t put the python in the crib with the baby, the very fact that she left a baby unsupervised counts as neglect and abuse. Now she has to face the consequence of losing her child.
Another sad aspect about child abuse is that the people who commit child abuse are not always the parents. In this instance, the mothers of several children gave permission for two strangers
Dr. Frankenstein, the creator of the hated creature has clearly been characterized as an unfit care taker. Why has the author of this book portray her main character this way? Her reasoning can be seen through the actions of the monster itself. Following the evidence provided by Shelley, the monster symbolizes a young child. Victor was meant to take on the actions of a parent to his “child”. Rather than being focused on the role of women during this era, the main focus seemed to link to importance of parenting. The importance of a parent-child relationship is seen through this book with our main characters Victor Frankenstein and his creation and Mary Shelley herself.
When a young child touches a hot stove tears are sure to follow. Trial and error experiences like this are necessary for a child to learn from their mistakes. Some things, however, are taught by parents and guardians. A lack of parenting and guidance can have a dramatic and negative effect on the development of a child. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster that Victor creates is similar to a child. The monster can not speak initially and immediately feels abandoned when Victor goes to bed for the night. He is very emotional over the smallest of issues and shows many more signs of immaturity. Viewing the monster as a child causes the reader to feel empathetic for him like a child without parents.
Imagine skipping that awkward childhood stage of life and going straight to being an adult; never having to worry about parent’s rules or curfews. But if all of a sudden, one was forced into the world of adults with the mindset of a newborn child, one would not know the difference between right and wrong and possibly even become a victim. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is the true victim of the book. He is abused in multiple ways, he does nothing to warrant the unjust treatment he receives and he is forced into solitude.
Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.3 million referrals for alleged maltreatment were made in 2013. Out of the 3.3 million referrals, 899,000 children were officially documented as being maltreated(Child Abuse & Neglect 2015). Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child. Child abuse is recognized in several forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. Children who experience any form of abuse will tend to withdraw themselves from their peers and sometimes from other family members who are not aware of what is taking place. Child abuse occurs not just in the homes of these children, but can also occur in schools, churches and after school programs. Anywhere a child is present there is a chance that abuse can
In many situations today, the children most common problem can be trace back to their family issue. Without a strong bond of relationship between their parents can consequently cause a destruction of children’s future. Even more, the children grow up unsteadily with aggressive behavior and the sign of depression. This has come to be a controversial issue and as well the depth of the story that is contain in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. To many misinterpretations from the movie, the creature itself was to accused to be a villain in the plot. As it show in Mary Shelly’s novel a deeper analysis has reveal that Victor Frankenstein is the real blame for
"We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves-such a friend ought to be-do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures,” writes the narrator of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein. Without a companion of some sort, people will only suffer more. However, without the supervision of parents, children altogether are greatly affected for the rest of their lives. An innately good and sympathetic creature, Dr. Frankenstein’s monster struggles to survive in the human world. After creating and abandoning his creature, Dr. Frankenstein is the juxtaposition of a monster, portraying humans as shallow, judgmental, and uncaring. The monster simply wants humans to accept him as one of their own. Facing rejection in different forms, he becomes truly monstrous and evil, giving up hope of companionship as a result of his abandonment. Modern case studies of abandoned children report similar ideas. Children who are abandoned do not learn about morality, yet only people with morality are accepted by others as human. Children who are abandoned are frequently not accepted by others as human ultimately.
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s
In 2002, The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) reported that almost 1,400 children died as a result of abuse. This is about 2 children per 100,000 (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2004).
Child abuse in American today is amongst the most saddened topics of mankind. Many children are subjected to neglect and abuse on a daily basis. The sex and age of child makes no difference when it comes to child abuse.. Boys and girls are equally likely to suffer maltreatment. The problem is how often child abuse goes unreported. Millions of children across the world are abused in some way, whether it is verbal, emotional, physical or sexual. Child abuse has been happening all over the world to young children, however many children keep this a secret because of fear of what could happen. Child Abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. It can be
Over three million reports each year, and over six million children involved. A report is made every 10 seconds. People impacted 6 or more times usually die 20 years earlier. Enough money is spent on cases to send 1.7 million kids to college. 4 to 5 children die each day. These are just some of the statistics of child abuse (www.c).
More than 20,000 American children has thought to have been killed by their own family members over the past ten years. One of the worst records among industrialized nations that is losing on average almost five children everyday due to child abuse is the United States. The most recent report 2015 Child Maltreatment Report from The Children’s Bureau was published in January 2017. This document has stated that the number of child abuse cases has increased to 4 million from 3.6 million. 7.2 million children were involved in child abuse reports. The different kinds of child abuse are; neglect, physical, and verbal abuse.
According to statistics 12.4 per 1000 children under the age of 17 have been a victim of child abuse. More than 6 million children are reported as abused in the last year. Sadly the fate of many of these children that live in abusive homes is death. 1.84 per 100,000 was reported to be abused in 2012. The number continued to rise to 1.96 in 2014. In the reported cases both or one parent was the cause of the death 79% of the time. In 16% of the cases a non-parent guardian was the cause of death. 5% of the deaths were caused by an unknown person.
Although child abuse has soon become a more discussed issue, it is nothing new in today’s society. Dating back to ancient times, physical child abuse has always attributed to lives of people around the world. Approaching and understanding child mistreatment has changed as societies have modernized and progressed; whereas one thing remains an unalterable issue, child abuse happens constantly and continuously worldwide.
Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children(Child Abuse Statistics & Facts). Child abuse doesn’t necessarily have to be physical, it can be mental, emotional, or sexual, it can even be neglect. Abuse doesn’t only effect the child being abused but it also affects the people witnessing the abuse. Child abuse can affect the child in many different ways. There can be many effects of abuse on the child (Kraizer). The worst way the child can be affected is suicide.