Critical Essay On Frankenstein

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

Several fields have studied the relationship between creator and creation. The most significant aspect of this research considers the difference between nature and nurture. Sociologists, psychologists, scientists, and other professionals have tried to pin down the exact distinctions between these two types of upbringings. In literature, the same questions have been asked and studied using fictional characters, most famously in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in 1667, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, in 1818. The complexity of the characters in these texts creates the theme of nature versus nurture before they diverge and arrive at differing conclusions.

After seeing the kindness shown by the family, the monster starts to show signs of kindness himself. He previously would steal part of their food storage to eat at night, but upon realizing that it was hurting the family, he stopped. Also, when he learned that gathering wood took up a large portion of their days, he would take their tools and bring back enough wood in one night to last them for a few days. From then on, the monster sought love. When he approaches Frankenstein he does not punish him for abandoning him, but instead implores him to make him a mate so that he can live in happiness. Though Frankenstein is unsympathetic and unloving toward his creation, we can still see he seeks love in the fact that he created the monster at all. He confesses his

The lack of attention Frankenstein contributed towards the monster, and his life teaching, is directly correlated with the actions the creature made throughout his existence. Although the creature physically caused the murders, Victor Frankenstein instigated the action of the creature to perform these killings through negligence. Victor articulates:

Victor Frankenstein created life, a monster that was born into this world with no purpose, and no one to love. He did not even have a name, he was called a monster from the start. Just like a normal human baby, he came to life not knowing anything, and had to learn from his surroundings. Just like a person, he watched and learned from others, and tried to understand the world and the people in it. From that, the monster understood that he just wants to find a life for himself, and not be viewed as an evil monster, but there are many things that are preventing that. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the author portrays Frankenstein’s monster as a friend through details in his character and his outlook on life.

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

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

Friends will determine the direction and quality of your life. Loneliness is a battle that all people will once face at a certain point in their life; it is how they handle it that determines the outcome of that battle. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein loneliness is the most significant and prevailing theme throughout the entire novel. Shelley takes her readers on a wild journey that shows how loneliness can end in tragedy.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, the monster that Frankenstein created committed the crimes due to the actions and negligence from Frankenstein.

In Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is portrayed as a grotesque abomination. However, as Hopkins states in Contending Forces, the cultural and geographical situations, or lack thereof, in which one matures in play a crucial role in the proper development of one’s mind and brain. The monster is simply a product of circumstance. The lack of social interactions alongside geographical isolation propelled the daemon to be alienated from society, ultimately resulting in a lack of morals and an underdeveloped psyche. By being a culmination of his surroundings and experiences it is revealed that the true monstrous entities are the factors that leave the daemon predisposed to fail in a modern society. Arguably, Victor created a being, while the circumstances that said being was placed in “created” a monster. Shelley purposefully terrorizes the monster with such intensity to provoke and justify the overarching theme in this novel which states that people should not be judged on their physical appearance.

As the creator and father of the monster, it was Frankenstein's duty to teach it right from wrong, to care and nurture it like you would a child, because that is what the monster was inside- an unknowing child. As soon as he was created, the monster had a need for love; it reaches an outstretched hand towards Frankenstein showing a want for recognition and love. ' A grin wrinkled his cheeks' The monster even tries to communicate but it can only utter 'inarticulate sounds' as it was yet to be taught how to speak, which should have been the task of Frankenstein.

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.

Monsters are not born, but created. In order to become a monster one must have been previously victimized or have a predisposition to violence. The monster is created because he is exposed to violence and rejection, he then breakdowns and becomes malicious. In the lines “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? (Frankenstein, 124)”. Shelley is showing that by turning against the creature, Victor is deserting him in a strange and uncomfortable world. The creature is miserable and all alone. In corollary, the creature hurts others, because he has been neglected and in turn a monster is created. The creature states that “I will revenge my injuries; if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my archenemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred (Frankenstein, 138)”. I believe that the novel would have turned out differently if Victor had welcomed the creature with

Frankenstein’s and society’s rejection of the monster, however, drove him to an uneven passionate pursuit for a companion. He forced Frankenstein to create a female monster, and he provided motivation by killing Frankenstein’s loved ones and threatening to kill more of them. The monster recalls in this final scene of Shelley’s novel how his desire drove him to evil. “. . . do you think that I was then dead to agony and remorse?--He . . . suffered not more in the consummation of the deed;--oh! Not the ten-thousandth portion of the anguish that was mine during the lingering detail of its execution. A frightful selfishness hurried me on. . . .” (153) At that point in the novel, the monster has changed from good in nature to evil in nature. His own desires are more important to him than the well-being of others and he is willing to commit murder in order ensure the fulfillment of his desire.