Human Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Before observing the cottagers, the creature was unaware of what ‘family’ really meant, thus he was less affected by the fact that Victor ran away. He didn’t question Victor’s actions nor the reason why he was alone but slowly you start to see that this was no longer the case because the creature stated, “But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which I distinguished nothing.” These new emotions were not only introduced to him through the cottagers but also through the novels he found in Victor’s jacket, one of which was Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. “Paradise Lost”, was a long, detailed, narrative poem about the creation of Adam and Eve and it was through this novel that the creature began to “question his own existence and place in the world.” Why was he created? Adam and Eve must endure their suffering as a punishment for eating the forbidden fruit so why was he being punished? The creature learned about desire when he notices how unhappy one of the cottagers, Felix, was until Safie, his soon to be wife,

Common rules create common fools. A society where everyone acted the same, abiding identically by some universal principles seems immediately enticing. It would be a world of no crime, where every individual acted in exactly the way that maximized pleasure for every other individual. In short, it would be a perfect utilitarian state. Yet, such a society would be rigid and boring, lacking all the qualities of unbounded life. Beauty comes from tragedy. Meaning is derived from misfortune. Some argue that happiness itself cannot truly exist without its counterpart, misery. Without uniquely acting individuals, life is meaningless. Mary Shelley would certainly have agreed with this statement. Indeed, in her novel Frankenstein, Shelley recognizes

In the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the relationship of external apperence and internal feelings are directly related. The creature is created and he is innocent, though he is seaverly deformed. His nature is to be good and kind, but society only views his external appereance which is grotesque. Human nature is to judge by external apperence. He is automatically ostracized and labeled as a monster because of his external apperence. He finnaly realized that no matter how elequintly 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.

After Victor’s abandonment, the creature left Victor’s home and wandered into the woods. Initially, every encounter with humanity brought the creature pain and suffering as they were instantly terrified upon seeing the creature's horrifying appearance and treated him like the monster he appeared to be. Eventually, the creature came across a hovel in the woods that was within close proximity to a cottage where a family lived. The monster grew very affectionate toward his "protectors," emphasizing that beings are born to love, not hate.

Human nature is unchangeable. Human nature also applies to just about every living thing. Human nature isn’t so human, is it? In Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein, it is shown just how universal human nature is. In Frankenstein, Robert Walton tells the story of Victor Frankenstein through a series of letters to his sister, Margaret Saville, in different perspectives. Upon his ship on an expedition to the North Pole, Robert befriends a scientist, Victor Frankenstein. He reveals that he is looking for his creation, a being that was never truly alive, whom he bestowed life upon. He then tells an account of his life until it switches in perspective to the monster’s, followed by a switch to the present. In his tale, Victor tells of his early childhood, where he was an avid bookworm, and became enraptured by science. This led to him delving deeper and deeper into the world of science until he became a man obsessed. He dedicated himself to science and conducted an experiment to see whether he could bring life to a being that never had life in it before. Rather than being overjoyed at his successful experiment, he was disgusted. He came out with a humanoid resembling a monster. This disappointment led to Victor abandoning the Creation, leaving him to find his own way in the world. Given the proper care, the Monster could have succeeded, but Frankenstein's monster will not because the neglect from Victor, treatment by others, and the internalized self-hatred deign a

For as long as man has encompassed this world, the divisive enigma of humanity has prevailed. Seeping its way into each generation, while sparking heated conversations, it has become evident that there is much we do not know about what truly makes us human. Regardless of our genetic composition, philosophers often ponder the deeper meaning of humanity. We know that, biologically, recreating the genetic makeup of a human does not yield humanity, so what is the missing aspect? Humans -have the ability to contemplate their own existence in this world. Awareness of existence. This driving force enables us to analyze situations while placing ourselves within them. Our involuntary ability to understand the impact of our actions and the affect they have on others causes us to be inherently human. Our actions evoke strong emotions within us that allow us to learn through our experiences. We retain the resonated feelings of certain occurrences and apply them to others in order to deduce outcomes. Often this facet of mankind is taken for granted, yet we are reminded, through both literature and hypothetical scenarios, of its importance. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, constitutes as one of these profound reminders. Shelley develops a theoretical story in which the humanity of Frankenstein’s monster is questioned. Despite having the accurate organs and framework of a human, Shelley causes the reader to seek the missing aspect that is preventing the monster from being human. Likewise,

When the creature notices what he is capable of doing, he begins to enjoy the power he has over regular people, “I gazed on my victim and my heart swelled with exultation,” (Shelley, 144). The creature, at first, does not want to commit crimes or hurt people, he is only looking for friendship, but if he gets upset or someone insults him, he will lose control and will do anything to make them feel the same way, even if that means inflicting physical pain on others. As the story goes on, he begins to realize and know the difference between right and wrong, which can make the readers not feel bad for him because he notices what he is doing and it is considered immoral.

Easily the biggest argument throughout the novel is in countering the question on whether the monster has a spirit or not. And honestly it is easy to argue with side of it, but it is pretty easy to go ahead and just say no. Due to the fact that once dead your spirit is ascended out of your body and goes wherever you may believe (insert religion here). There is just honestly no way that this monster rule had his human spirit inside of hm while casing all of the terror he did throughout the novel. If he still had his spirit intact he also would have encountered his conscience when going to kill his first victim. But instead he did so without missing a beat out of pure anger. But one can also argue the fact that many humans all throughout the history of the world have been killers and have never thought that they were doing wrong either. And it being a very good point one can argue the fact that maybe the soul that was obtained by the monster by chance just so happened to be very troubled. And it being a very logical argument ether way it is hard to pin point the correct answer. And honestly no one will ever be able to come up with the correct answer in the simple fact that the author of the novel is dead and has been for a very long time. Maybe if scholars back then had asked the question we all want to ask now in the 21st century we could have a deeper understanding of what Mary Shelley though herself and wanted us to fell. But as well as she may have left these questions unanswered for the exact purpose of everyone to interpret the story of the monster in their own unique way.

When asked this question; are people born blank slates that are formed by experiences and their surrounding environment, or are we born with specific traits? This brings up the question of genetics; can people be born with evil traits? As Mary Shelley writes Frankenstein, we can see little details in Victor’s childhood that could indicate he was shaped by his surroundings and not born with evil characteristics. As children grow up they start to form ideas about what is good, bad, and right or wrong, just like Victor does as he admires his father and his job. Most children follow in their parent’s footsteps in some sort of way, and since Victor’s parents were shown to be noble and smart, he took this as that is how he should be.

Philosophers and scientists alike have debated for centuries whether a person’s character is the result of nature or nurture. In the writings of Thomas Hobbes, it is expressed that humans are endowed with character from birth, and that they are innately evil in nature. John Locke’s response to this theory is that everyone is born with a tabula rasa, or blank slate, and then develops character after a series of formative experiences. The idea that true character is the result of experiences and societal interaction is a theme deeply explored throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Through different interactions with the monster, Shelley attempts to express that it is because of Victor’s failings as a parent and creator, because of the

Human nature can be analyzed through feelings, characteristics, and behavior. Humans are capable of expressing different emotions such as hate, frustration, remorse, happiness and other emotions depending on the situation they are encountering.Various aspects of human nature can be observed through many forms of media. Often times humans are portrayed in a negative way, however there are certain cases where they are portrayed positively, like in the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel. Evil acts, discrimination towards others, and perseverance for survival, are all apart of human nature.

 "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?" This question, posed by Captain Robert Walton on page 22 of Mary Shelley's immortal Frankenstein, lies susceptible to interpretation to mean the ambition of man in one sense, but in another, the collective persecution and prejudice inherent in mankind.

    The creature's ambiguous humanity has long puzzled readers of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In this essay I will focus on how Frankenstein can be used to explore two philosophical topics, social contract theory, and gender roles, in light of ideas from Shelley's two philosophical parents, William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

It seems as if all that the creature really wants is companionship and to be an accepted member of society. In the beginning the creature did not harbor any mal-intent, but society could not see who he was on the inside; they could only see his monstrous outward appearance. In the creature’s second experience with alienation he innocently wanders out into the city. The citizens of the village were truly horrified by the sight of the hideous creature. Some pummeled him with stones while others fled in fear. For Victor’s creation this was just another sign that he could never be

What makes us human? Is it a beating heart and living flesh? Is it encompassing advanced psychological and social qualities? The classic gothic novel, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley and the modern horror novel, Warm Bodies, written by Issac Marion have lead many readers to question the complexity of human nature. Both novels explore several principal themes that develop the reader’s understanding of what it means to be human. We are miraculous creatures who are capable of both good and evil; humans are intricate beings who depend on love for survival, some can be troubled by or lack remorse, and in some cases, our actions can be motivated by fear. Throughout both novels, the main characters struggle with these aspects of human nature.