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. While the monster is learning to live on his own he observes the actions and movement of the DeLacey family. With no guiding figure in his life the monster has to learn to do basic tasks, like a child would, such a speaking his first words. When he is observing the DeLacey family he realizes they communicate their feelings by using words. After observing this the monster decided, “This was indeed a godlike science, and I ardently desired to become acquainted with it.”(100) After his decision to learn the language he starts initially with small words that are associated with objects. He picks up slowly at first saying, “ I was unable to discover any clue by which I could unravel the mystery of their reference.”(100) Gradually and persistently the monster learned his
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.
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.
The role of the child throughout Frankenstein are primarily focused upon by Walton, Frankenstein, Elizabeth, William and the monster. They all resemble in some cases Shelley’s own childhood, from her independent study to the expectation put on her as a girl. There are resembles aspects of her lost children, through understanding William and the monster. Each character characteristics of childhood differ to resemble a number of 19th century aspects of theoretical and social understandings. Walton’s description of his small sample of childhood reveals his low educational background and a somewhat rebellious nature that resists his sister foreboding fear. Both Frankenstein and Elizabeth’s childhood was primarily principled by the educational theories
Victor allows his child to experience the reanimation process deserted of a guiding hand from his father. Victor neglects his child for his own selfish need for lethargic rest by passing out on his bed; a child has no choice but to imitate such unhealthy behavior from a parent. Frankenstein is human, but this amount of bad parenting in only one night, can only serve to derange the mind of Victor’s young child. Victor’s child, by no small miracle manages to gain control of his motor skills with enough sense to seek out his father. After having ignored his young ward during his first stages of life, Victor dodges his virtuous adolescent’s petition for a tender embrace. Before this nursling is more than a complete night old, his father has, through actions, shown him the disdainful nature of the world in which he has shunned him into. Hardly old enough to realize what consciousness is, this child minded man-boy is expected to cope with the hardships laid upon him. His own father, the expected light of understanding, had forsaken him naked of knowledge and sympathy in a world void of consideration.
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
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was raised by a single parent, her father William Godwin. She acknowledges the mentally stimulating role a father plays in the development of a daughter, presumably speaking from personal experience. She declares, "There is a peculiarity in the education of a daughter, brought up by a father only, which tends to develop early a thousand of those portions of mind, which are folded up” (Veeder). Shelley offers in Frankenstein a portrait of how children’s minds are shape, and ultimately their fates sealed, due to influences from their fathers. Alphonse, Victor’s father, made mistakes in his parenting that negatively shaped the development of Victor’s mind and how he treated other living things.
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
Impulsivity. It hunts, it haunts, and occasionally it can eat a person alive to the point of sheer destruction. Impulsivity can alter a human’s life in just one single second. An impulsive decision has power far beyond what one might imagine or originally perceive. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein deeply senses the repercussions of his impulsive as well as passionate decision to create a creature without thinking about the major consequences that could occur. As a result, his life is transformed. The primary truth of consequences of impulsive and passionate decisions are revealed in this novel through experiences and warnings of loneliness, rage, and unhappiness of Frankenstein.
Frankenstein's monster is destined to lose all innocence as he spirals downward into evil. When the monster is first "born" he can be compared to a baby, young and unknowledgeable to the ways of the world and in need of a caring parent and mentor. Unfortunately his foolish creator neglects the creation and
"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.
Listening to the monster’s story for the first time, it becomes evident to both the reader and Frankenstein that the monster initially lacked knowledge and experience with the world, however it adapted through trial-and-error and adjusting its actions based on newfound knowledge. This is especially proven when the monster was incapable of even being able to discern between its senses; it took him “a long time before [he] learned to distinguish between the operations of [his] various senses” (Shelley 70). Shelley shows that, despite having a fresh slate, the monster had a developed body and brain. After being abandoned by Victor, the monster had to get accustomed to bright and dark, cold and heat, and hunger. Just as a child would, the monster learned about the world from making mistakes. For example, when he “found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth [he] experienced from it,” and “thrust [his] hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain” (Shelley 71). Probably the biggest parallel between the monster and a child would be with learning how to communicate. While learning about the world, the monster found that humans fear it, and run away from it. As a result, the monster stayed away from humans and found refuge near a cottage. The monster tries to learn the language by listening to the group of cottagers converse. He “found that … people possessed a method of
Abandoned, left to die with nowhere to go, Frankenstein's monster desperately searches for a savior and turns towards violence when the entire world alienates him due to his appearance. WIthout anyone to teach him about life, the monster learns the language, history, and culture of humans and becomes a better human his creator could ever become. While a victim of child abandonment, the monster still strives to live his life to the fullest, upending the doomed life of an abandoned child. Although left with short term psychological scars, abandoned children can still live fulfilling lives in the long term because abandoned children turn towards self determination to survive, and others who care about the children step in to provide the necessities
Anxiety has been around for many years due to stress levels being too high or events that have happened in the past, but does anyone realize that it is a serious thing and can hurt someone mentally? While researching different academic articles about anxiety and other types of mental illness. I found a few academic journals who describe other people’s lives with anxiety and other mental illnesses. Mary Shelly author of her famous book “Frankenstein” is about Victor Frankenstein who created a monster and got very ill when he saw the beast breathe. Later, he started to neglect the beast and the monster started killing Victor’s loved ones because Victor abandoned the monster. I chose to write about mental illnesses and anxiety because. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a mental illness known as anxiety caused by the monster and events caused by him.
As a young child Victor Frankenstein was loved unconditionally by his parents. They adored him and provided him opportunities and stability to develop into a well-rounded person. Victor becomes a scientist and is intelligent and loves research. As he develops, Victor became obsessed with creating life. He accumulates body parts for the local cemetery and begins to put together his monster. He is confident that he can be like God and has the skills to create life. Victor eventually creates a monster, and he comes to life. However, Victor is horrified by his monster, because of the way it looks. Instead of relishing in the joy of his accomplishment he runs away from it. The monster is left alone to fend for itself and doesn’t have the right skills to take care of his basic needs. He cannot speak, he cannot read and he doesn’t have anyone to teach him basic fundamental human skills. The monster escapes to the woods, afraid and alone, not sure where he is going or what he is going to do. Nearby is a village full of people and he sets forward to observe them. At first, he tries to be visible and friendly, but people turn from him in fright and run away. The monster is hurt and because he cannot make physical contact with anyone he decides to observe people secretly. During his observation, he watches human interaction and studies what is socially acceptable and what is not..