Is Victor A Morally Ambiguous Character In Frankenstein

To begin, Victor betrays nature with the physical creation of the monster. Upon giving the creature life, Victor becomes horrified of what he had created and essentially left the creature in fear. It is nature’s responsibility to create life, not mankind. Since Victor gives the monster life, he has created something unnatural and he himself even admits his mistake when he states, “I have created a monster.” To make matters worse, Victor had left his creation on its own when the monster had no prior experience in the world and was learning everything from this point on. The monster, at this point, reflected the innocent nature of a child and needed to be taught properly about life. Victor’s

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different. We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human

The disappointment is not only irrational, but also shows his further jaded ideal of perfection in the fact that he considers ugliness a weakness. If that were true, ugliness would be the creature's only weakness, as the story goes on to tell of the selfless acts of kindness the creature administers. Victor describes his supposed miserable failure as a deformed monster when he says "His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of lustrous black, and flowing his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only form a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and straight black lips" (56; ch.5; vol.1). Later, Victor sees the creature after a long period of his aimless roaming, and he "trembled with rage and horror" (95; ch. 3; vol .2). Victor wished to engage in mortal combat because he had a faint premonition the creature might have possibly killed his son. The senseless idea was formed simply because of the creature's physical features, and that he may have been in the vicinity. Even though the monster was shunned, hated, labeled prematurely as a killer, and cursed by his very own maker, he sees the goodness of the human heart and desires to learn more about the human race. As the supposed monster journeys onward, he is delighted and allured by the moon and sun, and other peaceful,

Victor Frankenstein’s moral ambiguity lies in good intentions with bad results. Victor evolves from an intellectually curious, innocent and blameless man to being remorseful, secluded and obsessed with the

The pity that the reader once felt towards this child-like creature who was abandoned upon creation, is turned to hatred and fear towards this monster who slaughters innocents. One doesn't blame the parents of a mass murderer for the crimes of their offspring simply because they gave birth to him. So why should Victor be held accountable for the treacherous deeds of his creation? The portrayal of the monster as the villain in this story attributes to the conflicting feelings of whether he is purely good or evil.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the unnamed creature brings terror to civilians and commits horrific acts against his creator, Victor Frankenstein. However, his redeemable acts of kindness makes his character morally ambiguous. He struggles between doing well and causing trouble because of isolation, the excerpts of society, and his pursuit for love.

In the novel, the readers learn that the main antagonist, Victor Frankenstein, is trying to reanimate life and create a “new generation” of advanced humans. Despite being successful in creating the monster, Victor would abandon his creation which forces it to have and conceive different identities and creates conflicting perspectives for the readers. This technique of giving the monster different identities is used by Shelley to portray the monster as a complex being. In the book, Victor abandons his creation because he is horribly terrified as he sees his creation is dreadful looking and says, “I beheld the wretch

While Victor feels utter hatred for his creation, the creature shows that he is not a purely evil being. The creature's animated description of events reveals his sensitivity and kindness. He assists a group of poor peasants and saves a girl from drowning, but because of his outward appearance, he is rewarded with beatings and disgust. Torn between revengefulness and compassion, the monster ends up lonely and tormented by remorse. Even the death of his creator offers only bittersweet relief: joy because Victor has caused him so much suffering, sadness because Victor is the only person with whom he has had any sort of relationship.

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature

Deception is everywhere. It is in the shows we watch, the books we read and the stories we tell. It is unescapable. Unfortunately, it has caused many misconceptions throughout society. One of those misconceptions relates to the definition of a monster. When the word monster is said, the majority of people refer to the appearance of someone or something. A monster is often described as hideous, massive, discolored, and frightening These are physical attributes that can be seen in the light of day. However, a true monster is not defined by its appearance, but rather its actions and thoughts. These actions and behavioral choices may not be seen at first, but do appear when one analyzes the character’s actions. In addition, they are not things that require actually light but rather require the attention of the character when no one is around or, in other words, in the dark. In the famous book,

Who is the real monster?” acts as the dominant question throughout the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelly as the reader explores the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation. As the novel progresses, the reader notices how the relationship between the two characters goes far beyond a neglectful creature and resentful creation, for the two influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of each other. Furthermore, the creature’s physical appearance acts as his purpose throughout the novel as well as a mirror of Victor Frankenstein’s true identity. Additionally, the creature’s lack of identity begins to initiate Frankenstein’s shame towards his own identity, revealing the flawed character of Frankenstein and determining the resolution to the question “Who is the true monster? Who is the true catalyst of destruction?” During the novel, the reader is able to identify the creature as the most effective foil for Victor Frankenstein because the creature causes: Frankenstein to view the action of the creature as his own work, the shift between pride and shame in Frankenstein, and his physical appearance demonstrates his purpose to reveal the true character of Victor Frankenstein.

When his creation is complete and the creature comes to life Victor immediately realizes his mistake and abandons his creation. Victor not only abandons the creature but he goes into a state of isolation and self-pity. The abandonment of the creature is the opposite of the environment in which Victor was raised; this contradicts the assumption that a nurturing childhood will produce an equally loving and empathetic adult. When Victor receives the letter that his younger brother William had been murdered the question of who is the true monster becomes to be blurred. He knows in his gut that the monster he created was responsible for the murder but does not bother to say anything when a close family friend, Justine, is accused of the crime. There is no more blatant lack of empathy than letting a person you know is innocent die for a crime in which you are responsible. Also, to add fuel to the fire of Victor’s character, he actually thinks that he has it worse than Justine because she doesn’t have to live with his guilt, a disgusting act of arrogance and self-centered mindset.

"rules are made to be broken. Core desire: revenge or revolution". (Goldon). The monster had to face the wrath of many humans. he had many bad experiences with humans so he finally goes and does the one thing his anger allows him to do which is harm people. He knows he's not welcomed so he goes and kills everyone that his creator liked. He knew that it was the wrong thing to do but he was angry and he wanted to get revenge. "Persona: designed to make a particular impression on others, while concealing out true nature" (Handout on Carl Gustav Jung). The monster wasn't really evil. He had to show that he was evil because there was no other way to get what he wanted. He would always be mistreated due to how he looks, so he became a separate person instead of the peaceful creation he was at the beginning. The second person he was was a very unforgiving and harmful monster. He killed to get what he wanted. He seen no boundary and did whatever it took to get what he wanted. He broke many laws and many lines of morality, but all he wanted was another creation so that he can be with it. After Victor dies, he become the innocent monster he was before hand and decides that the only thing he can do now is kills

The creation of the monster could be taken metaphorically to Victor’s eating the prohibited fruit. Victor also can be classified as Adam who ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because his searching of wisdom to creating a life is something that out of his knowledge and it is not his responsibility to learn what is not mean for him. As God had warned Adam that he can eat any kind of fruits he wanted to but not the fruit from the Tree of Conscience because if he does so, he will be knowing the good and evil which only mean to be a God’s knowledge (Moses, “Genesis,” p.2).

As for the creature it becomes clear that he is not a monster but a human being who has just recently progressed through stages of development equivalent to those of an infant. Upon birth he is very aware and soon he begins to develop senses and finds wonder and amazement in the new world around him. When the monster describes himself, its all sunshine and light. He has visions of other creatures keeping him company ; he sees some characters as "superior beings" (12.17); he describes himself as having "good dispositions.” However, besides the amazement and overall effect of the new world, the Creature is confronted with the flaw of hideousness. Victor describes his own making by, “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast