Monstrosity In Frankenstein

Mary Shelley makes us question who really the “monster” is. Is it the creature or Victor? While the creature does commit murder, he does not understand the consequences of his actions. He is like an infant who is unfortunately left to learn about the workings of society, and his place in it, on his own. He has no companions and feels a great sense of loneliness and abandonment. The creature voices his frustration and anger and seems to try to project his feelings of guilt onto Victor, as if to show him that he is the ultimate cause of the creature’s misery while he is simply the victim of Victor’s manic impulse. Shelley utilizes words, phrases, and specific tones when the creature vents his misery to Victor and this evokes, amongst the

Despite his vengeance against all of mankind, when the reader is given the chance to heat “the monster’s” narrative, it can be proven just how capable the creation is of love, kindness, and compassion. For example, “the monster” stole firewood from

Victor Frankenstein is in many ways more monstrous than the monster he created. Victor and his creation demonstrate a thesis-antithesis correspondence wherein they reflect opposite character traits. Victor has no sense of empathy or compassion, whereas the monster, although hideous and rejected by society as an outcast, has

(Shelley 90). The monster appeals to the reader’s sympathy as he strives to be accepted by humans, but is always rejected. In this way, Shelley utilizes this to portray how society judges people and who are worthy of such sympathy. As the monster watches the De Lacey family, he comes to the realization that “I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers [...] terrified when I viewed myself [...] unable to believe [...] the monster that I am” (Shelley

Though the conclusions arrived at here are of the same theoretical place as the philosophical minds had deliberated before, the explanations had by Burke and Shaw circumvented parallel processes of thought, to more rely upon their similar conclusions, both rooted in historical precedent. With Frankenstein, however, Shelley stays committed to its endgame in practicing metaphorical weight and symbolic meaning, not only for setting the classical arguments incorporated here, in definite terms. This isn’t even in creating some microcosm of a singularized case in which man had sought to defy the natural barriers, and replicate the things he saw, and experienced. Instead, interactions between characters and unfolding conflicts set upon them, are to represent both these spheres converging. They are depicted less as staunch absolutes, but more so met with being altered, and changing the perceptions drawn up all along. Conferred later in an accounted byproduct of a more recent mindset, this nonetheless stands for lessons at the underpinnings of how we have grown as a society in general, which Shelley would seem to remind us of. As opposed to some alleged “Modern Prometheus,” Victor’s pursuit comes up barely mythicized, and as Bate says, “is a healthy disorientation… to realize that the Western man may not after all be the master of all things” (Bate 480). Likewise, the creature takes on a role within the self-fulfilling prophecy, subject to the maltreatment of human benefactors, and,

If one were to create a dog out of clay, that dog would have no way of becoming more alive than its creator, for it is made of clay. As the creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein is seen as more human than his creation. However, Frankenstein's actions persuade the reader to believe he doesn’t have the human characteristics of being sane and rational. Frankenstein does not create his monster to be like himself, but instead makes him hideous and repulsive to other humans. This , leads him to reject his own creation as well. Frankenstein is more inhuman than the monster, because of the comparison of their characteristics and personality.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we are introduced to a character named Victor that creates a creature so malicious and disturbing to look at that no one shows sympathy or compassion for; he describes this creature to be a “daemoniacal corpse” and “hideous” (Shelley,82) to the point where he never wants to see him again. But is the monster really this evil? Or is he lacking the quality of affection that would change him? The monster understands how hideous and demeaning his appearance is, but his actions of revenge and misery coincide with his loneliness, “ I am alone and miserable” (Shelley,168) “I am malicious because I am miserable” (Shelley,169). After reading beyond Victor’s descriptions, we see that the monster is not as inhuman as he

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has several literary devices- such as structure, imagery, and many intricate details. She perfectly places words and puts them in such a way that the passage has a dual tone. Shelley begins with establishing the monster’s nature as being peaceful, because he wanted to reason with Victor. Him wanting to reason shows the importance of his decision to meet with Victor and shows that even though he has been through a great deal, he is still respectable to others. The audience gets to see the creature’s humble nature and makes the audience feel sympathetic towards him. This creates a peaceful tone to the passage. The monster wants to be loved by “any being and if they showed benevolence to me, I would return them hundred an hundred fold” (Shelley 148). The creature’s begging makes it sound like Victor will answer his plea. Using a broad term like “being”, demonstrates the monster’s need to be loved, putting him in a position with the audience again feeling empathetic towards him. Eventually, Victor’s compassion begins to fluctuate. The desperation the creature has looks like the desperation a human might have. This only gives the readers another reason to relate to him which leads to the other tone, impossible. Victor’s unreasonableness heightens this shared discontent as not only has the build up of the creature’s wistful nature made him an utmost identifiable character, but our views are adjusted in such as way that Frankenstein is seen

The monster that Frankenstein created was only considered a monster because he did not look like a human. If he had not looked scary he would have been accepted as a member of society. Though had I myself seen him in real life I would most likely have been afraid of him, getting to know him from his point of view, by reading the book, helped me to understand how human-like he was. He was not evil, but kind and just wanted to be loved and accepted. The monster was kind, intelligent, he understood the value of love, and had his own thoughts and values, and for these reasons I believe the monster did not deserve to be destroyed.

The Real Monster and The Human ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, tells the story of a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a living and breathing creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term ‘monster’ as “one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character.” Throughout the novel, the never-named creature is described as a monster yet he possesses compassion and morality. These traits are apart of normal or acceptable behaviour. Although the creature is described in a grotesque way, does that make him a monster or is he human?

Victor feels that his relentless search for more knowledge is the cause for all of his suffering. It is true that his knowledge is what created the creature, but what made things worse is that he never gave the creature what he needed, so the neglected creature set out to find it himself. Victor’s tragic fate was not the result of his knowledge but because he did not take care of his creature. 6. Foreshadowing is seen multiple times such as the night when Victor sees lightning strike down a tree and Victor is fascinated with how much power the lighting has. The monster also foreshadows his own death when saying, “But soon I shall die.. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames..” 7. By not giving his creation a name, Victor didn’t give his creature an identity or a place in society. In society, a person’s name is who they are, people make their own judgment of people right away. The creature didn’t have a name and people judged him right away and identified him as monster and only that, rather than an actual being. 8. During the period in which Frankenstein was written, science was growing and it was seen as anything could be possible with the new research and

“...Hateful day when I received life!' Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?.... Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred” (Shelley 119). The monster after discovering that his own creator is horrified by his existence, continues to lose hope about his position in the world. He is left alone with no one to care for him or show him love. “I was dependent on none and related to none….My person was hideous and my stature gigantic... These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them”(Shelley 117). The quote expands on the idea of how the monster has expanded his knowledge from listening and reading literature on his existence and his place int the world. “Sometimes I allowed my thoughts, unchecked by reason, to ramble in the fields of Paradise, and dared to fancy amiable and lovely creatures sympathizing with my feelings and cheering my gloom;...”(Shelley 118). This quote continues on the theme of how the monster is expanding knowledge and becoming much more intelligent and aware of his place on earth. It shows how his thoughts are directly focused and stemmed on a few pieces of literature. It shows that he may be narrow-minded and needs to broaden his horizons to other possibilities and pieces of

Though Victor Frankenstein and his creation both have qualities that are clearly monstrous, Victor’s selfishness, his abandonment of his responsibilities, and his inability to recognize his own faults and the monstrous qualities within himself qualities within himself make him the true monster while his creation is rather the opposite.

In declaring the “everlasting war against the species” Shelley confirms that the Creature does not correlate with humans because of the feared rejection of the differences him and other species. Shelley’s interpretation of human nature is one of complexity of social and personal interaction, and the look of impenetrable crime and awareness of a monstrosity viewed by its transgressors.

“The Monster in All of Us” In Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the definition of a “monster” is brought into question. To thoroughly answer this you first have to answer another question: Who is the true monster Victor, the poster boy for humanity, or his creation, society’s idea of a monster? Through the analysis of these two characters, the source of monstrosity is brought to light, humanity. To begin, you have to look at the accepted definition of a monster.