Parental Responsibility In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In conclusion, the author uses diction, language level, syntax, details, and imagery to create the tone of this excerpt. Besides, the Frankenstein and his creature are not in a good mood in the story. The creator( Frankenstein) loses his trust in the creature as the being slaughter several humans. Overall, the wrath of the Frankenstein towards his creation shows that he's not righteous guardian( parent) as he doesn't want to teach the creature what's the right thing to do or

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein make many people question things they thought they knew about the world and how society functions. The 1817 novel asks questions from what defines being human and how far is too far for science. One of the many themes in the book is responsibility. Who was responsible for the creature’s actions? Was the creature responsible for them or were Victor and the other people surrounding him the problem?

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:

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

Easily one of the most notable themes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the role of nature versus nurture in developing children, recurs throughout the novel with the two main characters, Frankenstein and his creature, believing in opposite sides of this theme. Favoring nature, Frankenstein maintains that the creature was always evil from the moment of creation, regardless of the creature’s experiences. However, the creature, in his narrative to Frankenstein, argues that “[he] was benevolent and good; misery made [him] a fiend” (106). In adherence with John Locke’s concept of tabula rasa, the creature was born with a blank slate, and only through his experiences does he gain knowledge and personality. Struggling to persevere in the human world, Frankenstein’s creature merely wants humans to welcome him as one of them. The change of the creature from looking “upon crime as a distant evil” because “benevolence and generosity were ever present” in him to seeking revenge on Frankenstein results from a culmination of horrible experiences (103). While it may be hard to see the creature as a trustworthy narrator because of how he has acted and his ulterior motives, he does present physical evidence to support his tale. Facing rejection in different forms, he becomes truly evil, giving up hope of companionship as a result of his trials and lessons. From the moment of his creation, the creature encounters abandonment, violence, isolation, and rejection everywhere he turns.

Throughout the novel, Frankenstein repeatedly places blame on the creature instead of taking ownership for creating the creature. When he returns to Geneva after William’s death he recognizes that he created the creature but ultimately blames the creature for all of its actions, “I had turned loose into the world a depraved wretch whose delight was in carnage and misery” (Shelley 50). In an attempt to be the modern Prometheus, or God-like, Frankenstein’s selfish ambition blinds him from the consequences of creating the

The creature hurts many people throughout this novel, but tries many times to stop it. He tells Frankenstein that he is lonely and wants someone to love. The creature attempts to tell Frankenstein this many times, “I am malicious because I am miserable,” (Shelley, 146). There comes a time in the story when the creature is tired of being alone and always being judged by people, especially his creator, so he decides to stand up for himself and stop trying to please Frankenstein, “You are my creator, but I am your master-obey!” (Shelley, 172). The creature begins to explain his history of feelings and why he

In the novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, the creature and its creator, Victor Frankenstein, share a lot of similarities throughout the story. The relationship shared between the two resembles that of a father and his son. Since Victor created it , the creature inherits certain traits of Victor’s without realizing it. Victor and the creature both have an overpowering thirst for knowledge, a love for the beauty of nature and a tendency to use it as a scapegoat, a depressing feeling of isolation from people, a desire for revenge, and the ability to play God. The relationship between Victor and the creature does not develop like a normal father-son relationship, nor does it develop as a good versus evil relationship. Both characters show hero and villain qualities throughout the novel as their relationship develops.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is undoubtedly one of the greatest books ever wrote. “Frankenstein” is about a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a living being using body parts of dead beings. After his creation is complete, Frankenstein disowns his creation due to it’s hideous looks which causes Frankenstein’s perspective of his creation to be a monster. Throughout the story, it shows how the creature tries to find a place to be accepted since his own creator did not. However, the creation is given harsh treatment and is always driven off by people due to his physical looks. The inability of being accepted by humans and the terrible treatment from them causes the creation to vow revenge on the whole mankind. Therefore, he starts killing people and he kills people specifically related to Frankenstein. Frankenstein then vows revenge on the creation and chases him for the rest of his life, and he eventually dies. On the other hand, after his creator's death, the christian goes to the Arctic to spend the rest of his life alone. “Frankenstein” deals on the topic of one's identity being more affected by nurture rather than nature. Nurture is the idea that one’s identity is made by one’s experiences and nature is the idea that a person’s identity is by heredity. This message is great supported and is modeled by the creation. “Frankenstein” shows the support believing in n

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

This fear and rejection of the Creature is seen not only in the different people the Monster encounters throughout his travels, but also in his creator. Frankenstein is unable to stand the sight of the creature stating, “its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes” (Shelley 95). Frankenstein’s rejection causes the Creature to accuse Frankenstein of abandonment: “you had endowed me with perceptions and passions, and then cast me abroad an object for the scorn and horror of mankind” (Shelley 141). The Creature says that he is Frankenstein’s obligation and it is Frankenstein’s responsibility to be his essential caretaker. Although Victor originally cowered in fear of the Creature, the Creature claims he was initially “good” and it his Victor’s rejection which drives him to violence. The monster repeatedly lectures Frankenstein on his responsibility, “I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the

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.

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.

Frankenstein is not God and therefore must be given the benefit of a flawed being. He, as his own being, is entitled to his own feelings and thoughts. Shelley uses distinct diction to describe the creature’s existence as “wantonly bestowed” (Shelley, 16.1), referencing the primitive nature of man to procreate. The creature curses Frankenstein for creating him but the creature is in the wrong when he expects Frankenstein to create a mate for him. Frankenstein is under no obligation to extend love towards a creation he despises; similar to how an artist disposes of a sculpture he abhors or how a mother does not need to discard her values and personality to love her child, Frankenstein is his own person and can act according to his will.

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.