The Cruelty Of Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, acts of cruelty serve as the driving force behind many tragedies within the novel. Set in 18th century Switzerland, Victor Frankenstein embarks on a horrifying journey to satisfy his growing desire to create life. However, Victor and his creation are overcome by their selfish agendas and growing hatred of one another, creating seemingly endless misfortune for their selves. The enemies' constant misunderstandings of each other ultimately turn an innocent victim into an inconsiderate and hate-filled monster.

Thesis Statement: In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature’s identity as a monster is due to societal rejection, isolation, and misinterpretation.

The creation of life is an extraordinary event which humanity usually attributes to the work of a higher being. Because of this common belief, Mary Shelley’s: Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus often triggers mixed feelings when human Victor Frankenstein experiments and creates the creature known as Frankenstein or Frankenstein’s monster. While it cannot be denied that this accomplishment is impressive, Victor’s right to form life, being a mortal himself, often is debated. Even the title of Shelley’s work causes readers to evaluate Victor’s actions within the context of the Greek God Prometheus, who has been credited with the creation of mankind and the gift of fire to them. Through analysis of Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus as well as older works such as Theogony, and Prometheus: Bound, a comparison and interchangeability between Victor and Prometheus can be made, showing many correlations in the actions of both characters, despite the fact that Prometheus was often honored while Victor was sometimes scorned. While the actions and traits of both creators have countless parallels, ultimately Victor’s rejection and abandonment of his monster highlights his irresponsibility toward humanity and undeniably separates Victor Frankenstein from the honorable Prometheus.

In the ultimate downfall due to his hubris, which shows through his quest for knowledge, Frankenstein experiences a steady decline in the loss of his innocence throughout the story. First tracing Frankenstein’s fall of innocence to his early days upon the discovery of scientific theories, he ‘Sometimes I grew alarmed at the wreck I perceived that I had become; the energy of my purpose alone sustained me: I believed that exercise and amusement would then drive away incipient disease; and I promised myself both of these when my creation should be complete” (57). He lays himself a foundation of scientific fascination that alone were mostly harmless, but eventually grew with his learning in the modern sciences into ardor to create life from death.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is very much a commentary on the Enlightenment and its failure to tame the human condition through reason. The human condition can be defined as the unique features which mold a human being. The creature is undoubtedly a victim of this predicament. He grapples with the meaning of life, the search for gratification, the sense of curiosity, the inevitability of isolation, and the awareness of the inescapability of death. These qualities and his ceaseless stalking of his master conjure up the metaphor that he is the shadow of the Enlightenment. Indeed, the Enlightenment is represented through Frankenstein whereas the creature is the embodiment of everything it shuns. These include nature, emotion, and savagery. The two characters are understood as counterparts and yet strikingly similar at the same time. The creature is considered a monster because of his grotesque appearance. Frankenstein on the other hand is a monster of another kind: his ambition, secrecy, and selfishness alienate him from human society. He is eventually consumed by an obsessive hatred of his creation. Both characters also commit primordial crimes. Although rationality pervades through Frankenstein's endeavours, it can be argued that he becomes less human the more he tries to be God. The secret of life lies beyond an accepted boundary from which none can return. By creating life Frankenstein ironically sets the stage for his own destruction as well as that of his family. The

“Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelley was a warning to everyone about the possible dangers of going against the natural process of creating a human. Even though the creature was not nurtured and therefore did not understand the weight of his actions, the novel was a warning to human society for potential destruction. Due to the creature killing a lot of people because his intellectual development was outstanding whereas his social skills lacked basic understanding. This caused issues for Victor Frankenstein’s everyday life.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, cruelty is one essential part of the story. The portrayal of cruelty in the story informs the reader of what the social norms were for the 18th century and reveals the darker side to human beings that has been evident for most of history. In addition, cruelty shapes the once, innocent creature into the hateful, vengeful monster that he appears to be.

 "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.

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein follows the tale of Victor Frankenstein and how he overstepped ethical boundaries in the reanimation of a lifeless body. As such, Frankenstein as a novel largely serves as a cautionary tale against the dangers of boundlessly pursuing and expanding one’s knowledge. The character of Victor Frankenstein himself even refers to the lack of limitations in scientific pursuits, saying that “in other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder” (Shelley). Victor’s spiel is essentially a commentary on the idea that science itself is limitless, and the possibilities of what is achievable is largely

The crimes and punishments of the 1800’s were cruel, unusual and inhumane. These horrific punishments added suspense and gore to Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. It is implored that Mary Shelley was impacted by witnessing these tragic events which resulted in her transitioning her thoughts into her novel. These brutal punishments have been going on for hundreds of years in England and were recently were stopped in 1964 .

In “Frankenstein”, Mary Shelley reveals how savagery transforms into the central purpose of the novel, pushing the characters towards their goals and demonstrates how Frankenstein’s creature and Victor are setbacks and culprits of one another and themselves. Mary Shelley clarifies the life of a distraught researcher and his making of a "creature" demonstrating to us how remorselessness substitutes between them uncovering how it can influence a victim or perpetrator through society. The principal demonstration of cold-bloodedness meriting to be broke down altogether would be Frankenstein forsaking his own particular creation. He isn't purposefully barbarous to his creation; his remorselessness is generated from his dread of what he has made.

"Nothing is as painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change" (Shelley 56). The issues regarding women rights is not a new one. In the past there were distinctive difference between men and women, between their role in society and their model of behavior, but could it be in 1815 women were considered monsters. Well of course not by appearance but relatable at a since where both were not accepted and misjudged in society.

Identity is something that many people struggle with. Sometimes thoughts become a jumbled, mixed-up pot, that people are forced to pick out of because they are not secure or comfortable with who they are. They have to deal with the cards they are dealt because of circumstance and sometimes even survival. Not knowing who you are or what your purpose in life is can be difficult. However, not having someone to guide and support you while trying to figure out these missing pieces in your identity is even more heartbreaking. One can imagine this feeling through the eyes and mind of Frankenstein's monster. Throughout the story of Frankenstein the author, Mary Shelley, depicts the life of the lonely monster. Being created from the innocent curiosity of a young scientist, this actions turns many lives around. Not only does the monster live in sadness and discomfort, knowing no one loves him, but Victor, his creator is torn inside with the shocking discovery of his creation. Out of fear, Victor abandons his very own creation out of fear. However, this lack of knowledge doesn’t give him time to find out the true loving soul inside the ugly exterior of his creation. Throughout the novel, an audience is able to see how abandonment, intolerance, and inner daemons are connected through the use of characterization, conflict and point of view.

The essay discussed in this document is Said I. Abdelwahed's "The Gothic, Frankenstein and the Romanics", which was published in 1997 in An-Najaj N. J. Res. The author is the assistant professor of English literature at Gaza's Al-Azhar University. These credentials are fairly impressive considering the international reputation of the university the author was working at during the time of publication. Additionally, the author's status as an assistant professor helps to imbue this work with a degree of scholarship commensurate with that of most scholarly journals.

Sherry Ginn is one of the authors credited with writing a critique on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Sherry Ginn is currently an assistant professor of psychology. Apart from being an assistant professor, Sherry Ginn is also the director of Women’s Studies Program at Wingate University in North Carolina. Sherry Ginn got her Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in General-Experimental Psychology. Most of her early works and publications involved research on behavioral neuroscience and experimental psychology. Many of her publications back then mainly dealt in the history of neuroscience. However, currently most of her publications, works and books major on science and fictions. The subjects