The Monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein There are many ideas as to who the monster really is in Frankenstein and in this essay I will explore who the monster is in the novel. The three main ideas are whether it is Victor, society itself or indeed the monster who is truly evil. Although Victor's creation is known as the Monster, by reading the novel it is clear that this isn't the full story. The beginning of chapter 5 is very important in the novel, as this is the chapter in which the Monster is brought to life, and we learn a lot about what the Monster is really like. We see from the word 'dreary' in the first sentence and 'dismally' a few lines down that misery is to come once the …show more content…
He also says 'how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form'. This quote is useful for two reasons. Firstly it shows his character as a scientist, when he uses the word 'delineate'. This means explain and is used in science. The other reason is that he says 'with infinite pains and care' and this reinforces the point that he has worked very hard on this, and he is now repulsed by it. In the next paragraph he writes 'I had deprived myself of rest and health' which again demonstrates that he has worked incredibly hard, and also acts as a parallel to Captain Walton. In this chapter he sees the beauty of his creation turn into a catastrophe. This point is proven when he says that the 'beauty of the dream vanished'. He also adds 'breathless horror and disgust filled my heart'. This shows that he is scared and ashamed of what he has done. He describes the Monster as something that 'even Dante could not have conceived'. Dante is the author of the Divine Comedy, in which he describes Hell. By this Victor means the Monster is so bad, he is worse than anything from Hell itself. Chapter 16, and page 130 before it is a turning point because the Monster does nothing wrong, but Felix judges him by his appearance and attacks him. This is what turns the Monster evil. He calls the
What is a monster, really? Is it really a Creature that has three eyes instead of two, with pus seeping out of every crevice in his face and an abnormally large form? Or is it someone with a mind so corrupt it rivals that of Satan? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a story within a story that centers on the tale of a man with an immense thirst of knowledge and a fetish to imitate the Creator. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a lot like the Greek mythological tale of the Greek God, Prometheus, and his brother, Epimetheus, who were assigned the task of creating man. The story captivates the theme of monstrosity. Mary Shelley wrote the novel in a form so the reader’s opinions never stray far from sympathy for the monster and apathy for Victor
In this essay I will be discussing who really is portrayed as the monster in her gothic horror novel, Frankenstein or “The Modern Prometheus”. Frankenstein was written in 1816, (thought by many to be the first real science fiction novel) during the age of Romanticism and it tells the story of a selfish man, Victor Frankenstein, whose ambition conducts him to seek for supernatural powers and leads him to death. He is a young scientist, eager to discover something new, the key to life, help to make scientific advances and let other scientists get a better idea of how the body works and who after studying chemical processes and the decay of living beings, gains an insight into the creation of like, leading him to create a monster that becomes
The creature from Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" displays many different human qualities. Some of these qualities include: the creature's ability to learn, his capability to feel pain, his desire to be accepted, and his need for affection and sympathy. The need for affection and sympathy is something which the creature is unable to attain. This unrequited desire to be accepted causes the creature to be the victim of the novel. The creature is never given affection by human society because of his physical deformities, Dr. Frankenstein's denial to create him a mate, and the creature's violent behaviour.
Frankenstein follows Victor Frankenstein’s triumph as he reanimates a dead body, and then details his guilt for creating such a thing. When the creation realizes how he came to be, and is rejected by mankind, he seeks revenge on his creator’s loved ones. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays Victor Frankenstein as the true monster of the story through the use of literary devices revealing the characteristics that Frankensteins and monsters share, and shows how Frankenstein’s irresponsibility leads to his monstrous labeling.
The monster notices that humans are afraid of him because of his appearance, he feels embarrassed of himself, as humans do when they don’t seem to be accepted. He admires the De Lacey Family that lives in the cottage, he also learns from them, and hopes to have companion as they do. The monster is like humans, as mentioned, in the way that he wants someone to listen and care about him. He is discovering the world and his capacities, he seeks knowledge and understand plenty aspects of life by learning how to speak and read. “The gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to me; when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joys” (Shelley 47). The monster developed feelings and emotions as humans. The creature is different from humans also, since he never got to grow up as a normal human, and
Frankenstein is a classic horror novel, but with a twist of many other genres. Written by Mary Shelley, it was a novel which mixed many exciting elements, such as horror, drama and romance. The story follows a young doctor named Victor Frankenstein, who has an obsession to reincarnate the dead, but his attempts at this fail horribly, and Victor finds himself in deep peril, as the monster stalks him throughout the world. I aim to investigate the issue, however, of who is the true monster in Frankenstein. The monster or Frankenstein himself?
The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley involves the complex issues with the creation of life through an inanimate life. Shelley uses these character archetypes to develop a deeper meaning of the characters intentions. Shelley does an excellent job at allowing the reader to have a peak at the characters inner thoughts and feelings. The archetypes presented in Frankenstein allow readers to identify with the character's role and purpose.
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
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein there are several parallels that can be drawn. One of the major parallels in the novel is the connection between Victor Frankenstein and the creature he creates; there is an interesting relationship between these two characters. Frankenstein and his creation are not blood related, however, their similarities bond the two. Despite their dislike for one another and their physical differences Frankenstein shares many characteristics with his creation, throughout the novel we see each of them find comfort in nature, become isolated from society, and seek revenge towards those who have wronged them. There is significance in these similarities; if Frankenstein’s creation had not been physically deformed they would
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Mary Shelley is an author who wrote the novel of Frankenstein. Mary Shelley herself in her life, experienced many deaths of close friends and family. When she was first born her mother died, furthermore Mary had a baby, who died 12 days later and her husband Percy Shelly drowned. Maybe it was these experiences, which led Mary Shelley to write such a novel of great horror published in 1818. Frankenstein itself is called 'the modern Prometheus'.
Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley didn’t know when she began it that her “ghost story” would become an enduring part of classic literature. Frankenstein is an admirable work simply for its captivating plot. To the careful reader, however, Shelley’s tale offers complex insights into human experience. The reader identifies with all of the major characters and is left to heed or ignore the cautions that their situations provide. Shelley uses the second person narrative style, allusions both to Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and the legend of Prometheus, and the symbols of both light and fire to warn against the destructive thirst for forbidden knowledge.
A newborn child comes into the world with a clean slate. It has no experience, no worries, no prejudices. As the child grows into an adult, he or she is shaped by the world around them. Parents bestow proper manners, and reprimand the child, making sure that he or she grows up into a proper, well mannered adult. This child will associate with friend who have grown up in similar situations, and will have friendly reactions from other people. However, sometimes the parents are not there to oversee the upbringing of their child, or neglect to do so in a nurturing way. Children in these circumstances grow up in a different manner. They do not receive important lessons for life, and may not be kind towards their friends. The reaction of others
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, is a story about how important having a family is to some, but also judging someone based on their appearance. Victor Frankenstein starts the novel by describing his childhood with his loving and supportive family. Family is very important to him because he did not have many friends growing up. While Frankenstein is away at school he starts to become very depressed and you see his attitude towards his family and his life change. Being away at school, he creates a “monster” by using different pieces of corpses and that becomes the only thing that matters to him until he sees how hideous it is. He immediately hates his creation just because of how he looks. Frankenstein begins to abandon everyone and thing in his life because of his obsession with the idea of glory and science, causing the novel to go from Romanticism to Gothic. The “monster” finds a family living in a cottage, by watching all winter he learns how a family should love and accept others. By seeing this, Frankenstein’s creations understand what was taken from him, and will do whatever he has to do to have a family of his own.
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein shows the life of an early scientist and the effects of uncovering a truth that has not been known or experimented by other scientist’s. The story of Frankenstein portrays mainly the characters Victor Frankenstein, Henry Clerval, Frankenstein’s creation, Captain Walton and Elizabeth Victor’s future wife and relative. When Victor animates a lifeless object he is horrified by the concept of what he had just done and how it looks. After running away Victor’s loved ones are affected greatly by his choices that he makes along the way, while also changing his relationship with his creation. Through his feelings of fear when approached by the monster, the trauma of multiple deaths and the arrest of Justin, Victor
The scene is set on a dreary night of November at one o'clock in the