Unintelligent In Frankenstein

    Sometimes, in novels like Frankenstein, the motives of the author are unclear.  It is clear however, that one of the many themes Mary Shelley presents is the humanity of Victor Frankenstein's creation.  Although she presents evidence in both support and opposition to the creation's humanity, it is apparent that this being is indeed human.  His humanity is not only witnessed in his physical being, but in his intellectual and emotional thoughts as well.  His humanity is argued by the fact that being human does not mean coming from a specific genetic chain and having family to relate to, but to embrace many of the distinct traits that set humans apart from other animals in this

The novel Frankenstein is wonderful in various ways, from the provoking portrayal of human emotion throughout the story; to the elements of fantasy that stimulate the imagination. However, as one (anonymous) critic put it, “[T]he work seems to have been written… …on a very crude and ill-digested plan; and the detail is, in consequence, frequently filled with the most gross and obvious inconsistencies.” (The Literary Panorama). While the critic attempts to expose some inconsistencies in the story, the acerbity in his review of the novel is unfair based on the support he provides. The irony of this review is that although he tries to expose the plot’s inconsistencies, he uses a non-issue as backing, and yet misses the most glaring oversight in the novel.

The idea of pursuing knowledge clouded Victor’s mind and when his creature is born he is shocked to discover that what he has created is far off his own expectations. Not only did the monster destroy his expectations of developing a creature that went beyond human knowledge, but it also affected his life, dignity, and fears. Victor himself admits to his own mistake when he says, “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless honor and disgust filled my heart ” (36). Victor Frankenstein realizes what his obsession with pursuing an extensive amount of knowledge has brought him. His destiny to achieve the impossible with no regard for anyone or anything but himself shows that he is blinded by knowledge when creating the monster and is incapable to foresee the outcome of his creation. Victor’s goal was meant to improve and help humanity, but instead it leads to

From beginning to end Frankenstein’s Monster is shown as a wicked creature from the people; however, he possesses many human characteristics. The monster was originally an idea of Frankenstein that will soon come to life. Created from many different parts, the monster was never given a chance to be seen as anything other than a science project. From the outside looking in,

Frankenstein, a novel by Mary Shelley, tells the story of Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit of creation and the monster he unintentionally brought to life. Horrified with his own creation, Victor escaped his responsibilities, leaving him to fend for himself. The story follows the monster’s futile attempts to assimilate into humanity, his hatred finally leading him to killing his creator’s family one by one until Frankenstein committed himself to vengeance. The theme of humanity was prevalent throughout the novel as the monster’s existence blurred the line between what was “human” and “inhuman.” The question of whether nurture, or nature, mattered more to one’s identity was explored throughout the story. In Frankenstein, nurture rather than

The monster is forced to develop a neolithic mindset as opposed to modern day ideals after its maturation occurs in the wilderness. His savagery can be seen when he “silenced” Frankenstein’s son after realizing he “[belonged] to the enemy” (102). The daemon also “discovers” a fire for the first time, drawing a parallel to cavemen (72). Unfortunately, due to the lack of contact with the outside human world, the monster is unable to

Impulsivity. It hunts, it haunts, and occasionally it can eat a person alive to the point of sheer destruction. Impulsivity can alter a human’s life in just one single second. An impulsive decision has power far beyond what one might imagine or originally perceive. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein deeply senses the repercussions of his impulsive as well as passionate decision to create a creature without thinking about the major consequences that could occur. As a result, his life is transformed. The primary truth of consequences of impulsive and passionate decisions are revealed in this novel through experiences and warnings of loneliness, rage, and unhappiness of Frankenstein.

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

    Imagine an eight-foot-tall, misshapen human child. You might complain that this is contradictory - but do it anyway. Imagine some sort of humanoid being with the mind of a human child in an eight-foot body, green with a nail in its head if you want. This is what Frankenstein's creature is. Frankenstein's creature is mentally a child, and we see its evolution through traditional child development in the course of its narrative. But the creature is the only member of its species, and therefore its narrative can be taken to represent the history of an entire species - the creature's first experiences can be viewed as an amalgam of creation myths.

In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein creates a creature, stronger and better than humans in every way except his looks. After Frankenstein abandons him, the Creature meets the De Lacey’s, a nice little family that indirectly teach him how to read and write. In truth, the Creature only becomes a monster after the hatred that Felix, one of the De Lacey’s, shows him. Before, he had done nothing wrong, but afterwards, all he did was fall down a slippery slope.

Throughout the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the creature is subjected to countless acts of violence and rejection. For a monster to develop, one must have been formerly exploited either by an individual or their society. The creature is not only a physical product of science, but his atrocious behavior is also an explicit result of Victor’s actions toward him. The creature was not born a monster, but slowly morphed into one as he experiences violence and rejection from his society.

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

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells a story about the creation and the destruction of a man considered by society to be a “monster”. In the novel, there is profound meaning to be found in the monster’s self-education. Patterned after the evolution of human learning, the monster’s spontaneous learning proceeds through major stages. First, is the accidental discovery of fire, this is followed by a realization by the monster that knowledge yields power.

Frankenstein is a story full of questions and excitement. What is interesting about Shelley’s novel is the absence of God and multiple female characters. She ignores the proper way of conception and birth. Due to this, the science of what Victor accomplished had gone awry. His goal while creating the monster was a perfect race in which they would help mankind, “even though the dream of the new race is...exploded” in the end (Levine 12). Victor Frankenstein

Mary Shelley, a writer and leader of the Romantic era, was clearly influenced by the great thinkers of the Enlightenment. One such thinker was John Locke, who expressed that all humans have natural rights. Locke also had a theory that humans are born with clean slates, and the environment humans grow in, especially at a young age, has massive influences on aspects of their personalities, ideals, and motivations. Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was, without a doubt, influenced by this claim. This is evident in more ways than one, with the strongest argument being that the monster, that Victor Frankenstein created, was almost completely like a newborn baby with a fully developed brain. His actions and beliefs were merely an result of his experiences and the natural goodness of human beings. In essence, Mary Shelley is using the monster of Frankenstein as a representation of other human beings who are affected by the hate and cruelty that surrounds them and become that which they experience. In essence, the monster is an embodiment of the human condition, in a creature that isn’t classically defined as human, but meets all the criteria.