Ways Mary Shelley Makes the Reader Sympathize with the Monster in Frankenstein
In the novel ‘Frankenstein’, the writer Mary Shelley presents a character in the form of a monster who causes great destruction. He is directly responsible for the deaths of William, Clerval and Elizabeth, as well as contributing to the deaths of Justine and Victor Frankenstein. Despite these acts of violence, Mary Shelley makes the reader sympathise with the Monster. She is able to do this through the narrative technique that shifts from character to character and by looking very critically at Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s aim is to make the elixir of life in order to create life. He tries to play God and his
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Also the layout is symmetrical, going back to where it started.
Mary Shelley was part of the Romantic Movement and she shows through the ideas of this in the novel. This was the concern that scientists were too busy pursuing their own goals to stop and see the beauty of nature. Chapter 5 shows the creation of Frankenstein’s monster. A classic gothic horror scene is set for this to take place, a dark November eve with rain pounding on the windows. Up until this point in the novel Frankenstein has been keen on the creation of new life but as soon as life is breathed into his monster his opinions change. The creation of the monster is deemed a catastrophe immediately in which Frankenstein instantly regrets ever creating his monster. He finds his monsters appearance revolting and he is horrified. He uses profane language and uses blasphemy such as ‘Great God’. Blasphemy was very strong language in the days in which the novel was written so Frankenstein had a strong reaction to his creation. All of Frankenstein’s negative views on the monster are based purely assumption. Despite the monster not having chance to do anything to justify itself, Frankenstein assumes that because it is hideous it is also evil.
After the creation of his monster, Frankenstein suffers terrible after-effects and
The desire to belong is natural in most humans. Even though we understand the struggle of belonging, we, as humans still persecute others who are different. This exclusion is, in itself, a form of bullying. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley exemplifies this phenomenon of human behavior when she shows the maltreatment Frankenstein’s monster receives for his unattractive physical features and how he attempts to communicate with others in order to put an end to his isolation. Despite the monster’s benevolent nature, he is still alienated because he is different. Through the use of the monster and his discrimination, Mary Shelley shows that humans are not that different from the monster in the way we seek others; and those that persecute others are the real monsters.
The tragic figure in Mary Shelley’s horror novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, is truly an instrument of suffering for his loved ones in his life. Frankenstein’s Creature horrifies Frankenstein and sets off a series of events that corrode his relationships and harm his family and friends; furthermore, Frankenstein’s actions cause the innocent characters to suffer the most, which contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.
I feel sympathetic for the creature on many occasions in the fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein has brought something to life that he cannot even look at without being horrified. I believe it was wrong that Frankenstein played God and created something he didn’t understand. Once you are finished with this essay I believe you will agree with me.
Mary Shelley was a writer, novelist, and biographer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein. She had already written many stories and short novels, and even edited and promoted the works of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley . But Frankenstein; the Modern Prometheus was her first work to achieve popularity and great success, despite the initial bad reviews, claiming the novel to be ''a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity''. Frankenstein recalls the events of the fictional Victor Frankenstein and of his becoming an unholy creator of life. When the novel was written, science was highly debated; and Frankenstein was the first novel to give the impression that one day, science will destroy mankind. The subtle mixture of the
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, an epistolary novel that structure a diverse narration enable through letters and dialogue. During the story, he author goes back and forth from writing from Victor’s point of view and other character’s perspective in the letters. The diction used to capture the feeling of abandonment, sorrow, and loss of identity that the monster felt. Victor also endured the feeling of sorrow because the very thing he created destroyed his entire family. The diction allowed the audience to connect to the characters, feel the pain and agony one’s faces after making a wrong decision that affects the rest of one’s life.
The creature was more human because it craved love and support from civilians. The creature says, “The more I saw them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures,” which shows that he developed feelings and emotions towards people (Chapter 15, page 5). In the story, the creature finds a family of cottagers, which he watches from a distance. As he watches the family, he develops and understands the emotions of happiness, sadness, caring, and love. The creature’s development of emotions makes him more human because Dr. Frankenstein never seemed to care about anyone other than himself. Today, the creature would have the same emotions and feelings as other
For as long as man has encompassed this world, the divisive enigma of humanity has prevailed. Seeping its way into each generation, while sparking heated conversations, it has become evident that there is much we do not know about what truly makes us human. Regardless of our genetic composition, philosophers often ponder the deeper meaning of humanity. We know that, biologically, recreating the genetic makeup of a human does not yield humanity, so what is the missing aspect? Humans -have the ability to contemplate their own existence in this world. Awareness of existence. This driving force enables us to analyze situations while placing ourselves within them. Our involuntary ability to understand the impact of our actions and the affect they have on others causes us to be inherently human. Our actions evoke strong emotions within us that allow us to learn through our experiences. We retain the resonated feelings of certain occurrences and apply them to others in order to deduce outcomes. Often this facet of mankind is taken for granted, yet we are reminded, through both literature and hypothetical scenarios, of its importance. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, constitutes as one of these profound reminders. Shelley develops a theoretical story in which the humanity of Frankenstein’s monster is questioned. Despite having the accurate organs and framework of a human, Shelley causes the reader to seek the missing aspect that is preventing the monster from being human. Likewise,
Many years have passed since the novel “Frankenstein” was published for the common readers, yet it gave a huge impact in the society’s point of views and beliefs about what kind of monster Victor Frankenstein created. Even in present day, the novel has influenced, in many ways, how to shape the opinions of the society. Although, it has many argumentatives elements, they are all based on how the monster develops in the story from a victim to a villain.
“I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept” (Shelley 91). In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Mary depicts a hideous, macabre, creature as one of the main characters, who seeks to discover and connect with the unknown world that it has been born into. The creator, Victor Frankenstein, studies life cycle of human beings, ultimately learning the secret of creation through unnatural means. These experiments result in a monster, who must to learn and grow in consciousness, much as an infant would awaken gradually to life. He is, at first, overwhelmed by new sensations, experiencing hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. The monster begins on a clean slate, starting in his adolescence, but experiences continuous vulgar abuse from beings who show to be quick to judge. Though the monster proves to have a positive heart initially, maltreatment gradually changes his response to people and causes him to react negatively to negative stimuli from experiences and necessity. The creature’s response to society is constructed through the mistreatment by Victor Frankenstein, the DeLacey family’s rejection, and his first meeting with Victor Frankenstein in the Alps.
Sympathy in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Frankenstein for many people is a huge fiendish monster, a brainless oaf with a couple of neck bolts, who is a horrible murderer. This image has been created by Boris Karloff and other television/film images. I also thought like that, believing Frankenstein to be a monstrous murderer, so when I was met with the text I was surprised to find as a mad scientist who creates a monster. This changed my opinion greatly at first.
has had a very good start to his life and he has been spoilt beyond
Victor Frankenstein had not only created a monster but he had also created this being that is full of knowledge seeking and understanding. Right from the beginning of the story, it is misunderstood by the monster's character. Frankenstein judges his creations outer shell and in doing so he neglects his creation making the “monster” feel vulnerable and naked to society. It is said that “No one is born hating another person for their skin, or his background, or his religion.” (Nelson Mandela, October 1, 1999). This quote is important because we must understand that the monster's hatred only comes from his experiences with the lack of connections people want to make with him. His bitterness and anger are because he has
Mary Shelley discusses the themes of birth and creation, appearance and the necessity of companionship, love and acceptance in her novel Frankenstein. The themes that are explored in Frankenstein are relevant to today’s modern world. Shelley challenges readers by endorsing and confronting attitudes and values in her text through the events, circumstances and outcomes that take place in the novel, thus causing the reader to reflect upon their own lives and in turn the society around them.
In the Romance novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley she illustrates themes of innocence and revenge. The book focuses on a wild scientist named Victor Frankenstein. The novel goes through many stories and perspectives on the life of Frankenstein's creation. Throughout the novel the monster tries to prove to the society that he is not a horrible creature and that his physical attributes do not represent him. Although he tries hard to accomplish this goal, society does not believe him so the monster decides to get revenge on Frankenstein. The society is responsible for the deaths that occurred in the novel because they assumed he was a certain way based on his looks, their violent towards him, and they mentally hurt him with their words which turn him evil and make him obsessed with revenge.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become a classic in modern literature. Her tale is full of moral lessons that encompass a wide variety of subjects but one of the most prevalent is the theme of knowledge and its pursuit. Frankenstein, Walton, and the Monster all have an appetite for acquiring knowledge and actively pursue their perspective interests, but it soon turns to the obsessive and proves to be dangerous. Each of the character’s desires demonstrates to be detrimental to them when no boundaries are established. Through the use of consequences, Shelley’s Frankenstein shows that the relentless and obsessive pursuit of knowledge can lead to dangerous and disastrous situations.