This is why it is important to understand what is a monster and what are its uses in literature. In “Monster Theory (Seven Theses)”, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, the author, gives us some of the basic aspects of monsters as theses. Monsters are born as an embodiment of a certain cultural moment and “the monster 's body quite literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, fantasy[...] giving them life and an
Nature V.S. Nurture in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein Mary Shelly's Frankenstein discusses the nature of human begins, whether it is simply one's natural instinct to act maliciously or if it's one's surroundings and environment that impact their behavior. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist of this intricate novel, answers this question in two ways, as both the product and the perpetrator of how it is both in the nature of a person, and their nurturing that develops their behaviors, and in the case of this plot, malicious behaviors. Since a young age Frankenstein desired knowledge, constantly seeking for greater wisdom, while his father did not care for this. His passion for learning wasn't something that his parents conditioned him into, and
Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein uses symbolism and allusions to portray Dr. Frankenstein and the monster as God and the Devil, leading to their constant battle between good and evil. The historical context of the novel helps to develop the characters and their personalities. Frankenstein,
Science and knowledge are two important factors in society around the 19th century. Mary Shelley supports the connection of these two key topics throughout her writing in the novel, Frankenstein. With her style, structure, and Romantic elements portrayed in the novel, she discusses that scientific progress/knowledge is dangerous and harmful as it places man above God and destroys his morals. This is done by examples of appeals to emotion, imagery, and figures of speech that convey her style and ultimately ends up as support of the previous statement.
Throughout Frankenstein, Shelley uses Victor to warn the reader of the dangers of aspiring to godliness, and the consequences one faces in the aftermath doing so, even going as far as to compare Victor to Satan, tempting the crew of Walton’s ship, in the book’s final pages. The Victor Shelley creates is very similar to the Satan created by Milton in his book, Paradise Lost, which explores the biblical tale of Adam and Eve. In Frankenstein, Victor speaks of his desire to create the Creature, saying, “I deemed it criminal to throw away in useless grief those talents that might be useful to my fellow-creatures.” (152). Shelley’s diction choices, such as the word “useless” exemplify Victor’s excessive hubris, portraying him as a man who creates his Creature for, in his mind, the good of society.
Knowledge can be Blessings and Curse A teenage girl Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein in the 18th century. A Gothic novel Frankenstein deals with two genres, Gothicism and science fiction. Victor, one of Mary Shelly’s characters represents man’s pursuit of knowledge which ultimately leads towards the path of destruction while another character Robert Walton implemented his knowledge wisely to get benefits for the society. Mary is indicating to the society that mankind has to pay full attention to science and scientific innovations in order to avoid the catastrophic events due to misuse of knowledge.
The morality and the gothic novel with specific reference to Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights will be assessed. The second aspect will be the social and cultural of the genre, the genre being the gothic novel. Thirdly, the monster as punishment and the punishment of the monster in both novels. The final aspect that will be analysed is the constructed nature of boundaries in both texts.
Accordingly, these desires also show the motifs of secrecy and nature: “fervent longing . . . of nature” (36). On the other hand, Elizabeth’s calmness is inferior to Victor’s thirst for knowledge, which shows Victor’s sexist, male point-of-view: “Elizabeth was . .
The Creature in Frankenstein Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” is an inspirational work of horror and science fiction; it is the narrative of an unorthodox act of creation, of a monster which torments his miserable creator. The author puts forth ideas, and reinforces it through the development of the plot, that mankind is capable of both good and evil. Shelly demonstrates the ‘humanity’ of the creature; his actions and his inclination are like those of mankind. Indeed, even the negative aspect of his character, demonstrated through his quest for revenge, has a parallel in the actions of his human creator. In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” the creature is represented as being vicious and murderous but he is not inherently evil or malicious.
Shelley is nuanced in acknowledging that a belief in absolute good or evil is an unrealistic moral framework of the world and in defining key points of unexpected moral reversal amongst her characters, Frankenstein can also suggest Both The creature and Victor display monstrous and humane qualities. The creature 's own killing spree is unable to be overlooked and especially his premeditated attack on Elizabeth, where he explicitly threatened to be with her "on her wedding night" illustrates that the monster also demonstrated monstrous qualities. Additionally, Shelley presents the destructive nature of her otherwise victimised creature, through the black marks that his murder imprints on the necks of Henry and Elizabeth. This symbolic manifestation of the lasting scars of unfettered industrialism perhaps evoke resentment for the monster 's lack of control and similarly suggest that Both The creature and Victor display monstrous and humane qualities. Moreover, it is Victor who appears transiently capable of consideration for the consequences of his actions who, as he aborts a secondary female creation, questions "had I right... to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations?"
Victor Frankenstein chooses to create this monster to help mankind transcend death, but also because he is so fascinated in the science department. On page 77 of the novel, Victor states “and make myself useful to my beings” (77), which backs up the fact that he does it for the good of humanity. At the very beginning of the novel he talks about his enthusiasm and fascination with science. Hence, it was the combination of Victor 's obsession with creating life and the many new discoveries taking place around him such as chemistry that made Victor suppose that he could use all the resources he did to construct his monster.
Religious Parallels in Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit of knowledge and personal glory drives him to create a new human being. He suffers from a god complex as he is completely unaware of the moral ramifications for creating life out of an inanimate body. Mary Shelley creates a dark parody between God and Adam, and Victor and his monster. In the creation of Adam we see God, the creator reach his hand out to Adam, his creation. We see a parallel of this in Shelley’s novel after Victor’s creature is complete.
In many novels symbolism functions as a way to reveal much of what is intended for the reader to understand about characters and the work as a whole. Symbols can be ideas, objects, or actions that constitute multiple interpretations or meanings. This is also true for many older novels including Frankenstein. Throughout the gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the use of symbolism and the role it partakes in the entirety of the story signifies its importance. There are many symbols throughout the novel some including light and fire, the creation story, and exploration.
Victor Frankenstein’s Creation and the Role of God The main character in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, who is Victor Frankenstein, is regarded by literary scholars as imitating the role of God through his acts of creation. David Soyka describes Victor Frankenstein’s creation as “[being] much the same way as God create[d] man in [h]is own image” (168). Frankenstein is accused by many as playing God due to, not only, his purposes for the creation, but also his initial reactions to his own creation.
In chapter V the monster has been created and has realized he is ugly and does not have a place in the world. In season 4 of Buffy, Adam, a modern Frankenstein’s monster has been created secretly by the government. Both of the “monsters” question their existence and find themselves as recluses to the community earning for a friend and becoming violent due to lack of love. The creations wonder the reason their creators want to destroy them after they have just been created. Victor’s creature and Adam in Buffy display the misuse of technology and power shown by scientists and the government.