Examples Of Discrimination In Frankenstein

Rohan Reddy

Mrs. Rhinehart

Honors English 4

12 October 2022

Discrimination’s Detrimental Dominance in Frankenstein British Philosopher Bertrand Russell once stated, “Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd” (Russell). Even though decades have passed since his death, Russell’s words still ring true today. Despite humanity’s creations of interconnected societal establishments that foster supportive environments and incredible technological advancements, one aspect lags far behind all others: morality. Humans fear the unknown, they fear anything that is different, and they fear the change something that is different can bring. These worries convince them

Instead of accepting and supporting people who face far more obstacles in their life than the average person, humanity tends to label and avoid them like defective machinery. For example, the Trinity Nursery School in Bangor, Co Down, Northern Ireland, “ has apologized to the parents of a child with special needs after accepting she was treated less favorably because of her disability,” showing not only prejudice but also mistreatment towards unfortunate individuals (“Nursery Treated Amelie 'Less Favourably'”). Due to being born differently from what society considers to be normal, people with special needs are often classified as less important. How does humanity handle unimportant people? They ignore and avoid them as if they were insects. This can lead to mistreatment similar—though sometimes more extreme— to what the Trinity Nursery School forced onto a child. Shockingly, however, very similar cases of discrimination by physical characteristics alone are directed towards Frankenstein’s monster. After finally introducing himself to De Lacey, the creature is given a brief moment of respite before being caught by Felix and Agatha. Despite having not laid a finger on the old man, the creature notes, “At that instant the cottage door was opened, and Felix, Safie, and Agatha entered. Who can describe their horror

Especially nowadays, people have a tendency to think that good-looking people do good things while bad-looking people do bad things. This bias is known as the halo effect; it is a cataract that conceals the true personality of human beings. A survey done in Morocco by the market research firm Sunergia recently revealed that the leading cause of discrimination, at nearly 30%, is due to physical appearance ("Survey: Physical Appearance Leading Cause of Discrimination in Morocco."). As a result of this, robbery and general contempt is much higher for people that stand out or look different, provoking division and separation where there should be none. Just by being born a black sheep in a field of white ones, some people find themselves treated as if they are a lesser person than others. Without a doubt, Shelley incorporates these ideas into Frankenstein, as the creature faces similar mistreatment. Upon his first contact with humans, aside from Victor Frankenstein, the creature recounts, "Hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped..." (Shelley 109). Regardless of his selfless intentions, the creature is assailed by the villagers