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How Are The Creature And Victor Frankenstein Similar

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In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, there are two monsters within the book. The creature kills off many people and causes ruin to both Victor and innocent bystanders, but Victor holds the responsibility for causing this rampage, as he created the creature. Both Victor and the creature are monsters in their own respects and share similarities while holding key differences, but Victor is clearly the bigger monster. Victor and the creature are alike in many ways, and go through similar experiences that help to shape their future personas. In the beginning, they both display immense optimism for the future. Victor says “From my infancy I was imbued with high hopes and a lofty ambition; but how am I sunk!” He is reflecting on himself after his failed …show more content…

However, it is Victor that is the bigger monster in the book. He shows unparalleled selfishness and hostility towards the creature, and is also the initiator of all the subsequent events that occur after he creates it. Even when he first creates the creature, Victor displays hostility towards the creature. He immediately abandons it after seeing its appearance, and judges it based solely on it’s looks. “But now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room,” (81) Victor’s first impression is based on the creature looks, and yet he was the one to create him out of his own passion. He can be seen as a monster because he disregards any responsibility and compassion he owes to the creature, instead forcing it to survive alone in the snowy, cold winter. He also indirectly kills many people by creating the monster, who went on to commit murders that are tied back to Victor. Victor also displays extreme selfishness when he withholds information about William’s murder, essentially sentencing Justine to death. Victor says of Justine that she was “a girl of merit, and possessed qualities which promised to render her life happy, now all was to be obliterated in an ignominious grave, and I the cause!” (129-131) Victor admits to himself that he is responsible for Justine’s death, and still holds back information about the true killer, his creature. In doing so, Victor shows his selfishness because he is more worried about the repercussions he would suffer if his creature were discovered than the fact that Justine is innocent, and does not take proper action to acquit Justine. He is the very reason that Justine, William, Henry Clerval, and many others

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