In “The Metamorphosis”, Kafka conveys Gregor’s loneliness by showing the audience how he is not leaving his room and spending his life in the dark. With Gregor being excluded. from his family, and then making him stay in his room, caused Gregaor to be lonely because he felt his family didn't want him. Correspondingly through the actions rendered by Victor in the story “Frankenstein”, Shelly highlights a strong sense of loneliness when all his family died, and he had a sense of guilt. Ultimately, both texts demonstrate how loneliness and alienation can be dangerous to people in society.
Loneliness and isolation are often explored through the experiences of characters who are disconnected from the world around them. Two notable examples of
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Like the monstrosity of Gregor, he is rejected and laughed at by humanity. Despite his terrifying appearance, the monster is a highly sensitive and intelligent creature who desperately craves human connection. The monster has no one to help or guide him because of his horrifying experience of being abandoned, alone, and confused upon his entrance into the world. Throughout the novel, he tries various methods to reach out to others but is consistently met with fear and rejection. He does not even recognize what he is, which makes him feel even more intensely isolated. His physical appearance is frightening and bizarre, which makes him an outcast among normal humans. The Monster's desperation for human connection is exemplified by his attempts to interact with other humans. With the lines “ I had never yet seen a being resembling me, or who claimed any intercourse with me. What was I?”(Shelly) Shelley effectively conveys the value of family and community in shaping identity. The social environment helps humans recognize their distinctive attributes, however, the monster is different. However, when he finally reveals himself to people, they recoil in terror and reject him outright. This mirrors the monstrosity of Gregor in Kafka's “The Metamorphosis”, who is also ostracized and ridiculed by those around …show more content…
The monster longs for acceptance and camaraderie throughout the book but is rejected by everyone he encounters. When Victor Frankenstein creates the monster, he abandons him right away, leaving him alone and bewildered. This is when the Monster is first seen to be isolated. The monster is forced to learn and live on his own without any guidance or comprehension of the world around him, which only intensifies his emotions of loneliness. The Monster gets increasingly isolated as the narrative goes on. He goes on to express how he desires a companion like him to keep him company with his earnest request to his creator, "You must create a female for me," as well as his sorrowful remark that "I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me." ( 16)He tries to interact with the people he encounters but is met with terror since they cannot look past his repulsive looks. His emotions of loneliness and misery are only exacerbated by this rejection. The Monster's frantic searches for the company are possibly the most heartbreaking expressions of his loneliness. He desires a companion who would love him for who he is, yet no matter how far he stretches out, he gets turned away. Essentially, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" depicts the monster as a deeply lonely figure, whose lack of human connection and frantic
The monster has to deal with solitariness and reclusiveness because he is an outcast and is not welcomed in society. Both of these characters find a sense of healing within nature. Victor states, “These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving. They elevated me from all littleness of feeling, and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillized it.” (Pg. 92)
From the monster's point of view, isolation is a negative aspect in which he suffers from loneliness as a result of being rejected by society. Moreover, his disfiguring image makes it impossible to have any hope of socializing with a human, thus making him a destructive being. Unlike Victor, nature reveals his grotesque form to him, notably when he sees his reflection in the “transparent pool” and becomes “fully convinced that [he is] in reality the monster that [he] is” (Shelley 80). Unfortunately, the monster has the potential to be a loving human, but his attempts to make himself acknowledged in a society that is "structurally antagonistic to his efforts" have turned him into a hateful individual (Bernatchez). Thus, it is evident that both the monster, “an abandoned child,” and Victor are victims of alienation and isolation, despite the monster being forced into this position and Victor desiring it (Oates).
Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred. (Frankenstein)" Throughout the novel, the Creature is convinced that because Victor is his creator/father, that he should be Adam by proxy. However, upon being rejected by the very man who had gave him life, he begins to see himself as Satan. However, even that comparison is ironic because whereas Satan is accepted and revered, The Creature is alone and abhhorred. The Creature comparing himself to Satan highlights the negative impact that isolation has on him through irony because although the Creature is like Satan, he's more alone and rejected than Satan because there isn't any companion or community of "man-made grotesque lifeforms" that the Creature can feel like he belongs
Society Made Monsters Societal isolation is not talked about as much as it should, it creeps into a person’s mind and fills them with apathy towards their fellow man. No quote better emulates this than in Chapter Seventeen of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all of mankind?” The Creature is beseeching Victor Frankenstein to end his loneliness by providing him with a woman like him.
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, both of the main characters undergo physical and emotional isolation. This enforced or chosen solitude causes Frankenstein to become over-ambitious and harbor secrets from his family and friends, leading to his demise. In the monster, isolation turns to misery, which causes him to become vengeful against his creator and all the world. Through these examples of total isolation, Shelley shows that when people have no connection to others in the world, their worst characteristics and flaws are brought out. Victor Frankenstein was the first character to show a major flaw while in isolation.
Isolation and a lack of companionship is the tragic reality for the monster, who was abandoned by his creator and is repulsive to everyone that he comes across. Victor removes himself from society for many months; severing nearly all human contact then renouncing his creation based on the monster's appearance. As the monster matures he begins to understands the relationship the cottagers share with one another, while the monster, “yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition. ”(Shelley). Armed with nothing but the longing for a real connection, the monster approaches his unknowing hosts only to be “brutally attacked—by those he trusted...because of their human ignorance.
The monster was brought to life all alone, now that Victor Frankenstein abandoned him. Sooner or later, the monster realizes his existence and starts to receive fear and rejection from his creator and from society. He realizes he has been totally ignored. Because of this, he becomes ambitious for retribution and seeks revenge on Victor Frankenstein by shattering his life just as Victor shattered the monster’s life. However, the monster develops mental, and human characteristics such as compassion when he met the DeLacey family.
In order to gain companionship, he must create relationships with humans, but he is incapable of doing this as everyone immediately feels aversion to him before he can do anything about it. From this, when the creature finds the De Lacey family, who don’t attack him (although they do not know of his existence), he obsesses over them and their worries become his, unveiling his desire to escape loneliness (Hall). He refers to the family as his “beloved cottagers”, and even goes as far to say that he learned to “admire their virtues and deprecate the vices of mankind” (Shelley 128), showing the positive impact that even minor social connection has on him. Alongside the De Lacey family, the monster is put in a much more peaceful state and even begins to enjoy life, performing generous acts to the family and craving knowledge, supported by his new foundation of
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses society’s rejection of the monster, Victor’s neglect of relationships, and the monster’s physical appearance to show that alienation brings out the worst in people. The creature initially is considerate before being humbled in society. He was lonely and did not yet know the bitterness of man. The monster begins with “a kind heart and gentle interest” not knowing the personality of humankind (Knowledge).
Society has a tendency to fear the unknown, and the monster's grotesque appearance and actions only heighten that fear. This fear causes the characters to reject the monster, which ultimately leads to his feelings of isolation and loneliness. When the monster first encounters a family, he conveys, "I longed to join them, but dared not" (Shelley 101). This quote demonstrates the monster's desire for human connection and acceptance. However, the prejudice and fear of society prevent the monster from achieving this
“But where were my friends and relations?’... “I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create”’(Walling). The monster longs for a companion so that he will no longer feel isolated.
Without friends, the creature’s hatred has developed against all mankind (101). The morale that can be taken from the creature’s need for friendship is that people cannot judge a book by its cover and listen to what people have to say. People judged and rejected the creature without listening to him. If they listened to the monster, then they could learn the true nature of the being, which would lead to friendship. If the creature had friendship, then he would have possibly been good and not turn into an evil monster that people thought he
The monster depicts his otherness when he wonders: “Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned” (Shelley 85). The monster evidently remains in isolation and is dehumanized. The monster attempts to get integrated into his society but his appearance and lack of social skills hinder his success. The monster strives to be accepted but is incapable of acceptance. The monster reiterates this feeling of isolation as he says: “I felt as if I were placed under a ban- as if I had no right to claim their sympathies – as if never more might I enjoy companionship with them” (Shelley 108).
Frankenstein’s creature initially shows no signs of ill will or malice when first encountering human beings (Shelley 72-73). On the contrary, through careful observation he is able to learn more about human society and personal relationships. He begins to admire the close connection between the people he observes and respects their virtue. This, however, makes him realise what he is missing. Observing the love and affection between others only increases the effect his own solitude has on him.
Although he comes with friendly intentions, the Monster is treated violently and with contempt, essentially being forced into his alienation to survive and becoming the “monster” he is already thought of as a result. The Monster’s actions are a response to the treatment he has received from others, everyday villagers and Victor alike. With little known about his origins and no way to explain himself, there is no hope for the Monster to assimilate himself. This is present in other characters of the novel as well, for example, Richard Walton, who has self-alienated in order to gain distinction and knowledge. The Monsters origins and appearance develop these themes of alienation throughout the novel, themes that are further developed by other characters and play an important role in delivering the message of