Also, kudos to Victor for making his fiend feel like "an unfortunate and deserted creature; [The monster looks] around [with] no relation or friend upon earth.[... ][He ’s] full of fears, for if [he fails] there, [he’s] an outcast in the world forever" (Shelley 122). Because of the villagers, the monster had become more educated, finding an efficient way to escape his eternal isolation. He first chose to confront the blinded man since he had no reaction when the monster approached him.
It becomes confused by the paradox, wondering how humans can be “so virtuous and magnificent, yet so
Society’s Refusal of Acceptance The never-ending debate on nature versus nurture— in which living beings become who they are through genetics, or their upbringing— is commonly cited in trying to decipher why living beings do the things they do. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Shelley casts blame onto society for its refusal to accept, and nurture, a creature like that of the Monster. Despite the Monster’s actions— which show care and kindness towards others— he is continuously shunned and battered for his appearance, which is the utmost reason for his murderous conclusion.
From beginning to end, the idea of isolation and its dangers are constantly repeated as seen through the monster. The effects of being rejected from society mirror what we see in the real world as shown by Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the Isla Vista Massacre. Rodger’s main motives for his attack were social and sexual rejection which is the same as the monster in Frankenstein. As stated in his “vlogs” Elliot Rodger was rejected from relationships and had the inability to communicate with women. He envied everyone he saw who was capable of interacting with others and being sociable.
Victor abandons the monster and he is left to fend for himself out in the wilderness, unaware of his social identity or morals. Unfortunately, the monster frightens
Joyce Carol Oates states in her essay Frankenstein Fallen Angel, “…he (Victor) seems blind to the fact that is apparent to any reader – that he has loosed a fearful power into the world, whether it strikes his eye as aesthetically pleasing or not, and he must take responsibility for it.” Victor is unwilling to care for the creature, because he finds him dreadful, so he takes the easy way out and leaves the creature to take care of himself, which he is not capable of doing. Victor’s obsession to act superhuman blinded him while he was creating the creature because he had a desire to assemble the creature from makeshift parts so that the creature would be hideous and therefore inferior to Victor. The creature is formed as an ugly being so that it is easier for Victor to walk away from. Victor is willing to abandon his own creation because he views the creature as a, “… filthy mass that moved and talked” (136).
From reading Grendel, I took away that he let society's idea of himself captivate who he thought he really was. Grendel had the potential and the curiosity to be harmless, but he let the powerful words and actions of the humans, the Shaper, and the dragon take over his thoughts. In a way, the humans were just as much monsters in this book for not accepting Grendel, and making him become the monster he was. If the humans were to accept Grendel and they were able to understand each other, prevention of further catastrophes probably could have been
However, while the monster’s isolation is forced upon him by others, Frankenstein isolates himself, creating insurmountable social deficits. The monster’s isolation comes from the fear of the villagers reaction to his appearance. They react in a strongly negative manner towards him, so he relates society to being cruel to him. As well, Frankenstein abandoning his hours old creation due to fear and disgust deeply impacts the monster’s ability to interact with others. Victor Frankenstein’s isolation is self-inflicted.
In the film Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein the theme of mistreatment based off physical appearance is portrayed through Frankenstein 's monster. The society is often fearful of the creature and made judgements of his actions based solely off his disturbing physical appearance, without knowing his true characteristics. Even Victor, the man who created the fearful monster eventually abandons him because he is is appalled by his creation. He believed that by creating a being made of the finest parts, the end result would be of equal quality, but when the monster awakens, Victor can see what he has created and recognises that he has done wrong. The creation of an unnatural being, by unnatural means ultimately disgusts Victor.
Victor ran only because he thought the Creature was hideous. “I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as Dante could not have conceived (36).” At this point, the Creature was just a baby who had the physical capabilities of a superhero. The health and survival of any baby is dependent on social interactions. Without the proper knowledge of anything, especially companionship, the Creature was forced to live a lonely and depressing life.
When Frankenstein attempted to join society, he was rejected and chased out due to his differences, but he wasn’t as interested in joining the society as Grendel was. The monster was content staying away from humans until he happened upon the family of
This is reinforced by the rhetorical question that serves to convince Walton that the Monster hated having to turn to violence. In both situations, a friendly and accepting hand could have led both monsters to happiness and kindness, but the lack thereof sparked the violence. Grendel and the Monster from their respective works, Gardner’s Grendel and Shelley’s Frankenstein, find themselves with no companionship, nobody to share in their joys or sorrows, which leads to violence being taken out on those who rejected them; if those victims had initially accepted and loved Grendel and the Monster, this would not have
Frankenstein 's monster, from the story Frankenstein, is an example of a byronic hero. A byronic hero is usually a loner who might be rejected by society, have a troubled past, self-destructive, and usually misunderstood. Frankenstein 's monster is an excellent example of this, as he starts the story being brought to life through impossible ways (Shelley 42). Almost immediately, his creator despises him and eventually abandons him, giving him the rejected aspect of a byronic hero. As the monster progresses in the story, he eventually begins trying to befriend multiple people, just by knocking on their cabins only to be attacked by them and chased away (Shelley 78).
This also causes the monster to promise that he will be there on Victor’s wedding night. So, as the story presents, the monster’s intentions were mostly misunderstood. The monster never learned how to love or be loved. It is said that love is an equalizer for the darkest of places of the human consciousness, which includes the most monstrous; this is
The monster declares that he desires “creatures…cheering my gloom”; however, no “Eve soothed my sorrows” (118, Shelley). Because of this abandonment, the monster “cursed [Frankenstein]” (118, Shelley). No mother or Eve is present to nurture the monster. Therefore, he faults his creator for his isolation and plans to seek vengeance against Frankenstein, sending a message to the reader concerning the violent repercussions from an absence of nurture. Similarly, after the De Laceys beat the monster, he feels there are “none…men that existed who would pity or assist” him, causing him to “declare everlasting war against the species” (122, Shelley).