Trinity Lam Professor Loubser English 1302 30 March 2023 Essay Two Detailed Outline Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells the narrative of Victor Frankenstein and his creation while emphasizing their many representations of one another. Victor flees the scene when his horrific invention comes to life, which is a fantastic accomplishment that many would have been pleased to create. The Creature is loathed by society despite being extremely clever and capable of benevolence due to his grotesque features. Despite his best efforts, the Creature understands that he will never be accepted by society; even his creator has abandoned him. He then determines that he is exempt from their regulations and is free to act however he pleases. Frankenstein highlights …show more content…
Upon witnessing his creation's animation, Victor is quick to reject him as he flees from his dwelling, mistakenly allowing the Creature to escape into the world. After escaping, the Creature commits a series of crimes, leaving Victor consumed by his own guilt from the realization that he is responsible for bringing the unstoppable monster into existence. Victor’s erosion of subjectivity is evident as he “considered the being whom I cast among mankind…my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me” (Shelley 84). Aware that the Creature's existence has caused the devastation of all he held dear, Victor also emphasizes the negative effects of his arrogance in breaking natural principles. He understands that the Creature is uncontrollable and that he is a source of this chaos. Victor's life and the lives of people surrounding have been profoundly affected by the Creature, demonstrating how powerless he is when it comes to making decisions, securing good outcomes, and having mental stability. As Victor begins to realize that the crimes committed by the Creature are evidently because of his ambition and arrogance, Cottom notices that “Victor cannot recognize his kinship (or twin ship) to his monster because to do so would be to lose his identity in the chaos imagined” (Cottom 63). Recognition of Victor's bond to the Creature poses a threat …show more content…
The Creature is left with emotional, and sometimes physical, scars after being spurned by society as he declares to his creator “‘if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you…because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred’” (Shelley 175). The Creature's comprehension of why society rejects him and the fact that he cannot "inspire love" is indicative of his awareness of how society functions. He demonstrates a propensity to injure and instill terror in order to exact revenge on Victor. He exhibits his higher perception of the laws and his disdain for them as he completely adopts a destructive and vindictive attitude. The world and his creator’s rejection of the Creature sent him on a path to failure that proved to be lonely and painful as they used his grotesque appearance as justification for discrimination. According to Bernatchez “If we understand the Creature’s moral ugliness to have been procured by a community’s refusal, we must conclude that the ugliness signifies something beyond itself. Pain” (Bernatchez 211). The creature's acts don't represent inherent evil, but rather the anguish and suffering he has experienced as a result of social alienation. His actions are predicated on the knowledge that he is cognizant that humanity as a whole has opted to detest him due to his appearance. As
After the Creature escapes and is forced to grow up on its own, it learns basic needs and emotions, and how society treats people like him. The Creature being shunned away by everyone, including his creator, takes a toll on his mental health and self-esteem, and he expresses his depression when he tells Victor, “You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me” (Shelley 147). The Creature feels no remorse for his actions, as he deals with the immense emotions he feels about being abandoned. Victor's tragic flaw is that he never accepts he made a mistake until it was too late. He turns his back on the creature which ultimately causes his
He hyper focuses on his studies in an attempt to suppress his emotions, and as a result, goes further and further down a lonely path, completely isolated and trapped with his ideas and thoughts. Victor doesn’t feel quite right, but continues to work on his project, but when it is completed, and the creature comes to life, “the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart,” (Shelley 58). Victor completely neglects everything except his creation, due to his prolonged grief, but his devotion blinds him to the monstrosity he has been creating. After Victor abandons his creation, he suffers through a deep depression, unable to reconcile his guilt, grief, and other painful emotions. He struggles to find joy in his life, constantly stricken by the weight of his decisions, unable to forgive himself or take any steps toward stabilizing his mental health.
After Victor brings the creature to life, he is immediately repulsed by his creation and abandons him. Victor's cruelty towards the creature has far-reaching consequences, setting off a chain of events that ultimately leads to tragedy. This act of cruelty is a powerful motivator for the creature, who seeks revenge against his creator for abandoning him. As the creature explains, "I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on" (Shelley 117). Victor's cruelty towards the creature ultimately leads to the deaths of several innocent people, highlighting the dangers of unchecked ambition and the human desire for power.
Shelley shows that Victor’s abandonment of the creature contributes to many feelings the creature goes through. Shelley writes that: “I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me.” (Shelley 103).
"When he wakes, the creature is standing above him smiling. Still shocked and disgusted, Victor flees from his apartment, abandoning the creature. (Lall 18) This line portrays Victor's terror of his own creation, which caused him to run, trapped with a paranoid mentality, abandoning his new life creation. This line supports the argument that Victor is the most evil character because he deliberately leaves the monster behind.
The Creature’s Attack Against Victor In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature acts as a foil for his creator, Victor Frankenstein, revealing how men who act as God face consequences that ultimately lead to their own emotional decline. With this, the creature’s repulsive appearance, harm to Victor’s brother and wife, and desire to be accepted by society accentuates Victor’s fear, misery after the creation of his creature, and societal acceptance. The creature’s cadaverous looks emphasize Victor’s fear to take care of his creature. The creature being “Formed into a hideous and gigantic creature (Shelley 58)” made “Disgust fill [Victor’s] heart (59).” This made Victor “unable to endure the aspect of [the] being [he] created, [causing Victor to] rush out of the room (59).”
He is not given the opportunity to explain himself, who he is, or what his true motives are, but others continue to ridicule and reject him just because of his appearance. This is why he kills so many people, and he realizes that no human would ever care for him; therefore, he wants vengeance and is saddened and enraged about how people treat him. Overall, the creature exhibits a number of behaviors that lead to an understanding of his
The classic novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is a masterpiece from the 1800’s that explores themes such as life, death, and man vs nature. Mary Shelley has the reader contemplating whether it is victor or the creature who is the real monster over the course of the novel. At first glance, the creature appears to be the monster with his unhuman-like physique and unusual facial structures but over time, the readers start to realize that Victor abandons his creation without giving him a second glance, Victor fails to take responsibility for his actions, and he tries to play god and becomes consumed by his own ambitions all while sacrificing his physical and mental health. These three points suggest that Victor is the true monster of the
The creature is no different than humans in the way that humans can kill, be kind or be violent and miserable, which the creature shows and experiences. As the creature learns more he encounters villagers with "gentle manners" and some barbarous villagers" who treat him like trash. If humans are so called humans because of their sympathy and compassion, then humans shouldn 't be considered humans if they kill or become violent. The men the creature meets are just as defective as he becomes. Just like any human around the creature 's "heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy", but he also experiences "misery" and "violence" he is "filled with an insatiable thirst for vengeance" (190).
After the creature is finished explaining its story to Victor, there is a turning point in the novel. Victor realizes that he needs to take on some responsibility for his creation: “did I not as his maker, owe him all the portion of happiness that it was in my power to bestow?”(Shelley 148). Victor also thinks, “…the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request. ”(Shelley 150). Victor is finally understanding that he needs to take on some responsibility for this creature.
After the death of Victor, the creature visits his creator and the creature explains to Walton how his “‘heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and, when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture…filled me with an insatiable thirst for vengeance’” (190). This demonstrates how the creature is indeed human by illustrating his similar nature and
First, the creature reveals emotions of his “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust. God in pity,
Victor's abandonment of the creature, driven by fear and disgust, results in the creature seeking revenge and causing harm to those closest to Victor. Similarly, the creature's desperate attempts to be accepted by society are met with rejection and violence, leading him to lash out and seek vengeance against his creator. These actions backfire on the perpetrators, illustrating the destructive consequences of their choices and emphasizing the theme that your own actions can lead to your
Throughout the novel, both Victor and the Creature grapple with questions of selfhood and the nature of their existence. Victor's identity is intrinsically tied to his pursuit of knowledge and his scientific accomplishments. However, as the narrative unfolds, Victor's obsession with creation ultimately destroys his own identity, as he loses his connections to his family, friends, and even his own sense of self. The Creature's struggle with identity is even more pronounced, as he is a being entirely unique in the world.
This leads to Victor’s life to be filled with death and despair because he has created a monster