This is the reason why each story is told in a different manner, changing the point of view and the importance of some or other aspect of the world of its narrator. The monster is one of the main elements in gothic literature. Although it does not exist as such in every gothic work, it is present as the undesired, the feared, the Other. This essay will foccus on the monsters as creatures that portray the fears of a society.
They each show characteristics of being a monster, they are hostile toward others and inspire a sense of dread commonly associated with creatures of evil or those that are not fully human and care little for the nature of that which is good. The perception of what makes a monster is questioned as the more we learn about the scientists the more we question their humanity. Frankenstein takes on the qualities of a mad scientist robbing graves and desecrating corpses, and Nathan drowns himself in alcohol taking out his aggression on those around him. Frankenstein’s creation in novel is able to express compassion and is able to show remorse, caring for things beside himself. Nathan comments about in regards to Ava's brain that it is “Impulse.
In society today we feel the need to categorize everything we encounter in life but monsters are something we don’t understand and can’t categorize; the unknown is something that we fear because we as humans want to know about our surrounding to make sure of our safety. In Jeremy Jerome Cohen’s "Monster Culture: Seven Theses“ thesis 1: The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body conveys the idea that monsters reflect a set fear, anxieties or desire in society. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a fear of the unknown the monster may bring to society.
In her novel Mary Shelley explores the central ideas of rejection and abandonment, human nature, good and evil and revenge to support the conviction of Frankenstein’s responsibility in the novel and Frankenstein is a reflection of this. Shelley shows through positioning of characters within the stories that good and evil is not clear-cut and there are many moral grey areas. The readers are positioned to feel sympathy for the creature, especially since his yearnings for human contact could easily be their own. Which makes it all the more frightening when Victor and others treat him in such vile ways.
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the main character Victor tends to show flickers of his own monster in his personality, leading the reader to believe they are one in the same. Victor may not outwardly portray his monster but his emotions and desires line up with that of the monsters actions. The anger Victor and the monster share brought about by society are traits of this deep emotional bond they have. A literary doppelganger best describes the two being, meaning a Victor's monster is another version of himself. The Creature is Victor's inner most emotions, those that are often hidden due to society's expectations; this madness is brought to the surface through the monster.
Over the past century, Frankenstein has been analyzed and interpreted in seemingly infinite different forms of literature, film, and television shows. Once solely recognized as the story about a brilliant scientist who creates a creature in whom he regrets making after the creature turns out ugly, Frankenstein now represents an internationally recognized and commercialized pop culture symbol for Halloween decorations and costumes. When analyzing and appreciating the true literary essence behind Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein, one of the most important comparisons to consider remains the underlying influences behind the Creature’s immoral actions and whether or not the blame for these actions belong to Victor or the Creature. When exploring the dichotomy of the Creature versus Victor Frankenstein, one of the biggest and most widely debated questions remains whether Victor should be blamed for the Creature’s destructive actions or if the Creature should be considered guilty for his actions based off of his own free will. Many consider Victor Frankenstein the villain of the story due to his repetitive decisions to abandon and avoid his own “mistake,” the irresponsible choice of creating the monster in the first place, and his obvious negligence of the Creature’s feelings.
As Lawrence Lipking rightfully assessed the creature at first is “too good” (Lipking 428) and “innocent” (Lipking 428) but sooner rather than later “hostility and prejudice of men” (Lipking 428) awake desires of violence and revenge in it which lead to its awful plot against its creator. There is a huge shift in the emotions of Victor Frankenstein once his work is done and the creature finally opens its eyes. While
Responsibility is the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the reader finds many examples of the importance, need, and especially lack of responsibility with characters like Victor and the monster. A reader of Frankenstein sees multifarious examples of Shelley’s theme of the dangers in not taking responsibility even today in the real world. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Shelley’s portrayal of Victor as selfish suggests that not taking responsibility can lead to pain, death, and the suffering of others as we see in the novel which relates to today's society of powerful countries not taking responsibility for the weapons that they create, and the damage that is revealed as a result. Characters in Frankenstein not taking responsibility show the reader the potential dangers of pain and death in numerous situations in the novel.
Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein” highlights an interesting fictional scenario where Victor Frankenstein, the supposed doomed protagonist of the story creates an intelligent, but grotesque monster after studying in Ingolstadt and discovering the secret to life. After Victor resurrects the creature from the dead, which is made up of old fashioned body parts, he abandons it. The reason for this is because of the creatures’ monstrosity of an appearance; Frankenstein’s own creation horrifies him when he looks at it. After being disregarded by his so called “father” the Creature is left to face the world with no understanding of it or of himself.
Do you consider the monster a human? We are already know the meaning of human, but are we know what the monster is? The monster in people’s mind generally is the one who has horribleness, ugliness, or the unnatural body. Will it have some people do not look only appearance but his or her heart.
No longer were monsters a product of supernatural forces, monsters were created. Yet, in order for a person to become a monster, a person cannot exist in isolation. Relating my idea of the connection between knowledge and morality in the Scientific Revolution/Enlightenment period to the monster and his body in Frankenstein, I argue that society’s knowledge of the monster is formed in one of two ways; one, through scientific creation or two, through social construction. Now, it is through (1) physical features which differ drastically from others or (2) immoral actions that one becomes a monster in their own society. In part, “monsters” are products of their own environment.
Mulkay expressed that articles had written had focus on the similarity between embryo researchers and Mary Shelley 's scientific villain. Based on the articles, readers believed that the the scientists are dangerous and must have a limit over them. This connect back to my thesis is that in Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein went overboard into creating the monster as it came to life by using science and the monster threatened society. As he misused science, he went over the limit into creating another human being with dead human parts. In Brave New World, the D.H.C and other scientists are misused science for cloning and conditioning human beings as they used scientific experiment.
In many novels symbolism functions as a way to reveal much of what is intended for the reader to understand about characters and the work as a whole. Symbols can be ideas, objects, or actions that constitute multiple interpretations or meanings. This is also true for many older novels including Frankenstein. Throughout the gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the use of symbolism and the role it partakes in the entirety of the story signifies its importance. There are many symbols throughout the novel some including light and fire, the creation story, and exploration.
What truly, is deception? Perhaps it may be the ability to persuade others into committing certain actions. Perhaps, it may be the ability to keep the truth hidden. The truth itself, is a very controversial topic fueled by ideology and aspects of individuals, communities and societies. While the truth may be heartbreaking , unbelieveable or may even seem irrational, its exposure will always lead to a series of events in relevance to the past.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the character of the creature is a problematic one, but what makes him so problematic? The reason that the creature is problematic, that this paper is going to argue, is that the creature is problematic as a character is because of his education, and just as importantly the creature’s devolution of his education. In this paper I’m going to talk about the creature’s education, the devolution of this education, and his overall role in the novel as a way for Shelley to make a point about knowledge. [FIX IT] The creature can easily be said to be somewhat of an auto-didactic.