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Victor Frankenstein Foil Essay

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The foil’s purpose in a novel is to help clarify the protagonist’s character. In the Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, the purpose of the Creature is to serve as the foil of Victor Frankenstein. The Creature contributes substantially in allowing the reader to see Victor’s true self. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein is portrayed as obsessive and ambitious, with a God-like complex. He secludes himself in order to satisfy his obsession with pursuing the knowledge of the world. After discovering how to bestow the spark of life onto a lifeless body, he gives life to the Creature just to show that he can do it without thinking about the outcome of his experiments. He spends nearly two years working on the Creature and didn’t …show more content…

Victor’s negligence towards the Creature is shown throughout the book. Victor abandons the Creature and completely forgets about the Creature’s existence or his role in the existence of the Creature for months until his little brother is killed, this shows how self-important he is that he forgets about the 8-foot Creature he gave life to and is responsible for. At the time the Creature was given life to, he was like a baby, he was traitless and required guidance. The Creature is grotesque looking, but his thoughts and feelings are of a compassionate being. Victor only cares about himself and gets the people who love and care for him killed because of his selfishness and is still accepted by society. In addition, Victor has people who care about him and is accepted by others. The Creature is lonely, uneducated, abandoned by his creator and shunned by both society and Victor. Victor has everything he needs and could want but he is not satisfied with that. The Creature doesn’t have anything (no love from its creator, or others) but he is fine with it until his environment rejects him and he kills William and Victor refuses to create a female companion for him, he becomes opposing to Victor and starts to kill everyone that Victor cares

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