Examples Of Evil In Frankenstein

Is Evil inherent or is it acquired over time? In general, evilness can be described as doing, taking pride in, or wanting to do morally wrong actions and destruction. It is not necessarily a trait one is born with, but rather a product of one's distressing experiences and hatred. The Gothic Literature novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly explores the protagonist, Victor's, viewpoint of the monster he created, especially whether or not he is justified for believing the monster is evil. Although possibly controversial, the belief that evilness is driven by hate and is obtained through painful circumstances instead of ingrained in an individual demonstrates how rational Victor’s perspective of the monster as being evil or like a “demon” or the “devil”

Speaking of Victor, his reaction to his creation, once it is alive, is the first example of this mistreatment that would begin shaping the monster’s morality from right to wrong. When Victor first saw the monster, he was so appalled by the creature’s appearance that he quickly “escaped, and rushed downstairs.” and “took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which [he] inhabited” where he “remained during the rest of the night” (Shelly 59). This abandonment by Victor is the start of the pain and anguish that the monster would feel, and thus as those feelings continued in the monster, more desires for vengeance were eventually created. Although the monster did not understand these feelings of revenge towards Victor and humankind yet, he will eventually begin to understand his emotions as well as understand more about humankind as a whole. The next form of maltreatment occurred not long since the monster left the apartment. While in the forest the monster found the cottage of the DeLacy family. After learning more about language, emotions, and humankind from them in secret, the monster attempted to make friends with the blind old man of the family. However, this backfired and the rest of the family chased him away. In consequence, “it [the monster] recognizes that, like Satan, the

Once the monster arrived in Geneva, he ended up meeting William, Victor’s brother. After trying to recruit the boy as his friend, the monster learned about William’s relationship with Victor and strangled him, or as he described it, “I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet. ‘I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph” (Shelly 144). Other than the fact that killing a child is undoubtedly immoral, his description of these events reveals he gained feelings of exultation and triumph, or in other words, emotions of delight and jubilation from the murder of a living being. To prove Victor’s beliefs further, the monster subsequent to the murder of William, framed the housemaid, Justine, by placing a picture from the locket William had, in her pocket, and thus, she is found guilty and executed. The monster’s ways of murder did not end here, for he was willing to make Victor’s life terrible if he did not get what he wanted. Specifically, once he finished telling his tale, the monster asked for a companion like himself to be with, yet Victor refused. In response, the monster threatens him when he stated, “I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my archenemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred. Have a care; I will work