Sympathy For The Monster In Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'

Drew F. Sullivan
Instructor Toni J. Weeden
Honors Senior English
14 November 2017
Frankenstein Research Paper While reading the story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there are many examples that make the reader feel sympathetic for the monster and his actions. During the book, the monster was portrayed as a “wretched devil” (Shelley 81), who had no remorse for any of his actions. Many times during the book I felt anger and hatred toward the monster. Saying the monster had no remorse for his actions is very true, however, as a reader I do have a level of sympathy for the monster. The monster was brought into the world by Victor, only to be shunned away and sent into the world by his lonesome. After creating the world renowned monster, Victor

“This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (Shelley Ch. 16).
This quote shows that even though the creature does good, his benevolence is not rewarded in a positive way. The creature wouldn’t have been so angry and seeking vengeance if he was just accepted by his creator (Victor) or by society in general. I feel as though the creatures acts of evil and the crimes he committed could have been avoided if he was just shown compassion from Victor. I have sympathy for the monster in the sense that he was brought into the world basically set up to

I personally as I already stated in the paper do have a level of sympathy for the creature for many reasons. Being brought into a world with nothing only to be thrown to the wolves and be expected to conform to society is preposterous. Although i have sympathy for the creature at times, I still do believe that some of his actions were out of line and just couldn’t be forgiven. Overall I believe that the creature could be given a little more sympathy from the readers based on the circumstances given.
Work Cited
Pogue, David. “5 Science-Backed Habits That Lead to Long-Term Happiness, Regardless of Your Genes and Upbringing.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Dec. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/5-science-backed-habits-that-lead-to-long-term-happiness-2015-12.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Penguin Books,