Frankenstein Literary Analysis

Frankenstein Critical Analytical
Yousaf Zahir

For an individual to determine their own destiny and purpose they must trample on the desires of others, should they not do so, they will get trampled on themselves. In Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” through the character of the creature the idea about the importance of kindness, or lack thereof, in determining one’s own purpose is heavily explored. From the birth of the creature until his death he never truly finds his own purpose and/or destiny, as he was born without, simply on his creator’s whims and obsessions. At the naïve state that the creature is at upon his birth and early on in the story he is a kind and benevolent creature who is looking for some source love and acceptance. A moment of

What does he get in return? A look of horror. A state of abandonment. “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?”. It is a common belief among religious people that god loves everyone, but what if he hated his creations with all his being? This is exactly what the creature faced in return for the only kindness he was capable of giving. The creature, after some wandering discovers the De Lacey family, a kind and wonderful role model family. The creature steals from them to feed himself, however, once he finds out that his thievery is hurting them he stops stealing and eats stuff he finds in the forest. This is an act of self-sacrifice, which is the essence of kindness. However, the creature does not simply stop there, rather he even silently helps them out by cutting firewood for them. This time again his acts of kindness and self-sacrifice are met with complete rejection as he is beaten and kicked out of the De Lacey’s home. The creature, whilst walking in the forest contemplating his rejections, sees a girl drowning in a fast flowing rapid. He risks his own life to dive in after her and saves her life. Normal a person with be given love, acceptance and a great debt of gratitude for saving a life, but not the creature. “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I saved a human

He becomes cruel. The creature becomes motivated by rage goes into a downwards spiral from the point of his epiphany although it does not cure his terrible loneliness. While travelling through the woods the creature comes across a child, and believing that the child is too young to be prejudiced and to understand what ugly is, attempts to kidnap the child. The child resists and calls the monster ugly and reveals that he is the child of M. Frankenstein. However, this causes the creature to go into a state of rage and he strangles the child with his bare hands, which is very unlike his previous actions. Normally, upon being reject the creature has always run away up until this moment which occurs soon after his epiphany. The creature turns to violence and cruelty rather than self-sacrifice and kindness. The outcome of his cruel actions is what he has been looking for his entire life: Victor acknowledges the creature, although not in a positive light. Even though Victor recognizes that the creatures existence the dangerous, he recognizes that the creature exists. When the creature asks Victor to make him a partner, someone who can be with him and rid him of his loneliness the creature uses his cruelty as a bargaining chip as he says that he will take his partner and got to the South American jungle far away from society. The whole point of him