Frankenstein Natural World Essay

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In the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, we follow Victor as he is motivated to create the creature in hopes of being remembered for being the first to create another being. This backfires as Victor abandons his creature and they become separated. Throughout the novel the natural world plays a role in shaping the characters in certain ways that can either assist them or tear them down. Shelley switches between the perspectives of Victor and the Creature to portray the effects of the natural world around them as having a powerful influence on shaping their inner selves. The natural world around the characters can be perceived many ways by how they interact with it showing its true dichotomy. For example, when the creature was abandoned …show more content…

Here, nature is shown to sway the creature's mind into believing that he is an ugly being. This leaves the creature with the answer as to why Victor and others are so afraid of him. The natural world has affected the creature in a negative way by showing him his true form in the eyes of others. Shelley uses the theme of alienation and isolation here by developing the creature into believing he is unloved by everyone around him. Another example is when Victor is creating the creature and he starts to analyze the natural world around him when he states “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. Never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage” (Shelley 32). Shelley uses …show more content…

For example, when Victor wants to connect with nature he states “I enjoyed this scene; and yet my enjoyment was embittered both by the memory of the past and the anticipation of the future” (Shelley 149). This represents how Victor meddled with natural sciences more than he should’ve. While Victor has gained an immense power and control over nature. Victor has gone too far to come back and not even nature can pull him back from the damage he has done. A final example is when the creature states “nature decayed around me, and the sun became heartless; rain and snow poured around me” (Shelley 94). The natural world around the creature changing between sunny, rain, and snow is used to portray how the creature’s very nature is also changing. Imagery is being used to illustrate the creature being on his own outside without shelter to shield him from the outside world, thus the natural world affects his mindset into thinking that the sun is “heartless” just like society around him that abandoned him. Shelley uses a simile to compare the creature and the sun due to both being a symbol of creation of