Parents are the guiding lights in our lives, but they can also be the source of our deepest wounds. This is clearly visible in the cases of Holden Caulfield and Frankenstein’s creature, as their shared parental negligence greatly impacts their development. Instead of providing the nurturing he requires, Holden's parents send him to fend for himself in boarding schools, and Frankenstein’s creature faces immediate rejection and hatred from his creator. Between Holden and Frankenstein’s creature, their shared parental neglect is the major contributing factor that leads to their social outcast status, leaving them emotionally scarred and struggling to acclimate to society. Victor Frankenstein intended to create a beautiful creature that would bring him …show more content…
Ultimately, at the end of the novel, Holden’s mental state has deteriorated to the point where he is put into an institution. But even this isn’t enough to stop this seemingly never-ending cycle, as Holden is asked if he is “going to apply [him]self” when he goes back to school in September. (Salinger 276). Holden’s mental state ultimately could have been saved had his parents raised him correctly instead of ignoring his struggles and sending him to fend for himself. As a result of their neglect, Frankenstein’s creature and Holden experience scarring and traumatic events that further isolate them from society. In the case of Frankenstein, people often act irrationally around him due to his freakish figure, leading them to attack and even shoot the creature. However, the creature isn’t truly the monster these humans view him as; he has emotions and feelings that are heavily affected. The creature believes he is “the miserable and abandoned, an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on, (Shelly 124)” leading him to view himself as the monster the humans see him as, becoming