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Society and the individual in frankenstein
Beauty in frankenstein novel
Beauty in frankenstein novel
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Society and the individual in frankenstein
Beauty in frankenstein novel
Beauty in frankenstein novel
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Creature in Frankenstein is discriminated by people to the point where people avoid/run away from him upon seeing him. Even his own creator, Victor Frankenstein, fled after seeing his creation’s appearance. To make matters worse, people’s opinions became even more negative after both characters had committed crimes, intentional or not. In fact, Lennie’s unintentional murder of Curly’s wife resulted in him being killed. The creature didn’t have it as bad since Victor managed to keep the Creature’s existence a secret from everybody.
Although not entirely related to Frankenstein’s turmoil, this scene shows that every party suffered from Frankenstein’s pursuit for knowledge. The creature states woefully, “Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me?” (Vol. II, Chpt. 7) With this simple dialogue, the betrayal the creature felt began to convert into a bitter hatred for all human beings. The benevolent creatures he had come to adore and view almost as gods had turned against him for due to his physical appearance.
He threatens Frankenstein by telling him “I may die, but first you” which shows that the creature is not afraid of dying as long as he can inflict as much pain as possible on Frankenstein first (Shelley 123). This alone is a monstrous way to act and it shows that the creature felt compelled to take on the role that society gave him. The consequences of the creature being villainized because of his appearance ended up threatening the lives of Frankenstein and everyone he
Society is well-known for pushing those who are outsiders or strange away from society. This is prevalent to the examples in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The monster who was created by Victor Frankenstein who wanted to be the first to create life was appalled by the sights of the his creation. Frankenstein’s monster is judged based on his appearances and is often ostracized by society, just as anyone in modern day society can be shunned or pushed away due to their looks or how they think. The most outstanding example of ostracism that occurred throughout the novel is based on the monster’s physical features and structure.
(Shelley 87) Just like Adam, the creature was created in his masters image. Adam from God and the Creature from the dark and ugly nature of man. The creature thus symbolises the horrid nature of man when brought to closer examination. Reiterating this the creature later exclaims to Frankenstein in a blind rage“accursed creator![...]God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance" (Shelley 118).
I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity”(80). The monster is desperate for society connection, he's desperate for the love and warmth of people and when he experiences the trauma of rejection countless times he becomes vengeful and shows his hatred towards the world of men. For instance when the monster grows love for the people he watched in the cottage, he attempts to make friends with the blind father, who, in the monster's advantage, cant see his ugliness rather just to hear his kind words of plead for acceptance. Shelly wrote, “I formed in my imagination a thousand pictures of presenting myself to them, and their reception of me. I imagined that they would be disgusted, until, by my gentle demeanor and conciliating words”(81).
Throughout the novel, Shelley depicts the image of Frankenstein being self conscious about the fact that he looked different from everybody else. As the creature matures, he comes to the realization and laments over the fact that his creator, Frankenstein, abandoned him. Frankenstein deems the creature to be “the wretch whom I had created” (95) and also perceives him as a monster. The odd appearance of the creature causes him to be ostracized by all those whom he seeks to form a connection or bond with. One such instance in the book is when the creature encounters the “cottage people”.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein may be one of the most popular novels of the 1800’s. In her novel, it can be seen that it was, in fact, meant to be a horror story. One of the elements she uses to convey the horror of her story in through the use of manipulation of the creature. Manipulation and the use of manipulation is a great detail that most glance over when looking in a horror story. Manipulation is a common tactic used by many people who want to get another person to commit an act they want them to do.
Then the creature describes how he could have “torn [the son] limb from limb”, but decides not to because “[his] heart sank within [him] as with bitter sickness, and [he] refrained” (Shelley 115). Without a doubt, people immediately turn to emotions of disgust and horror after seeing his eight-foot stature, yellow skin, and thin black lips. Reasonably, the creature’s outward appearance alarm society, but that does not justify the treatment he endures. Since the creature does not look “normal”, this causes society to become so fearful of the creature to where humans reject him without giving him a chance. Shelley writes about how the creature tries to save a drowning girl and in return gets shot in the shoulder.
The Creature in Frankenstein Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” is an inspirational work of horror and science fiction; it is the narrative of an unorthodox act of creation, of a monster which torments his miserable creator. The author puts forth ideas, and reinforces it through the development of the plot, that mankind is capable of both good and evil. Shelly demonstrates the ‘humanity’ of the creature; his actions and his inclination are like those of mankind. Indeed, even the negative aspect of his character, demonstrated through his quest for revenge, has a parallel in the actions of his human creator. In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” the creature is represented as being vicious and murderous but he is not inherently evil or malicious.
In Frankenstein, Victor wants revenge on the monster so greatly that it becomes an obsession. Victor states, “Again do I vow vengeance; again do I devote thee, miserable fiend, to torture and death” (Shelley 152). Victor Frankenstein wants revenge against the monster because the monster was the cause of the deaths of Victor’s family and friends (152). He is threatening death on the monster and swearing revenge on him. This is the beginning when he wants vengeance on the monster, which then immediately turns into an obsession.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel that dives into the intricacies of human nature and the concept of humanity. The book explores the rejection and isolation of the monster created by Victor Frankenstein, as all the characters view the monster as an inhuman creature. Although the monster throughout the story pleads to be seen as a human being, the characters refuse to acknowledge his humanity. This rejection raises questions about what it means to be human. What does the novel say about humanity when even the most grotesque, non-human creatures crave acceptance and love?
Beauty and ugliness is often used to justify the reaction of others in the novel, Frankenstein; in which the relation between external appearance and internal desires are shown to be related. The theme of how appearance affects judgement is often demonstrated through the characters response to the monster’s physical being. Shelley depicts this situation through Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the Delacey family, and through the monster himself. The use of appearance to determine judgement is shown to be a negative habit. By automatically associating ugliness with evil, and beauty with innocence, society unintentionally develops a negative being in those considered ugly, while at the same creating an illusion of innocence over beautiful individuals.
Perhaps, if a human such as Frankenstein had accepted the creature, onlookers would have had an easier time welcoming someone with his appearance into their presence. Society’s false perception of what makes someone “normal” is what altered their first impression of The Creature. People had a hard time distinguishing the difference between mind and body, which resulted in The Creature’s undesired abandonment and a gut filled with hatred towards his creator. In contrast, Victor Frankenstein refers to his family in a positive way several times throughout the novel.
Once the creature begins to go out on his own and learn about life and society, during his first interaction with other people he learns that he will be immediately judged based on how he looks. To start, when Frankenstein first sees the creature, he quickly runs away without any interaction and exclaims “no mortal could support the horror of that countenance” (Shelley 36). This interaction made the monster realize that even his creator could not avoid the habits of the society he lived in, and immediately ran away from him in fear because he didn’t believe he was attractive. Then after that, the creature still has enough hope to go into a village and meet other people, but he is immediately met with children that “shrieked” and one woman who “fainted” just at the sight of him (Shelley 74). In every situation where the creature attempts to interact with others, he is shunned immediately, before even being able to say a word.